Hid the admin account

#1 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 07:17 AM

I hid the admin account in Vista thinking I could just hit ctrl-alt-del and be greeted at the login screen with the option to enter the username... this didn't turn out to be the case. Stupid me. :huh:

The method I used involved editing the registry to hide the account.

Booting in safe mode to get the hidden "master" admin account doesn't work because Vista knows about the admin account that I hid. This method only works if you deleted the admin account.

Is there is a back door way of editing the registry or deleting the admin account that I hid (so that I can try the safe mode method)? Or any other suggestions?

#2 RTCTech1

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 11:07 AM

Here you go:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...-windows-vista/

#3 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 12:21 PM

Thanks for replying.

But I knew people would get confused about this. I'll try explaining again...

When you install Vista, the account created is an admin account. This is different from the "Built-in Administrator Account" (from the article posted).

The account created during the install was the one I hid.

Right now if I perform anything that requires the UAC, I'm unable to enter the admin un/pw since the Admin account is hidden. The account also doesn't show up at the welcome screen... since it's hidden.

So I'm basically locked out of the computer that requires any admin privileges.

I hope this makes more sense. When I get home I'll post a screen shot of the UAC... maybe it will make more sense.

#4 RTCTech1

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 12:33 PM

replace the "administrator" after the word user with whatever user name the account is.

#5 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 01:15 PM

According to the article I have to run the command prompt as an admin which I can't do. :huh:

#6 RTCTech1

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 01:23 PM

Ahh gotcha. Ok, use the NT Password removal tool to enable the Account/ remove the password. Even if you just remove the password you'll be able to continue.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/ download and burn it to a CD (it's the .iso) and follow the on-screen instructions. You will have to boot to CD, it works outside of the os.

If you need any help with the program, just ask!

#7 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 01:54 PM

I'm not sure if this is going to work either. The UAC is blank (the account is hidden) so I can't even enter/select a username.

I'm just at work right now... but this is basically what the uac looks like...

Posted Image

I think I've really put myself in a pickle.

#8 RTCTech1

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 01:58 PM

If your not at home, you'll have to wait. That program is designed to run pre-os so it can access the hashes to make the necessary changes to they system. Once you download the .iso, burn it to a disc using a program like UltraISO to make it a bootable disc. Slap that bad boy into your tray and make magic happen!

#9 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 07:31 PM

For what ever reason that program can't detect ntsf drives. :huh:

I also tried the pw and reg editors on the Hiren's boot cd that I have... no go there either. :huh:

#10 RTCTech1

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Posted 24 September 2009 - 11:42 PM

Try this please:

Boot completely to Vista, and do a complete shut down, with the disk in the tray. Boot up directly to the disk, make sure you READ Everything, the option on there are default and will work, you don't have to put in anything until the "Choose Option" menu (choose the "Password editing" tool) and go from there. There is a guide on the site with more of a walk through.

#11 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 25 September 2009 - 08:07 AM

Thanks for all of your help btw. :huh:

I'm at work again. But last night I choose all the default options.

The program detected two partitions (the windows partition and the other smaller one that I forget what it's for). Selecting either partition (just incase) I received that "no ntfs" error, and was unable to proceed from there.

I'll do as you suggest and learn more about the program though. I'll report back on how it goes later tonight.

#12 johnfernandez

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Posted 25 September 2009 - 08:09 AM

the administrator account in windows vista is disabled by default
the account when disabled can only be accesed when entering safe mode
if you enabled the administrator account it would appear on the welcome screen as if it were any normal account......

#13 MrMeatLoaf

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Posted 25 September 2009 - 02:02 PM

johnfernandez, on Sep 25 2009, 09:09 AM, said:

Thanks for the reply. :huh:

I know of the "master" admin account that is disabled. However, the first account that gets created during the install is an admin account. This is the one I hid.

At the welcome screen or the uac, this admin account that I hid does not appear. I am unable to enter a username at any point.

When booting into safe mode, vista still knows about the admin account that I hid. So I'm unable to use the "master" admin account since it's only accessible if there are no admin accounts. :huh: