I recently was given another PC to maintain. It is a Compaq Deskpro EN running Windows 2000 SP2 Professional. I am not familiar with this OS. It came without documentation and with Administrator privileges already set. I wasn't given the Administrator password. It's something of a mess. I can't maintain it without Administrator access. I downloaded PNordahl's "Bootdisk", copied the files to a floppy and booted up with it. I was getting ready to edit the Administrator password when I realized I don't know how to access the Administrator account.

Assuming I change the password to none (as recommended), how can I get Administrator access? The PC now boots to a user login that doesn't require a password, which is
nice I think. Can I set things up to boot to the Administrator login?

If I can't get full control of this PC I am going to revert to Windows 98 or ME.

Are you the one that stole my laptop?

if not

1.save all of the critical data
2.record all the software that need to be reinstalled
3.reload windows from the cd that came with the computer

Your 2kPro PC will automatially default to the username that last signed in succesfully. To change it simply type "Administrator" (without the quotes) in place of the username already there.

Once you are in, set up another user for yourself with administrator privileges (Start\Settings\Control Panel\Users and Passwords).

It is not recommended to leave the password for Administrator blank. I would personally set a password that is 10 character alphanumeric. A blank password enables anyone that touches the computer access to everything, and the ability to destroy everything.

_________________________
The internet is no longer a toy, it's a COMBAT ZONE!

Thanks for the help. On Monday I'm going to break into the registry and change the Administrator password and proceed. I figure whatever happens I couldn't be worse off than I am now. I can't install hardware, e.g. the printer, or software, like a virus scanner.

George Smiley

Today I tried Bootdisk. I completed the last step "WRITING OUT THE CHANGES." Then I got this error message:

sh: can't access the tty; job control turned off

The change never got written.

I checked Nordahl's FAQ file. Sure enough there was an entry. One item was "Should work on console 2-4 (alt-F2 and so on). I tried console 2. It didn't help. Nordahl stated that users should never report this error again.

This looks like the end of this particular road. However, I have to ask the question> Is there any to turn job control on?