More Network Password Issues

Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07, and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator" locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder. Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting, and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I work in a school environment as well. If you are working in a public
school like I am then it is well worth formatting and reinstalling Windows 98
especially if it is 98 Second Edition. I have a plan that will still take a
while to come to being about having a tri-source code based on Windows 9x
technology, Windows NT technology and Open Source technology. Who knows
maybe Apple will be willing to put some of their technology into the venture
too but I doubt it. In addition, our primary machines are XP Professional
that are so much more annoying then 98SE. The reason being is that people
have hacked their way through the remote access points and plant viruses,
spyware, adware, trojans, etc. At my current school there is even a case of
a fraudulent account that was set up in someone else's name and is a classic
case of identity theft. The person has been notified and changed all their
passwords and is on the alert for any potential problems. The name was
exactly her name and she worked for the school district for 11 years. I tell
you Chris Quirke, MVP knows his stuff and hopefully he will comment about the
dangers and problems of remote access. If not then google his name and he
has a blog with lots of wonderful information to help IT people. How is the
start of school for you. It is really rough on my end. I worked a 10 hour
day a few days ago and there is still so much work to be done on the computer
network that was basically unmanned during the summer.

"Jay" wrote:

Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting, and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I don't know the answer to your question, I'm simply not knowledgeable about
domain-controlled 9x machines and group policies. But I suspect, since you
can't apparently take full control of the machines, that until you figure
that out, you won't be able deal with the other issues. Other than the
references you already have, all I can suggest is that you go to MVP Doug
Knox's site and look at his methods for locking down a 98 machine, to give
you possible hints on how to undo that. Go to www.dougknox.com and click on
the Security link at left. Still, as I said, if you can't get into or around
the Administrator account, you won't likely accomplish much, and those
machines are specifically set up to prevent that. It's a closed loop. You
need the admin account to undo the GPOS, but you can't get into it until you
get rid of at least a few of those same GPOs. (Is there no way to obtain the
admin password from the previous owner? Hmmm... There ARE password breaking
utilities around that might get you in.)

Given thirty machines, I could reformat and reinstall Windows and apps in a
couple of days (or one really long one.) There's a lot of time during these
procedures that is "hands-off". Just start one, let it run, start another,
let it run, etc. You can speed things up if you use something like BootIt NG
(BING) to repartition and reformat, since BING can do a "quick format", one
that does not include a thorough scandisk. Ask, if you want more info on the
use of BING.

If they are all the same hardware, I could do it even faster (or at least
easier) by setting up one machine, then imaging the drive and cloning the
rest from that image. Once you're done, even if it takes two or three days,
most if not all of your problems go away. I'd call that good time management
if these machines are going to be used for an academic year. Might take you
as long per machine to undo the way they're set up now, if that's even
possible.

(Thought -- How old are these kids? If they're old enough, I'd be tempted to
get one or two, or more, to help.)

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when
they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone
machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're
not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting,
and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had
me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all
these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to
the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a
few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll
run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going
to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old
Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but
they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing
at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install
some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings,
I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

"Jay" wrote in message
...
| Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
| networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when
they
| moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone
machines,
| for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're
not
| really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting,
and
| they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had
me
| set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all
these
| silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to
the
| usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
| distractions.
|
| I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
| but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
| can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
| believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
| still are...
|
| Thanks again,
| Jay

Okay, your not going to like this much.

Fom what you have indicated here, the computers have apparently had Policy
Editor used upon them [or something similar].
This is and was the SOP applied upon networked computers which needed to be
protected from users modifying settings, hacking/messing up the computer, or
otherwise interferring with the other segments of the network. If this was
not important to the school, one could try the often failing manual removal
of user access policies, and some registration modifications. I do NOT
recommend this at this point.

FIRST - Search through the disks and materials left by the old
administrator / IT person. You're looking for the administator's policy
[logon] and password. A good administrator would have created a separate
administrative disk and *system hook* [policy] for access. The problem may
be, that the systems were to be re-configured/administered over the network
interface, which no longer exists.

IF [emphasis] you can find these [and were not to be applied over the
network], you can back out of [remove] the policies/restrictions, thereby
returning the computers to normal access [or less restrictive modified
access].

