Does anyone around here know how you can remove a user's password in Windows 7 (or the entire user) if you don't have access to that user's account or the admin account? I work at an Ebay company and some people have the minds to sell us computers without removing their passwords, which makes them unusable. I managed to crack a few by booting another OS and brute forcing the hashes in "C:/Windows/System32/config", but I wasn't able to get the passwords on every machine with the tables I had. Besides getting a clean install of Windows 7 (which I'll probably end up having to do anyways, if we can get a hold of some install disks), is there anyway to remove the user's password or the entire user? I tried deleting the the user's folder in "C:/Users/$NAME$" as well as some things in "C:/Windows/System32/config", but to no avail. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks for the webpage helios. That's all the stuff I previously tried though.
Duoas, I don't really expect to access their data, only to get into Windows so the computer can actually be used. Whatever they kept on there I would remove anyways. I guess we'll just have to wait until we can get some install disks to reset the ones I couldn't crack.
It's easier to just jump in a Ubuntu live CD (or really and distro you prefer) and pass windows immediately. Then you can get all the data with the notable exception of encrypted ones.
Sorry no, I didn't read the thread all the way down. I hadn't realized that you did not have windows to install in the first place, so obviously you can't migrate to a new account (cause it requires a fresh install)
If all ethics are left aside, cause you really shouldn't, is that a lot of people like to save their passwords in a browser. In most cases these passwords do not differ from the machine login.
Some 6 years ago I used to have Windows MiniPE, which was a "light" version of Windows XP that was loaded with a bunch of utilities. One in particular allowed you to reset the Admin password and even create users and such. If you can get a copy of Windows MiniPE, you could attempt to crack the Windows 7 installation.
I must tell you, though, that you do this at your own risk. I used it twice: Once in XP and once in Windows Server 2003. It worked both times.
You can use the free tables or buy the paid ones which I imagine are more extensive (if you are so inclined, you may also be able to find them for free on "the privateer cove").
If you're doing this for a company, you should realise that the Windows license is not transferable. This means in practice that when a Windows computer is sold, it should be relicenced.
Sorry for the late reply guys. I was on a 2 week backpacking trip in the mountains of New Mexico. Thanks for all the ideas, I'll get this fixed for sure.