not your usual Windows Password Problem?

Question

Hi There Experts and Gurus,

I've been doing Windows Tech Support for 5 years and I have never ran into a problem like this. Hope some one can help:

Background: I know how to reset (to blank) my Windows Password using third party software, password reset disc. I AM NOT ASKING for help in logging into windows because I can always reset the password to blank and get in.

So here's the "symptoms", hope some body can determine the "problem" and provide a "cure" not merely a temporary "treatment.

1. User (admin) account has password. Password has NOT been changed. Or password has JUST been changed and we KNOW what it is. Suddenly, after logging out or restarting computer, we cannot log in again. You get the usual Password incorrect message. Vista Home Premium even shows the password hint. Yet it will not take the "correct" password.

2. In order to login, I have to "reset" the password, using various methods that are floating around on the internet. The process works ONLY by "blanking" the password. So I can log into Windows...don't give me solution on how to log into windows, please.

3. Once logged into windows, I go about creating a password. I log out, then try to log back in with that password....and guest what "Windows does not recognize it". Neither old or new password works.

3a. So I go thru the password reset methods again, blanking it, and I am able to log in using the blank pw.

3b. I go and create NEW USER. If the NEW USER has BLANK password, I can login with no problem. But if I set a password for the new user account or any account, windows will not recognize the password again.

So does any one see the picture here? I don't have problem getting into my windows because I know how to reset the password by blanking it.

My problem is I DO WANT TO SECURE IT WITH A PASSWORD. But by putting on a password, Windows does not recognize the password afterward to allow access. This problem happens consistently every time a password is created.

So the Solution I am looking for is a FIX, a one-time CURE, to the password problem, so that I do not have to do the password reset every single time.

In other word, SECURITY is an important issue to me, so having a "blank" password is NOT and OPTION.

Why does the password not get recognized? Does it get corrupted some how? What are the fixes?

Too many experts out there are focusing on the "temporary treatment" by telling people how to hack and crack and reset their password, but when the problem reoccurs repeated, no one seems to have an answer to a reliable fix.

My greatest respect to all the gurus out there and all the people who are offering advices and answers. Please consider this a "challenge" for the experts! :)

Answer 1

Sniff. Sniff. I think I smell malware. It's far easier to change a user's password programmatically, even to a random value, than it is to crack it programmatically.



You might want to run some scans, especially in Safe Mode.



Good luck.

Answer 2

I can think of two possible causes off the top of my head.



1. How simple is your password? If your password contains certain special characters (especially ', ", and \), it may silently cause errors.

Depending on how a piece of software sanitizes its input it may "accept" a password with special characters but clean those characters out so that your password is not actually what you entered.

Alternatively, the login prompt itself may sanitize your input and remove those characters making it impossible to log in.



I don't know if Windows does this, but I have encountered it in other systems before.



2. Is something modifying your password files. I don't know off the top of my head where Windows stores its passwords, but they are on a file somewhere (google it to figure out exactly what).

They won't be cleartext (i.e. if your password is "password" it will probably be a hash that looks something like "a65189b41c8845d89e124dfda64154" or similar).

However, it may be possible to examine the file before, during, and after a password change to see if it is being corrupted (perhaps by a faulty hard drive or virus).



Good luck!

Answer 3

sorry,im not a guru nor expert,im a newb technician still learning,actually still in school,on this kinds of stuffs,im just curious about that problem...have you checked in the users and groups settings in the computer management maybe the password change when log in is enabled?

^_^cheers



by the way can you give me a link to where did you find the password eraser thingy^_^

Answer 4

Reset Your Windows Password : http://tinyurl.com/dsSD54hG