OTOH, if there is a local person familiar with the Windows registry and its
modification, and who is able to competently create a "reset" disk from the
registry entries [exported areas], files [removal/modifications], and other
required aspects; you may be able to return the computers to a more
acceptable access status. Perhaps someone in your locality might offer their
time and experiance to the school for free. Check with the PTA, Board,
computer group, or other like, to see if someone might help with the
situation.

As another potential: there are several parties here which, perhaps, ARE
capable of directing you through the process, however, that success would
depend upon your ability to supply *exactly* what they needed, and could
apply that direction, *exactly* as presented. That would, perhaps, be beyond
the scope of this forum/discussion, and better handled via email and
transfer of files.

Others may have differring opinions of course.

|
| "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:
|
| I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
| reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a
few
| problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll
run
| into while using those machines.
|
| If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what
are
| their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going
to
| distribute them to others?
|
| --
| Gary S. Terhune
| MS-MVP Shell/User
| www.grystmill.com
|
| "Jay" wrote in message
| ...
| Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started
07/21/07,
| and
| not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old
Win98
| machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but
they
| keep
| asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or
nothing at
| all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
| saying
| that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
| locked
| out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
| asking
| for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install
some
| software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
| directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings,
I
| get
| a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
| Also,
| on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver
and
| passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.
|
| Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
|
| Thanks,
|
|
|

--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
________

Hey, Dan. Thanks to you (and everyone else) for writing back. This bad
situation just seems to be going from bad to worse in a hurry...

Anyway, I'd love to trade emails, goofy stories about the fun of technology
in the public schools, maybe even get into more specifics of this issue, but
I don't want to hijack the thread here. If you get a chance, drop me a line
to
.

Thanks again...at this point I'm going to get the IT people at the district
involved. They've kind of washed their hands of anything lower than XP, but
maybe they can conjure up an old password or something.

"Dan" wrote:

I work in a school environment as well. If you are working in a public
school like I am then it is well worth formatting and reinstalling Windows 98
especially if it is 98 Second Edition. I have a plan that will still take a
while to come to being about having a tri-source code based on Windows 9x
technology, Windows NT technology and Open Source technology. Who knows
maybe Apple will be willing to put some of their technology into the venture
too but I doubt it. In addition, our primary machines are XP Professional
that are so much more annoying then 98SE. The reason being is that people
have hacked their way through the remote access points and plant viruses,
spyware, adware, trojans, etc. At my current school there is even a case of
a fraudulent account that was set up in someone else's name and is a classic
case of identity theft. The person has been notified and changed all their
passwords and is on the alert for any potential problems. The name was
exactly her name and she worked for the school district for 11 years. I tell
you Chris Quirke, MVP knows his stuff and hopefully he will comment about the
dangers and problems of remote access. If not then google his name and he
has a blog with lots of wonderful information to help IT people. How is the
start of school for you. It is really rough on my end. I worked a 10 hour
day a few days ago and there is still so much work to be done on the computer
network that was basically unmanned during the summer.

"Jay" wrote:

Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting, and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Don't let the IT guys fool you and the reason that they don't think much of
98SE is that it is old but mainly because it will not allow them to have the
remote access that they want and can get with XP Professional. Feel Free to
write me at . Please just remove the sky. I will wait
for your email since this is your issue and not my issue. Also, folks please
don't post about me giving a valid email address because I have done this
before and I take proper security precautions such as reading in plain text
and not opening untrusted attachments.

"Jay" wrote:

Hey, Dan. Thanks to you (and everyone else) for writing back. This bad
situation just seems to be going from bad to worse in a hurry...

Anyway, I'd love to trade emails, goofy stories about the fun of technology
in the public schools, maybe even get into more specifics of this issue, but
I don't want to hijack the thread here. If you get a chance, drop me a line
to
.

Thanks again...at this point I'm going to get the IT people at the district
involved. They've kind of washed their hands of anything lower than XP, but
maybe they can conjure up an old password or something.

