How to circumvent 'SysKey' system password block

John Boscoe Eames - SysKey Scam

Hi Elizabeth
Thanks for your response. I Should have made it clear; can't get to the Start position,
Computer is blocked as soon as I switch it on. Scammed by a telephone call from an Asian sounding guy, took control and corrupted the PC (Old Dell using Windows XP) when I wouldn't pay $300.
John
 
have you tried a Hiren's boot cd to see if you can access your drive, to get your data off and then you can reinstall xp??

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Why don't you see if you can restore your computer to two (or three) days ago prior to the incident.

If you can't login, see if you can boot in Safe Mode with Command Prompt and if you can get to a Command Prompt, you can run your XP System Restore from there by entering this command:

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Choose a date prior to the incident and keep your fingers and toes crossed.

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above is from here

read all replies from A. User.

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if that thread does not help, then read from this search page

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let me know if you still need help afterwards.
 
Courtesy of Jose Ibarra
Make yourself a Hiren's Boot CD which you can download from here:

http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete bit it is worth it. Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.

Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.

In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it, but I have never used it and prefer to use ImgBurn.

If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:

http://www.imgburn.com/

When installing ImgBurn, DO NOT install anything from UniBlue or the Ask toolbar (never install the ASK toolbar for anything).

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.

These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.

One way to check the disk for errors is to open My Computer and right click your afflicted drive and choose Properties, Tools, Error-checking, Check Now... put a check mark in both the boxes and then Start.

Sometimes that doesn't work, so you can also click Start, Run and in the box enter:

cmd

Click OK to open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command (assuming XP is installed on your C drive)

chkdsk c: /r

This disk checking can take a long time (perhaps several to many hours) depending on the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what the disk checking finds to do.
Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.

Depending on the the speed of your system, the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what chkdsk finds to do, it may take a long time for chkdsk with error correction to complete (several to many hours) or it may appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something so don't interrupt it. It will finish eventually one way or the other. Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress. It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

You may have to run the chkdsk c: /r more than once.

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http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxpclean1.htm
With pictures of clean install
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-xp/help/setup/install-windows-xp
http://www.windowsxphome.windowsreinstall.com/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm
http://www.blackviper.com/os-install-guides/windows-xp-professional-install-guide/
http://tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm
Clean installs of XP sites
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make sure you have the drivers downloaded to a flash drive to install after installing the os, and windows updates will not work without sp3, so you will have to download that and you could slipstream it into your install cd.

what is the make, model and model number of your dell?
 
Tried everything now to unblock 'Syskey' scam, but no good; thanks anyway. So how do I
re-install Windows XP from scratch on my old Dell Dimension 2400?
John B E.
 
follow the steps in the links of my last reply on reinstalling xp

go to the dell website, insert your service tag and download all the necessary drivers

go to the microsoft download center and download sp3

set the bios to boot from the cd drive first, and start your installation

do a full format , not a quick format

once os is installed install the dell drivers in a certain order:

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN148687/EN

http://www.dell.com/support/Article/us/en/19/SLN155406/EN
above is a link on reinstalling on a dell

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN151785/en

above is a link on how to get your dell drivers

let me know if you have further questions
 
john boscoe eames said:
Anyone know how to circumvent 'SysKey' system password block?
John
Click to expand...

Elizabeth
I am getting lots of suggestions how to free my PC from a 'syskey' block but they are all assuming that I can get to the 'Start' position. I CAN'T! Everything I try results in the Syskey Password demand which of course I don't know. Can I assume that there is NO
way round this problem?

John
 
I thought you had wanted to reinstall the os???

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SysKey encryption is a little-known feature of Windows which allows administrators to lock out access to the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) registry hive so that login specifics cannot be stolen and the PC cannot be accessed without knowing the proper credentials. The problem is, unlike other scams, there is no way around the problem; you can’t simply remove the password, as the actual SAM hive has been encrypted entirely by the process. If your Windows installation has had SysKey activated, you’ll see the following message:
Click to expand...

from here
 
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