Comments on: How to reset a Windows XP or Vista password with Ubuntu

By: miklosh

miklosh — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:49:06 +0000

For those with issues on x64 systems,

Try using the ubuntu-x.xx-desktop-i386.iso to reset passwords. It worked for me.

By: moody_mark

moody_mark — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:53:50 +0000

Worked a treat for me booting from a USB stick running crunchbang linux. I couldnt use the sudo chntpw SAM option but i was able to use the sudo chntpw -u SAM. I tried setting the password which didnt work, but choosing the option to blank the password worked perfectly

Thanks Ubuntucat!

By: Rianav

Rianav — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:08:05 +0000

Hey download the sourcecode and use chntpw.static if you are on xp x64. Cheers.

By: RushKing

RushKing — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:14:04 +0000

As soon as I type “sudo chntpw SAM” I get this:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo chntpw SAM
chntpw version 0.99.5 070923 (decade), (c) Petter N Hagen
openHive(SAM) failed: No such file or directory, trying read-only
openHive(SAM) in fallback RO-mode failed: No such file or directory
closing hive SAM
Unable to open/read a hive, exiting..
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

Can someone help me?

By: Dave52

Dave52 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:06:26 +0000

I just tried this procedure with an old (at this point in time) Ubuntu 8.10 live disc. When I tried to install chntpw using Synaptic, no results were returned from the search. My newer (permanent) Ubuntu system’s package manager was able to find chntpw, however.

I tried a couple of other searches, and was about to manually edit the repository list files when it occurred to me to try apt-get. I opened a terminal window and entered

sudo apt-get install chntpw

and it was able to locate and install the program. (Apparently chntpw was there but had been deselected). When I mounted my XP partition and ran chntpw to blank out my own account’s password it worked like a charm.

So, if Synaptic doesn’t find the package, try going into a terminal and using apt-get (you’re going to need to open a terminal window anyway).

Thanks!

By: Ryan K

Ryan K — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:46:28 +0000

Ok, fixed. User error, as normal. Got all the way to the use of the chntpw. it gives me 5 options, and the first says to blank the password. I chose 1. then accepted all the prompts, and backed out. When I reloaded XP, it still said my password was in effect. it didn’t work. I’ve tried it three times now and I can’t get it to work. It doesnt look the same as what you have pictured, but it still tried to implement. not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I am a lowly Windows user, not a linux ninja, and all I can do is look around and beg help.

By: Ryan K

Ryan K — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:30:50 +0000

Hey. Brand newbie. Just downloaded Ubuntu, because a friend told me I could do this. But I can’t find chntpw. I tried searching for it, but nothing is around. Help! Computer fubar at the moment! Need this to work!

By: BUGS

BUGS — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:51:27 +0000

This is really superb thing,
thank you very much.

By: saejin

saejin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:26:07 +0000

I got in to chntpw and tried to readd the password. It is now blank so it seems I can not readd the password. please advise…

By: saejin

saejin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:55:01 +0000

Did the procedure on xp, deleting the administrator password. All seemed to work well, but some recent patch on xp will not allow a administrator account to not have a password. It ends the process during login and puts me back to the login screen. I then tried to go back in, and give the account a know password. The hard disk is no longer mounting, and I do not see the device. advise?