[selfmade]

I have recently purchased several pcs (laptops) and seem to have some slight probelms with them and need a little assistance.
1. I have a compaq and IBM that read when booting up. "no systerm disk or disk error replace and strike" What exactly does this mean?

2. I have a Dell that I dont have the password for the administrator. What can I do? Is it possible to run a disk to erase everything from the pc and reinstall Wxp or can I get around this pass problem?

As much help as someone is willing to help I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

-selfmade-

[Stoner]

This site has an app that will allow you to change the admin password.
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/


Welcome to TSG

[cwwozniak]

Originally Posted by selfmade

1. I have a compaq and IBM that read when booting up. "no systerm disk or disk error replace and strike" What exactly does this mean?

Do the computers have floppy disk drives? If so, it sounds like they are trying to boot up from a floppy disk. Make sure there is no floppy disk in the drive and see if either one boots from the internal hard drive.

I am not sure if the same error message would show up if a computer tries to boot from a refortmatted and blank hard disk drive.

--
Chuck W.

[selfmade]

Yes, the IBM has a floppy drive. But the other does not.

[cwwozniak]

Most likely cause of the "Non-System disk" error message may be that the previous owner(s) reformatted the hard drives, wiping out all files including the operating system, before getting rid of the computers.

A better explanation of the causes and possible cures can be found at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;812492

--
Chuck W.

[Fyzbo]

I've tried that password changer and it can cause some serious problems with XP. I would recommend you don't use it.

[chaos4001]

This utility may help with your password problem. I've never used it, only read about it in my favorite blog, but it seems useful.

http://lasecwww.epfl.ch/~oechslin/projects/ophcrack/

Ophcrack, I believe, Is the name.

[selfmade]

Thanks guys this has been very helpful. I will make use of all the suggestions that I have been given. I will also let you know how that ophcrack works....

Thanks again

-selfmade-

[Stoner]

Originally Posted by Fyzbo

I've tried that password changer and it can cause some serious problems with XP. I would recommend you don't use it.

Hello Fyzbo

What problem did you encounter?
I have used that NT password app only several times and only with win2k and NT4.
Is this a problem with XP, or with corrupting the SAM file in general?

[Fyzbo]

it destroyed the login for xp sp2. Had to use the windows disk to repair it.

[jptrsn]

For the IBM, try going into the BIOS during startup to check the boot device order.

Usually as the computer is starting up, it will say something like "Press F2 to enter setup". (Depending on who made the BIOS, it could be DEL, F2, F8, F9, etc.) If you don't see that screen (some systems hide it), then try each of these. Enter the setup, and look for the boot device order somewhere. It will have things like CDRom, HDD01, Floppy, FDD, and the like in the list (but probably not all those things).

Make sure that CDRom is first, and HDD is second. That way if you want to boot from a CD, it will work properly without changing any of the settings. If your floppy drive is ahead of your HDD in the order, and there is a floppy disk in the drive (that is not a system disk), it will not boot, and give you this error.

If this doesn't fix it, then it means that your drive doesn't have system files on it, and you'll have to reformat/reinstall an OS. Generally you can boot from any OS CDRom, and it will start the installation process. A better idea would be to use a friend's computer with the same OS on it to create a System Restore Disk (or whatever it's called). Go into Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs, and look for the System Disk tab at the top.

Boot from this floppy (you'll have to make sure that you've got the floppy disk drive set up as a boot device BEFORE your HDD). Use FDisk to delete the primary DOS partition, then create a new one. REBOOT your computer, then type format c: /s

This should give you a clean Hard Disk with the very basic DOS system files on it. From here, you can use any OS disk to install a new operating system on your computer. It will wipe out all information on your disk drive, and give you a clean start. Be sure your OS install disk works before you do this, or you'll be stuck with a laptop that only runs DOS...

I do this a lot for friends who have messed up their computers beyond repair. It saves a lot of time and frustration to simply wipe the disk and start again. Just make sure that you've got any files you need backed up before you do this.

Good luck, and be sure to post any follow-up questions you may have!

[kevblah]

If you still need help changing password, start up the PC in safe mode.
Username: Administrator and then leave the password blank.
That should log you in with no problems. Then you can change the password or make your own account in the User Accounts control panel.