Hellllllpppppppp!!!!!!

I am getting a load of grief at home because the laptop has suddenly decided to not let us log in to the main admin account “The User Profile Service failed the logon” I have googled and googled and tried the restore option but it tells me there are no restore points so can’t do that. Completely flummoxed and my wife has a document she was working on trapped in there somewhere.

Also, we can still use the kids log in.

Remove the drive from the laptop, put it into a USB caddy and connect to another PC. Retrieve the document, receive favours.

Once you’ve got that safe, you can then fix the underlying issue, which appears to be done as per this doc:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/3495216/how-fix-corrupt-user-profile-in-windows-7-vista/

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/change-your-forgotten-windows-password-with-the-linux-system-rescue-cd/

Although that’s typically for forgotten passwords.

atp, that one won’t work as I know the password. Thanks for trying though.

tw, will probably need to do that I think, will have a look for a USB caddy ont interweb. Thank you

Can you log on using safe mode?

You can still use the Boot CD in the link allthepies posted. Boot the machine using it and you will be able to access the file system. Which will allow you to copy the files off to a USB drive.

Can you not browse the contents of the drive from the other log in?

Even if you know the password you set, still worth trying the reset as the password recorded by the system may have somehow been changed/corrupted, and the reset _may_ fix that.

This.

Can’t remember where Vista stores each users environment/documents etc.

Try navigating to c:\Users and seeing if your user account is under there, if so then navigate through that folder to find your desktop/docs and settings etc.

Tried the users option, found the admin log in and it asked for the admin password which wasn’t accepted. I am wondering now if the children may possibly have done something while trying to guess my password? Maybe the option from apj may work.

As above: take out drive, pop in a caddy and back up all that you need documents wise.
Then purchase windows 7 or copy of Ubuntu. Leave Vista behind.

So now reset yours and the admin account password using this password reset util. The util can be burnt on to CD or just put onto a USB stick (boot from either).
Once running follow the prompts and most choices are only a matter of confirming the default option in most cases (it’s not a scary as it may sound) or reading through the info provided (there a lot of stuff appears that irrelevant – just read the current line asking a question)

If you want to go for the “fun” option of finding out the password rather than just resetting it, try Ophcrack:

http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php

The livecd for Vista option is probably best/simplest since it includes the “tables” (huge data files) used for the cracking.

Doesn’t always work (I would guess a 90% success rate) but when it does it usually gets the password back in < 10 mins.

Arggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh got the cradle thingy and attached hard drive to another computer and lo and behold it asks for the admin password which it doesn’t accept as per the bloody puter I am trying to fix. Ffs!

You attached it as a second drive…?

Yes, well I think so, it said new device found

Don’t boot from the drive just view it from “My Computer” and go from there

Yup, did that as well hammy. It might be he fact it’s a work laptop I am trying to use and there could be admin rights on there that I don’t have access to. I have now reconnected it to the old laptop and now I can’t even get the damn thing to boot up properly let alone attempt to put a password in.

My vista has been doing that for a few months now and I am pretty sure you can still access the files from other profiles as others have said.

Unfortunately Mark when I try that it asks fort he admin password and won’t accept what I know is correct, it’s closet to flying through a window

Right-click / properties / owner / advanced / take ownership. (Or something like that anyway)

Ok it’s sort of sorted. I think I tight have been a security issue with my work laptop so I tried the wife’s mac air book and we got it open no problem. We just need to buy a new PC now.

Thanks for all the help, we got there in the end 🙂