#1792 Master password doesn't work

[shaun wood]

Hello. Today my master password stopped working.

I know the password is correct because my backup months old copy of the keepass DB still works , and I never changed the master password. I suspect that the problem arose when my computer was forced to shutdown/restart by a windows 10 BSOD while the file was open. I'm not sure how to fix this. I don't have the option of reverting the file via windows to an earlier version because I never set that up.

[wellread1]

What is the error message?

When you started KeePass after the BSOD, did KeePass remember the location of your database or did you have to navigate to it?

[shaun wood]

"Failed to load the specified file!

The composite key is invalid!

Make sure the composite key is correct and try again. “

No it remembered the location, I didn’t have to navigate back to it.

[wellread1]

• When you enter the database master password on the "Enter Master Key" dialog, press the reveal password button to the right of the password. Verify that you have entered the correct password and have not made any typos.
• When entering the master pasword, what boxes are checked on the "Enter Master Key" dialog ?
• Is the Date Modified time stamp on the database file before, after, or at the time of the BSOD?
• Is the size of the database reasonable, i.e. similar to older copies of your database?
• Is your database stored locally or is it in the cloud?
• Have you checked to see if there are any previous versions of your database file? To check for previous versions: right click on the database, select properties from the context menu, select the "Previous Versions" tab on the Properties dialog and wait until the dialog displays one or more files or a message that says that there are no previous versions (it may take awhile). If the dialog displays one or more files, try restoring one to a new location. Then try to open that database file with KeePass.

[shaun wood]

--I'm copy / pasting the password in from a text file. It works on the old DB and not the most recent one

--Only the Master Password box is checked

--Not sure how to confirm . the last modified time for the most recent DB is 17dec2018 @ 18:45.
The windows crashed occurred at 18:49:05 accorrding to my windows event log (edited, misread event log)

--Is the size of the database reasonable, i.e. similar to older copies of your database?
yes. The new version is 22.9kb, the old version is 19.0kb

--Is your database stored locally or is it in the cloud?
local

--Have you checked to see if there are any previous versions of your database file? To check for previous versions: right click on the database, select properties from the context menu, select the "Previous Versions"
none exist

[wellread1]

--I'm copy / pasting the password in from a text file. It works on the old DB and not the most recent one

Verify that you haven't copied some non-printable characters, e.g. trailing spaces. I suggest you type the password carefully.

--Only the Master Password box is checked

OK

--Not sure how to confirm . the last modified time for the most recent DB is 17dec2018 @ 18:45.
The windows crashed occurred at 18:38:10 accorrding to my windows event log

A BSOD is a disorderly crash, it probably doesn't have a event log entry so the event is probably an error that occured before the BSOD or during recovery.

--Is the size of the database reasonable, i.e. similar to older copies of your database?
yes. The new version is 22.9kb, the old version is 19.0kb

OK

--Have you checked to see if there are any previous versions of your database file? To check for previous versions: right click on the database, select properties from the context menu, select the "Previous Versions"
none exist

That was a hail mary, but ouch.

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Since KeePass remembered the database location, the KeePass configuration file was not damaged. Assuming you were using default settings KeePass would have remebered if the Master Key included other key components. Consequently there is high probility that Master Key of the database file that KeePass is trying to open consists of master password only.

• If there is any possiblity that the database open at the time of the BSOD was not your main database, then KeePass could be trying to open a different database than you think. Check the path of the database file that KeePass is trying to open to verify that it is correct database.
  
  

A BSOD is unlikely to damage a KeePass database unless the database file is in the act of closing during the BSOD. This is becasue the database file is only accessed when it is read into memory or during saving. The file is not kept open while it is in use. A BSOD is unlikely to damage a static file that is simply at rest on the disk drive.

• You might want to investige the time stamp that seems to indicate that the database was saved after the BSOD. If you haven't opened the database since the BSOD, the late time stamp is worthy paradox.
  
  

'The composite key is invalid!' error message indicates that the master key is incorrect, not that the file is damaged. Since your composite key appears to be a master password only, the error means that you are either trying to open the wrong database or are making a mistake entering the password.

• KeePass database files whose Master Key consists solely of a master password are fully portable. If you suspect that the KeePass program itself is damaged by the BSOD, you can try opening the database on a different computer.

• Since nothing suggests that the database file was damaged and there seems to be evidence that the you have successfully opened the exact file before the BSOD, then the only possibility (beside what I have mentioned above) is that you are still entering the wrong master password. Verify that you are entering the correct password

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Going forward regularly backup your database.