Ok, so you say you forgot your Windows administrator’s password, huh? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter if you did or you just say you did. The fact is that you need to gain access to a computer and you cannot "remember" the administrator’s password.
How can you get out of this situation without formatting and re-installing the operating system?
Well, you can always try to remember the login password, or if that doesn’t work (you wouldn’t be sitting here reading my crap if you did remember, would you?) you can restore a backed up System State (in W2K DC) or a ERD (in NT 4.0) in which you do remember the password. The problem with doing so is that you’ll probably lose all of the recently add users and groups, and all the changed passwords for all of your users since the last backup was made.
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ISO files are actually images of complete CDs compiles as one whole image, just like Ghost does for hard disks and partitions. ISO images can be loaded into several different CD recording software packages to create CDs.
Because of changes in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows XP-based computers that use a leaked product key that is known to be available to the general public may not be able to install SP1 or automatically obtain updates from the Windows Update Web site. For an easy and quick method of obtaining your own CD Key please read Quickly Retrieve Windows CD Key.
There are two (legal) methods that you can use to change the product key with volume licensing media after installation. You can use either the Windows Activation Wizard graphical user interface (GUI) or a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) script.
Sometimes you might need to retrieve the CD Key used to install Windows in order to find out if it’s legally purchased, or just for safe keeping. I usually find myself in that position whenever I’m at a client’s location, trying to see if the copy of Windows 2000 he’s using is indeed legally registered. Luckily for us, some programs exist that can help you do just that – retrieve license information from the registry, and allow you to copy it for safekeeping or for documentation purposes.
You can download the Windows 2000 Resource Kit software tools listed on this page for free and install them on your computer. These utilities can help you streamline administrative tasks such as managing Active Directory, administering security features, working with Group Policy and Terminal Services, automating application deployment, and other important jobs. Nearly 300 such tools are included on the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit companion CD.
Memory tweaking is an important part of the System Administrator’s responsibilities. Having too much memory won’t hurt you, but this is something we cannot expect to have all the time. This page will give you some working tips on memory management for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Yes! First, download the IE6 SP1 setup program from HERE (481kb basic setup program. The full IE package might go as high as ~44mb depending upon your selection). This tip will let you customize the d/l parameters.
When you run the Windows XP Professional Setup program, you must provide information about how to install and configure the operating system. Thorough planning can make your installation of Windows XP Professional more efficient by helping you to avoid potential problems during installation. An understanding of the configuration options will also help to ensure that you have properly configured your system.
I won’t go into that part right now but here are some of the most important things you should take into consideration when planning for your XP installation:
Check System Requirements
Check Hardware and Software Compatibility
Determine Disk Partitioning Options
Choose the Appropriate File System: FAT, FAT32, NTFS
Decide on a Workgroup or Domain Installation
Complete a Pre-Installation Checklist
After you made sure you can go on, start the installation process.
First make sure you read and understand Active Directory Installation Requirements. If you don’t comply with all the requirements of that article you will not be able to set up your AD (for example: you don’t have a NIC or you’re using a computer that’s not connected to a LAN).
Note: This article is only good for understanding how to install the FIRST DC in a NEW AD Domain, in a NEW TREE, in a NEW FOREST. Meaning – don’t do it for any other scenario, such as a new replica DC in an existing domain. In order to install a Windows Server 2003 DC in an EXISTING Windows 2000 Domain follow the Windows 2003 ADPrep tip.