Can't login after switching from domain to workgroup

Hi,

I have a PC running Windows XP Pro SP3. This PC was originally part of a
Windows 2003 Server domain "OldDomain". When I got this PC, I was still able
to log to the PC in with domain credentials (username = "OldUser"; password =
"OldPassword")

My plan was to remove this PC from the domain and to put it into a
workgroup. I made this change and it worked just how I had hoped - the PC
was now able to share files with the small workgroup that I put it in.
Everything was great until I restarted the PC. Now, I am no longer able to
log in with "OldUser" and "OldPassword". Can anyone tell me if there is
anything I can do? Unfortunately, I do not know any other account / password
combinations that work on the local computer.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Paul


--
Paul Kraemer

Paul Kraemer wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a PC running Windows XP Pro SP3. This PC was originally part of a
> Windows 2003 Server domain "OldDomain". When I got this PC, I was still
> able to log to the PC in with domain credentials (username = "OldUser";
> password = "OldPassword")
>
> My plan was to remove this PC from the domain and to put it into a
> workgroup. I made this change and it worked just how I had hoped - the PC
> was now able to share files with the small workgroup that I put it in.
> Everything was great until I restarted the PC. Now, I am no longer able
> to
> log in with "OldUser" and "OldPassword". Can anyone tell me if there is
> anything I can do? Unfortunately, I do not know any other account /
> password combinations that work on the local computer.

Aside from the fact that it would be smartest to do a clean install of
Windows to remove any Group Policy settings that may be tattooed on the
machine, you would need to know the Local Administrator password to get
into the machine.

Since you don't know that, you can use NTpasswd to change the Local
Administrator password to a blank. Then log into that account and make new
local user accounts, copy data from the old accounts, create new passwords,
etc.

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

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Thank you Malke - that worked great!
--
Paul Kraemer


"Malke" wrote:

> Paul Kraemer wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have a PC running Windows XP Pro SP3. This PC was originally part of a
> > Windows 2003 Server domain "OldDomain". When I got this PC, I was still
> > able to log to the PC in with domain credentials (username = "OldUser";
> > password = "OldPassword")
> >
> > My plan was to remove this PC from the domain and to put it into a
> > workgroup. I made this change and it worked just how I had hoped - the PC
> > was now able to share files with the small workgroup that I put it in.
> > Everything was great until I restarted the PC. Now, I am no longer able
> > to
> > log in with "OldUser" and "OldPassword". Can anyone tell me if there is
> > anything I can do? Unfortunately, I do not know any other account /
> > password combinations that work on the local computer.
>
> Aside from the fact that it would be smartest to do a clean install of
> Windows to remove any Group Policy settings that may be tattooed on the
> machine, you would need to know the Local Administrator password to get
> into the machine.
>
> Since you don't know that, you can use NTpasswd to change the Local
> Administrator password to a blank. Then log into that account and make new
> local user accounts, copy data from the old accounts, create new passwords,
> etc.
>
> http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
>
>