The recovery console.

Yes and No. The first time in, I could get to the files and did not have to type an admin passwd. After the first reg file swap and reboot back into the recovery console, I found it necessary to key in the admin passwd. Needless to say none of the expected passwords would work, thus the need to abandon RC for the remainder.

After working through the whole exercise, I wonder why the KB article had me first reload the reg files from the cd then reboot and reload same from the restore point on the hard drive. Seems to me like it would have been easier to load them from the restore point in the first place.

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Alternatively, there's always Windows PE (if you can get hold of it) or BartPE (if you can't).

I looked for BartPE, the page google found seemed to be a procedure that required a working system to build the needed boot cd. I also stumbled across the windowsPE home page but had to use google to find it. To be sure I find the Microsoft's web the be mostly impenetrable.