Right, So I actually did something similar. On some version of windows I noticed that ctrl-backspace was adding another character to the password, instead of deleting it. So I included it in my password. Then I updated to a new version of windows and got locked out since they updated the password backend to where it would actually delete the password instead of a adding the character, so I had no way of typing out my password. Ended up just nuking the computer.
Could have just researched what character was being inserted by the ctrl backspace and then used the keyboard to insert the character from its ascii or unicode code to login and then changed your password before nuking your computer
I’m sure this version of windows was before phones had screens attached, and likely before the internet was ubiquitous. They likely had one computer and would have had to go somewhere else to look it up if that was even an option.
I actually did do that! I found the ASCII code but couldn’t get it inputted correctly to the password. The nuking came after I gave up and decided it wasn’t worth it. What’s life without restarting every now and then?
early win98 and i think even into second edition you could just click the close window x button on the login window and it would just dump you onto the desktop. my parents thought adding a password would stop late night gaming… nope worked till i got discovered one fateful nigbt and i was grounded till i revealed how i found out what the password was.
was eye opening for my father who then started just taking the power cords off the monitor and psu.
My parents had the power cord in locked box, so you need a key to turn the computer on, which only they have.
Me and all my siblings learnt to pick lock.
I know, this is easier said than done for someone unfamiliar with this stuff, but maybe still good to know that this is an option in future:
You can prepare a “Linux Live USB” and select in the BIOS that it should boot off of that.
It’ll start a complete OS off of that USB, so you can access the hard drive (assuming you didn’t enable disk encryption) and at the very least backup your files, or sometimes even resolve whatever keeps you from accessing Windows.
I did actually remember that, but figured, they must have had some way of reinstalling Windows, too.
I guess, though, they might have had a physical Windows install disk at home. So, yeah, would have had to prepare a Linux Live CD before disaster struck…
CD? Windows 98 first edition was released on floppies. And Linux was not some simple thing. Red hat hadn’t even created yum and Debian hadn’t even created apt.
The late 90’s was a chore of library visits and 14.4k baud XModem transfer interruptions.
Right, So I actually did something similar. On some version of windows I noticed that ctrl-backspace was adding another character to the password, instead of deleting it. So I included it in my password. Then I updated to a new version of windows and got locked out since they updated the password backend to where it would actually delete the password instead of a adding the character, so I had no way of typing out my password. Ended up just nuking the computer.
Could have just researched what character was being inserted by the ctrl backspace and then used the keyboard to insert the character from its ascii or unicode code to login and then changed your password before nuking your computer
But with what computer?!
Your phone maybe?
I’m sure this version of windows was before phones had screens attached, and likely before the internet was ubiquitous. They likely had one computer and would have had to go somewhere else to look it up if that was even an option.
And a time when if you had a phone capable of the internet it would probably cost 5€ per minute.
Your what? Like those things with the dial that are attached to the wall? How are you meant to do it with that?
Easy. You whistle in binary and say modem noises. The operator will patch you through to the internet.
I’m in.
I genuinely can’t tell if you and the person you responded to are doing a bit and committing to it, or are genuinely referring to:
Phreakers
Making weird modem noises to hack phones will always be the funniest 90’s hacker thing I’ve ever heard.
Oh, you’re young
It looks like it was the ASCII char 127 (delete char). https://superuser.com/questions/33142/ctrlbackspace-inserts-a-small-box-instead-of-erasing
Yup, I tried doing the keystrokes I found online that promised to put the ASCII character in, but it wasn’t working for me and gave up eventually.
I actually did do that! I found the ASCII code but couldn’t get it inputted correctly to the password. The nuking came after I gave up and decided it wasn’t worth it. What’s life without restarting every now and then?
Was that the same version of Windows where you could click “cancel” to bypass the login prompt?
There was one like that? I remember the sticky-keys bypass but not that.
All the login prompt did back then was let users save user specific settings. Your best bet back then was a BIOS password.
early win98 and i think even into second edition you could just click the close window x button on the login window and it would just dump you onto the desktop. my parents thought adding a password would stop late night gaming… nope worked till i got discovered one fateful nigbt and i was grounded till i revealed how i found out what the password was.
was eye opening for my father who then started just taking the power cords off the monitor and psu.
My parents had the power cord in locked box, so you need a key to turn the computer on, which only they have.
Me and all my siblings learnt to pick lock.
What did you use as tools, or was it a masterlock?
masterlock… just touch it… breathe on it … threaten it with a speed square…
threaten it with another masterlock…
I know, this is easier said than done for someone unfamiliar with this stuff, but maybe still good to know that this is an option in future:
You can prepare a “Linux Live USB” and select in the BIOS that it should boot off of that.
It’ll start a complete OS off of that USB, so you can access the hard drive (assuming you didn’t enable disk encryption) and at the very least backup your files, or sometimes even resolve whatever keeps you from accessing Windows.
Remember: Those were probably the times of a single computer at home and having a spare laptop somewhere ready for that is not the default.
I did actually remember that, but figured, they must have had some way of reinstalling Windows, too.
I guess, though, they might have had a physical Windows install disk at home. So, yeah, would have had to prepare a Linux Live CD before disaster struck…
CD? Windows 98 first edition was released on floppies. And Linux was not some simple thing. Red hat hadn’t even created yum and Debian hadn’t even created apt.
The late 90’s was a chore of library visits and 14.4k baud XModem transfer interruptions.
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This sort of nonsense right here is why infosec people warn about having physical access to machines
Some internal software at my job does that and I hate it