windows xp password cracking

RiddickRiddick Malaysia Icrontian
edited August 2009 in Science & Tech
i have recently just got my hands on a friends laptop which is installed with windows xp and he wants me to retrieve several important files from the harddisk before i format and reinstall. the problem is he forgot is password for his admin login.
i have heard of ways of cracking the password while you are logged in windows, but that just defeats the point doesnt it?
so my question is, is there a way of cracking the password without being able to log in at all? and how?

Comments

  • MancabusMancabus Charlottesville, VA
    edited December 2003
    Suggestion for how to get the files.
    Buy a laptop HD IDE converter, take the HD out of the laptop and hook it to the converter which you would then plug into a desktop PC.
    And unless he had encryption turned on, regardless of file system, you should be able to read his files if you are using a 2000 or XP desktop system.

    As for password cracking, I have had some success with using @tstake software's Lopht Crack 4 to crack the file that contains all the passwords for the users of the system. You can only crack it if the file isn't being used. This file is the SAM file located in X:\windows\system32\config. I think I remember another tool that would let you copy the SAM file while in windows so you had access to it. Or you can also copy it via a network share if you can set that up, I think.

    I don't think this will get me into any trouble will it.
  • RiddickRiddick Malaysia Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    i think i'll try the password cracking part.
    i have this software called SAMinside which also utilizes this method...
    can i actually boot the pc with a boot disk and copy the SAM file into a diskette(i know it will fit.. its around 20kb) because as i said i cannot log into windows to copy the file.
    once the SAM file is aquired and the program does the cracking process, will it take long?
  • NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    Another thing to try is go here

    http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

    Download the software to make a boot disk. Then follow the instructions on the site.

    I won’t be held responsible if it doesn’t work althought I have used it loads of times and not had it fail on me once. :wink:
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited December 2003
    Could boot the lappy with Knoppix STD which will allow you to browse the ntfs file system and copy the SAM file to floppy. than crack that with a sam cracker.



    \\EDIT: Actually you could just copy the files he needs to save to external media (USB Drive would be easiest) then no need to log back into XP at all.
  • NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    The one I suggested does it on the fly as your not "cracking" anything your just changing the password on an account. Its linux based too
  • tophericetopherice Oak Ridge, TN
    edited December 2003
    Knoppix STD 0.1b
    security tools distribution
    http://www.knoppix-std.org/
    Knoppix-STD is a customized distribution of the Knoppix Live Linux CD. Boot to the CD and you have Knoppix-STD.
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited December 2003
    Necropolis_uk wrote:
    The one I suggested does it on the fly as your not "cracking" anything your just changing the password on an account. Its linux based too


    I have a friend that has used the one you speak of. He highly recommended it too.
  • RiddickRiddick Malaysia Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    ahh okay right guys! thanks alot ! i'll try them rightaway
  • Ludivous_KainLudivous_Kain
    edited January 2004
    Hi all. I'm experiencing a similar problem. One of my friends forgot his WinXP password, and wanted me to retrieve it, or to remove it from his account without changing anything else. He has alot of school-related material on his computer, so a reformat is not likely. He also no longer has most of his application CDs, so backing up the info from the drive for a reinstall is not a possibility either. (He can't find his Office XP CDs, for instance) I tried the floppy boot image from the afore mentioned site, but the system just hangs. I have his HD hooked up to my system right now, so I can read anything/everything from it. I even tried using @stake LC4 to crack the password in the SAM file. It took 21 hours or so, and when it finished it didn't display any password anywhere. Any suggestions?
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    He's probably SOL on the Office XP disks, but that's what you get for using non-store-bought copies. Since you have the HD mounted, just copy all his data off it and reinstall. If LC4 didn't find it, the only other thing I can think of is l0pht's commercial product, but it's very expensive.
  • EMTEMT Seattle, WA Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Kain,

    John the Ripper ( http://www.openwall.com/john/ ) is good. You'll need to get the hashes out from the sam file (John will read hashes not the original file) using samdump.exe out of the pwdump2 package ( http://razor.bindview.com/tools/desc/pwdump2_readme.html ). Keep in mind this stuff is all command line so hopefully you're comfortable there. Anyway if you want an alternative to l0phtcrack look no further than these.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    I remember reading somewhere that if you boot up your Windows XP machine with a Windows 2000 Professional CD, then log in using the rescue console on the 2k CD, either you don't need a password for the admin account, the password is blank, or it automatically logs you in. The reverse was also true for Win2k boxes and WinXP CD's. Something to try if you have one of each lying around.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    See my post in this similar thread from a few weeks ago:

    http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6590

    The program I linked there works very, very well, as it boots in a Linux shell and allows you to edit the SAM files.

