linuxgeek: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Forgotten Root/User passwords, next steps please?

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Joan Leach wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> This is for a friend's Toshiba laptop WinXP + PcLinuxOS LXDE 2009
> install, I know the tools for the Window's side, but I'm trying to
> figure out the Un-Shadow, word list, and if Tom's is the way to go.
> I think I have a Backdoor Live CD, but I haven't used it yet, and
> would feel better trying it out on a test PC instead of his laptop.
>
> Or should I just use Puppy and copy off what he hasn't backed up, and
> redo his Linux install again?
>

Whenever I do any work on another person's machine, transferring a copy
of their /home directory (or the Windows equivalent) to another machine
(or CD's, DVD's, HD or other storage device, it the first thing I do...
unless the owner of the machine tells me explicitly, to discard their data.

Puppy Linux is good. I just recently burned a Puppy CD for a client
whose Windows XP install had gone south... Registry irrecoverably
trashed... and I was extremely happy with Puppy, overall.

It runs well, right off the CD, it found the HD partitions without any
problem at all, and it found my LAN w/o any trouble, permitting me to
transfer the clients files to another machine.

It runs so well off the CD, that the client has not bothered to even
install Puppy onto the HD.

I burned it just to use for a repair CD, but from my brief experience, I
think it might actually work out well on my laptop. I already have 3
distros installed on the laptop, so I would probably just run it from
the CD.

Lost root passwords can usually be replaced by booting via Linus single
mode:

http://www.linuxforums.org/articles/howto-recover-root-password_54.html

There are quite a few useful password crackers/removers for Windows
operating system, that can be downloaded for free. A quick Google should
bring up a long list.

- --
- -wittig
http://www.robertwittig.com/
http://robertwittig.net/
http://robertwittig.org/
.
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