"Dan" wrote:

I work in a school environment as well. If you are working in a public
school like I am then it is well worth formatting and reinstalling Windows 98
especially if it is 98 Second Edition. I have a plan that will still take a
while to come to being about having a tri-source code based on Windows 9x
technology, Windows NT technology and Open Source technology. Who knows
maybe Apple will be willing to put some of their technology into the venture
too but I doubt it. In addition, our primary machines are XP Professional
that are so much more annoying then 98SE. The reason being is that people
have hacked their way through the remote access points and plant viruses,
spyware, adware, trojans, etc. At my current school there is even a case of
a fraudulent account that was set up in someone else's name and is a classic
case of identity theft. The person has been notified and changed all their
passwords and is on the alert for any potential problems. The name was
exactly her name and she worked for the school district for 11 years. I tell
you Chris Quirke, MVP knows his stuff and hopefully he will comment about the
dangers and problems of remote access. If not then google his name and he
has a blog with lots of wonderful information to help IT people. How is the
start of school for you. It is really rough on my end. I worked a 10 hour
day a few days ago and there is still so much work to be done on the computer
network that was basically unmanned during the summer.

"Jay" wrote:

Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting, and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started 07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Very well put, MEB.

"MEB" wrote:


"Jay" wrote in message
...
| Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used to be
| networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network when
they
| moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone
machines,
| for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc. They're
not
| really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and reformatting,
and
| they're not going to be around much longer. The school administration had
me
| set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are all
these
| silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the kids to
the
| usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
| distractions.
|
| I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the registry,
| but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick thing I
| can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's hard to
| believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think" they
| still are...
|
| Thanks again,
| Jay

Okay, your not going to like this much.

Fom what you have indicated here, the computers have apparently had Policy
Editor used upon them [or something similar].
This is and was the SOP applied upon networked computers which needed to be
protected from users modifying settings, hacking/messing up the computer, or
otherwise interferring with the other segments of the network. If this was
not important to the school, one could try the often failing manual removal
of user access policies, and some registration modifications. I do NOT
recommend this at this point.

FIRST - Search through the disks and materials left by the old
administrator / IT person. You're looking for the administator's policy
[logon] and password. A good administrator would have created a separate
administrative disk and *system hook* [policy] for access. The problem may
be, that the systems were to be re-configured/administered over the network
interface, which no longer exists.

IF [emphasis] you can find these [and were not to be applied over the
network], you can back out of [remove] the policies/restrictions, thereby
returning the computers to normal access [or less restrictive modified
access].

OTOH, if there is a local person familiar with the Windows registry and its
modification, and who is able to competently create a "reset" disk from the
registry entries [exported areas], files [removal/modifications], and other
required aspects; you may be able to return the computers to a more
acceptable access status. Perhaps someone in your locality might offer their
time and experiance to the school for free. Check with the PTA, Board,
computer group, or other like, to see if someone might help with the
situation.

As another potential: there are several parties here which, perhaps, ARE
capable of directing you through the process, however, that success would
depend upon your ability to supply *exactly* what they needed, and could
apply that direction, *exactly* as presented. That would, perhaps, be beyond
the scope of this forum/discussion, and better handled via email and
transfer of files.

Others may have differring opinions of course.

|
| "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:
|
| I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY recommend
| reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run into a
few
| problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems you'll
run
| into while using those machines.
|
| If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network, what
are
| their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you going
to
| distribute them to others?
|
| --
| Gary S. Terhune
| MS-MVP Shell/User
| www.grystmill.com
|
| "Jay" wrote in message
| ...
| Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started
07/21/07,
| and
| not having any success with those suggestions. I have several old
Win98
| machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones, but
they
| keep
| asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or
nothing at
| all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network days
| saying
| that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous "administrator"
| locked
| out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing from
| asking
| for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or install
some
| software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without going
| directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then Settings,
I
| get
| a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this folder.
| Also,
| on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels screensaver
and
| passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.
|
| Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
|
| Thanks,
|
|
|

--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
________

Just because you "take proper...precautions" doesn't mean anything. It's the
*amount* of SPAM that's the issue. SPAM filters are only so effective. At
some point, you either have to let too much pass or use a pure whitelist
method, one that I find to be incredibly inconvenient.

