Former network PC, Win 7, won't let me remove the alt-ctrl-del log in requirement

So this restaurant has been given a PC with Win 7. It used to be in a
network environment and the administrator set up the system so that
the one and only user did not have administative access. Admin access
would only be available to that admin guy over the network.

So now that admin dude has left the country and the former user of the
profile can't tell me anything helpful.

What I need to achieve is eliminate the requirement for users to type
alt-ctrl-delete whenever the pc is switched on. Unchecking this option
in User Accounts/Advanced/Secure Log on does not work - the check mark
just keeps coming back.

The PC is not connected to the internet so there is no security issue
with fake logging on.

I cannot change this user to an administrator - current status is
"other - debugger users". Nor can I create a new user who IS an
administrator.

So in a nutshell, how can I get admin access to this PC?

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Jo

 

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

 

oops not available from there.
try http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

 

Reformat. Reinstall Microsoft.

 

Stab in the dark - but possibly caused by Group Policy from the domain
controller? Is it still 'joined' to the domain? If so, unjoin it, and
put it back in 'WORKGROUP' mode.

 

Here's some more info that might help - note the notes near the bottom
of the page.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308226

 

I second this suggestion, it has helped me out a few times.

Download it and burn it to a CD and boot the PC from it. It looks a
bit technical but just take your time and follow the instructions and
you'll be right. I've always just accepted all the default settings
and never had a problem with it.

 

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Dave Doe wrote:
[snip]

Wee tangential trip here but do you know if either of those has hdparm on
it? Is it difficult to make a bootable USB? Last time I tried I gave up
after a couple hours Googling around in circles. It'd be handy to carry on
my keychain, it's amazing how often I get asked to do 'support' when I'm not
expecting it. :-/

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

It's not difficult to get a bootable USB disk — the problem is
that few older BIOSes and even current one, provide for USB booting.
The exceptions are for netwooks and the like.

Puppy linux has a packaged option to make USB drives bootable (HD
mode) and an option for a combo version of Floppy/CD/HD modes.
Unfortunately I've not been able to achieve this combo, but I'm about
to check the forums.

My objective is to get an [email protected] installation on a USB drive
that is capable of being booted by any computer, regardless of the
BIOS. With this setup, the flash drive will be a remarkably flexible
device for both data recovery and and some device repair.

I'd like to hear from anyone who can USB Boot anlmost any
computer.

 

We were just trying some elderly (up to 8-year-old) desktops at a client’s
place today. A couple of them were flaky, but we finally found a compact
little thing with a VIA CPU on it, with no internal optical drive, but it
booted up off an external USB-connected DVD drive just fine.

The internal hard drive had Windows XP on it (which we wiped), which gives
you some indication of the age of the machine.

 

Haven't tried it - but here's a wee page such a setup - intital boot
from floppy, and pass to USB...

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/use-a-floppy-to-boot-usb-pendrive-linux/

 

and this page might provide some more hints (as I don't think the Linux
distro is particularly relevant)...

http://www.togaware.com/linux/survivor/Booting_from0.html

 

Thanks.
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

Cool. Again, tyvm.
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

Thanks bud, I'll look at it tomorrow, I'd best try to get some sleep now.
I've tried with the HP utility before and had no luck. Hopefully this time's
different. Then I only need to work out what to put on it to be most useful
for hardware troubleshooting and malware removal. ;-)
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Cheers,

 

Excellent, cheers. Excuse my ignorance but do I just d/l either of those
'discs' and copy the files onto my USB once I've made it bootable? (I guess
Google will tell me, I could try again....)

I'd still like to get hdparm on one as I have a passworded 2.5" SATA HDD.
Some clown who sold the lappie to the person I bought it off (apparently)
did a secure wipe of the disk but neglected to remove the p/w. I've read
that if you boot a lappie with a USB that has hdparm (but without the HDD
present as the BIOS will baulk) and then fit the disk after it's booted you
can wipe the password using hdparm.

<shrug> It's not *that* important I guess, it's been sitting here for about
a year now but a 250GB HDD is sorta worth having. Actually I'm not sure
where it is right now, LOL.

I have to look into portable apps too. For the longest time I've wanted to
have my own bookmarks etcetera to access things when I've been out visiting.
Someone suggested that I set up a portable installation of Firefox on a USB
and use that. I could also use it between my own machines as I have a few.
It'd be great to have it on the same stick as the bootable diagnostics. Two
partitions perhaps? I have a 4GB stick that I carry with me, that should be
big enough. I don't know how possible, or easy that would be.

Best,
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

I must be going insane because I've spent nearly an hour checking out
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd in both Firefox and IE and can't find a
'Download' link anywhere!

I'm going to watch something on TV dammit!
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/