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lsass.exe problems and Windows XP password problems


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#1
Leo74

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Hi, I have a problem with my brother's Dell laptop. I started his computer one evening, but it took too long to boot up. Therefore, I did a hard shutdown (pressed the power button until the computer turned off). Well, he tried to turn on the computer the next day and he got the blue screen of death with an error message I cannot remember. So, I tried to use his Reinstall Windows XP Home Edition SP1 CD, but at the time I didn't know that I needed to configure BIOS to read from the CD drive. So, I went to Microsoft Q310994 article to obtain the 6 set Windows XP Setup Boot Disks (SP2). Once installed, I gained access to the recovery console and proceed to attempt to fix his computer. Well, when I restarted his computer I get this message:
"System error: Lsass.exe
When trying to update a password the return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct."
Then my machine restarts and tries again, and again and again.....

I finally figured out that if I change the BIOS to read from the CD drive, I could run the reinstall CD. The problem I come up to with that method is that
when I select the "R" option to get to the recovery console it asks for the administrator password. He had no password and when I used the floppy disks I never entered a password (I just pressed ENTER);however, when I hit ENTER (no password) it tells me that the password is not valid and to please retype the password. It gives me 3 attempts then I have to go back to windows where I go back to square 1. I tried using the floppy disks, but I come across the same problem aforementioned. Does anyone have a way to fix the problem?
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#2
The Skeptic

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Did your brother perform the original XP installation by himself? What you are required to enter is THE administrator password which is entered (or not) at the installation of XP. Try to boot the computer you are writing from in safe mode and when reaching the login screen you will see that one of the accounts is called Administrator. If a password was written there and you don't know it then there is not much that we can do to help.
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#3
Leo74

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Unfortunately, no. It was an OEM installation. I cannot access the computer through safe mode because of the lsass.exe system error. I am totally crippled because I cannot do anything with the computer. I either run into the lsass.exe system error or the administrator password error. He never had an administrator password. It was left in its default state (BLANK). When I ran the Windows XP SP2 Setup Boot disks, that password worked. Once I tried to fix the computer in the Recovery Console and restart it again, I got the lsass.exe system error, which prevents me from gaining access to my computer. Then, I decided that maybe I should go into the Recovery Console again to look at some stuff, but I can't do that either because its asking for an administrator password that doesn't exist.
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#4
The Skeptic

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Please look at this article from Microsoft.
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#5
Leo74

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I did, but my brother's reinstallation CD has Windows XP Service Pack 1, which supposedly has the fix, but I keep coming up with the same problem. Does the reinstallation CD have the Q308402 hotfix that this article describes or do I need to call Microsoft. I'm actually scared of being charged money for the hotfix.
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#6
The Skeptic

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Looks like a serious problem that you have. All the solutions offered by Microsoft are for computers which can be boot into XP. Yours is a double problem; the inability to enter Recovery Console because of the password and the lsass.exe which in itself is not too easy to fix, quite often.

I see no other solution then clear format but please wait, other people may have different ideas.
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#7
Leo74

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Ok, I got a problem here. I have the hotfix in a floppy disk as an executable. How can I switch over to the CD-ROM drive to run the recovery console from the reinstallation CD?
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#8
The Skeptic

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I don't know. My impression is that you must install the hotfix into an xp running computer. In your case I don't see hoe you can use the hotfix.
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#9
Leo74

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Yeah, I think your right. It just doesn't read the executable file. Is it a hopeless case?
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#10
Leo74

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Anybody else have any ideas on how I can fix this problem?
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