    Dexter...
  • Ludivous_KainLudivous_Kain
    edited January 2004
    Dexter wrote:
    See my post in this similar thread from a few weeks ago:

    http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6590

    The program I linked there works very, very well, as it boots in a Linux shell and allows you to edit the SAM files.

    Dexter...
    Tried that already... It just stops responding as soon as it detects my HDs. Unless there is another version on his site.. Going to check that out now.
  • Ludivous_KainLudivous_Kain
    edited January 2004
    primesuspect wrote:
    He's probably SOL on the Office XP disks, but that's what you get for using non-store-bought copies. Since you have the HD mounted, just copy all his data off it and reinstall. If LC4 didn't find it, the only other thing I can think of is l0pht's commercial product, but it's very expensive.

    Just so ya know, they're legit. Not Office XP Pro, its Office XP for Students. He bought them on campus down here (FL) and lost the CDs. Sucks to be him. *lol*
  • asseenontv9986asseenontv9986
    edited January 2004
    If anyone needs to know how to get a password from any nt machine e-mail me at asseenontv23@yahoo.com because i tried and post how to do it but they edited and wouldnt let me post it. I have had first hand expierence doing it cuzz i did it to my school lol.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    you are rediculously cool.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    I can't find my own thread. I posted and got a great link. I used a linux based boot disc to blank out the password.
    Took 15 min to make the disc, 30 min to read the instructions, and 1 min to remover the password.
    try this
    http://www.trinityhome.org/trk/index.shtml
    The other choice is to copy everything over and reformat. The prob is that given MS bs some progs may not like to run after the copy over.
  • RaveneyeRaveneye
    edited May 2005
    Hey everyone it's extremly easy to hack into xp, check this out.

    Windows XP, which has been marketed by Microsoft as "the most secure version ever," has been found to have a flaw so bone-headed that it renders passwords ineffective as a means of keeping people out of your PC.


    Reader Tony DeMartino alerted me to the problem, which all administrators
    of Windows XP machines should immediately take to heart:

    Anyone with a Windows 2000 CD can boot up a Windows XP box and start the Windows 2000 Recovery Console, a troubleshooting program.
    Windows XP then allows the visitor to operate as Administrator without a password, even if the Administrator account has a strong password.
    The visitor can also operate in any of the other user accounts that may be present on the XP machine, even if those accounts have passwords.
    Unbelievably, the visitor can copy files from the hard disk to a floppy disk or other removable media - something even an Administrator is normally prevented from doing when using the Recovery Console.

    But don't tell anyone I told you this
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited May 2005
    Okay, first you bumped a thread that is over a year old.

    Second, you didn't even READ the whole thing. Post 13 in this thread says the exact same thing :rolleyes:
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    is this not considered cracking? Prime- did you give him a warning??
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    There's a difference between cracking your friends password that he asked you to get around, and cracking a game that you downloaded and didn't pay for.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    cracking a game that you downloaded and didn't pay for.
    I'm sorry, but where did that tie in?
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    I just assumed you're bitching because you got warned for fracturing one of the rules.

    You were picking the "cracking" rule to bitch about here. I was clarifying why this possibly didn't get "warned", and giving you an example of what is likely meant by the cracking rule. Perhaps it would be clearer if you read the word "you" in my post as "someone".

    Edit-

    and whether or not prime warned him doesn't really matter. It's an administrative decision.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    well i dont see how cracking isnt cracking.
  • NiGHTSNiGHTS San Diego Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Just give it a rest, man. :shakehead
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    read the rules:
    4. Open sharing of warez, warez links, serial numbers, key codes, cracks for any and all software will be deleted and is otherwise prohibited. Also, please note that emulators are legal, but the games are only legal if they were distributed by the owner. Discussion of obtaining software or music illegally through P2P programs is considered a form of warez and will be likewise removed.

    They're not cracking software. Cracking software is using a program to get around not having a cd/cd-key/etc. Cracking software is done to use programs that you don't own. They're trying to get a friend who forgot his password into his system. There is a difference. Perhaps there are degrees of "cracking"...not just "cracking" and "not cracking".


    edit -

    Anyone else notice this thread has 15k views...gogo google searches for windows xp cracking
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2009
    Thread closed to alleviate outrageous spam.
This discussion has been closed.