Oh well, it's easy to munge an address, but that's your choice. Just know
that the more you do it, the chances of ending up on several mailing lists
increase dramatically.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Don't let the IT guys fool you and the reason that they don't think much
of
98SE is that it is old but mainly because it will not allow them to have
the
remote access that they want and can get with XP Professional. Feel Free
to
write me at . Please just remove the sky. I will
wait
for your email since this is your issue and not my issue. Also, folks
please
don't post about me giving a valid email address because I have done this
before and I take proper security precautions such as reading in plain
text
and not opening untrusted attachments.

"Jay" wrote:

Hey, Dan. Thanks to you (and everyone else) for writing back. This bad
situation just seems to be going from bad to worse in a hurry...

Anyway, I'd love to trade emails, goofy stories about the fun of
technology
in the public schools, maybe even get into more specifics of this issue,
but
I don't want to hijack the thread here. If you get a chance, drop me a
line
to
.

Thanks again...at this point I'm going to get the IT people at the
district
involved. They've kind of washed their hands of anything lower than XP,
but
maybe they can conjure up an old password or something.

"Dan" wrote:

I work in a school environment as well. If you are working in a public
school like I am then it is well worth formatting and reinstalling
Windows 98
especially if it is 98 Second Edition. I have a plan that will still
take a
while to come to being about having a tri-source code based on Windows
9x
technology, Windows NT technology and Open Source technology. Who
knows
maybe Apple will be willing to put some of their technology into the
venture
too but I doubt it. In addition, our primary machines are XP
Professional
that are so much more annoying then 98SE. The reason being is that
people
have hacked their way through the remote access points and plant
viruses,
spyware, adware, trojans, etc. At my current school there is even a
case of
a fraudulent account that was set up in someone else's name and is a
classic
case of identity theft. The person has been notified and changed all
their
passwords and is on the alert for any potential problems. The name was
exactly her name and she worked for the school district for 11 years.
I tell
you Chris Quirke, MVP knows his stuff and hopefully he will comment
about the
dangers and problems of remote access. If not then google his name and
he
has a blog with lots of wonderful information to help IT people. How
is the
start of school for you. It is really rough on my end. I worked a 10
hour
day a few days ago and there is still so much work to be done on the
computer
network that was basically unmanned during the summer.

"Jay" wrote:

Thanks for writing back. These machines are in a school. They used
to be
networked, but the district de-commissioned them from the network
when they
moved to XP. Now, they're all in a room being used as stand-alone
machines,
for students to run tutorial programs, do word processing, etc.
They're not
really worth the trouble of doing major reinstallation and
reformatting, and
they're not going to be around much longer. The school
administration had me
set them up for this year for some tutorial programs, but there are
all these
silly details cropping up. My goal is to just be able to get the
kids to the
usual Windows 98 desktop with no passwords or extra steps or other
distractions.

I saw a couple of KB articles dealing with this problem and the
registry,
but haven't read them in detail. Is there just some kind of quick
thing I
can delete or reset that will erase those networking prefs? It's
hard to
believe that once these machines have been on a network, they "think"
they
still are...

Thanks again,
Jay

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I would STRONGLY
recommend
reformatting and reinstalling those machines. You've already run
into a few
problems, and I suggest that that isn't the end of the problems
you'll run
into while using those machines.

If you aren't using the machines on a domain-controlled network,
what are
their newly intended purposes? You going to keep them, or are you
going to
distribute them to others?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Jay" wrote in message
...
Greetings! I'm posting this after reading the thread started
07/21/07,
and
not having any success with those suggestions. I have several
old Win98
machines which used to be networked. Now they're stand-alones,
but they
keep
asking for the username and password. If I type in anything or
nothing at
all and click OK, I get a residual message from the old network
days
saying
that the default desktop will be loaded. The previous
"administrator"
locked
out the Control Panels, and now not only can't I stop the thing
from
asking
for usernames and passwords, I can't adjust any settings or
install some
software I need on them. Is there some way to reset it without
going
directly to the Control Panels? When I click on Start, then
Settings, I
get
a message saying the administrator has blocked access to this
folder.
Also,
on another machine, someone put on the Windows Channels
screensaver and
passworded it, so now I'm stuck there.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,