Posts Tagged ‘reset windows admin password’

Reset Lost Admin Password of A Windows Virtual Machine in VMware Fusion

March 31st, 2013 by Admin

I have a Windows 7 virtual machine running under VMware Fusion, but I lost the admin password. Is it possible somehow to reset the password?

Forgot the administrator password of a Windows VMware Fusion image? The best way to avoid this problem is to make a password reset disc ahead of time so that if you forget your password in the future, you can reset your forgotten password easily. But most people, including myself, never make such disk. Here I’ll show you another method which can help you reset lost admin password of any Windows virtual machine running in VMware Fusion.

How to Reset Lost Admin Password of A Windows Virtual Machine in VMware Fusion?

This method of resetting a forgotten Windows password is the most effective that I know of and works in almost any situation. To get started, you will need a tool called Reset Windows Password. The program comes as a bootable ISO image which could be used to boot your locked virtual machine and reset lost admin password easily!

Part 1: Set Your Locked Virtual Machine to Boot from an ISO Image

  1. Download the Reset Windows Password package on your host computer. The download file is in .zip format. Double-click the .zip file to unzip and you’ll get the bootable ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  2. If your locked virtual machine is turned on, turn it off. From the Settings menu in VWMare Fusion, select “CDs & DVDs”.

    Next click “Use disc image” and select the bootable ISO image you’ve downloaded.

  3. Now we need to set the BIOS of the virtual machine to boot with CD drive as first boot device. As it’s known that the VMWare Fusion BIOS goes by way too fast to give you a chance to access it. To work around this problem, use a text editor to add the following lines to the configuration (.vmx) file of the virtual machine:
    bios.forceSetupOnce = "TRUE"
    bios.bootOrder = "CDROM"
    The next time you boot up the virtual machine, it will automatically boot from the bootable ISO image.

Part 2: Reset Lost Admin Password of Your Windows Virtual Machine

  1. After booting from the ISO image, the virtual machine will load the Windows PE operating system inside the CD image and open up the Reset Windows Password utility.
  2. Select your Windows SAM registry hive from the drop-down list. The program will perform a complete analysis of the SAM file and display a list of Windows local user accounts inside it.

  3. Choose the administrator account and then click on “Reset Password” button. It will reset your VM admin password instantly.
  4. Revert the changes you’ve made in the configuration (.vmx) file of the virtual machine. Turn on the virtual machine and you should now be able to log in to the administrator account with no password.

The steps of resetting Windows password on VMware Fusion’s virtual machine are nearly the same for a physical machine. The only difference is that you need to burn the bootable ISO image to a physical CD or USB drive in order to reset lost admin password on a physical machine.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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Forgot Admin Password for Windows 7 64-bit PC?

September 17th, 2012 by Admin

Forgot password to Windows 7 64-bit Dell Laptop, please help! I am a novice in the IT world, the password I picked is pretty good but I locked myself out of my laptop. I have tried everything with no luck.

Forgot the admin password for your Windows 7 64-bit PC? Your kid changed your admin password and now has no idea what he changed it to? Many people face this problem you are not alone. There are many tricks and tips on what to do when you forgot admin password. Unfortunately, most of them are based on Linux bootdisk and all procedures are too complicated for Windows users.

Luckily there is a boot-disk utility based on Windows PE that allows you to reset your forgotten admin password for Windows 7 64-bit computer, It has a simple graphical user interface that even the computer novice can get it to work! The software is Reset Windows Password. Let’s see how can you use it to reset forgotten admin password on Windows 7 64-bit desktop and laptop computers.

Forgot Admin Password for Windows 7 64-bit PC? How to Reset the Password Easily?

The password-resetting procedure can be divided into 3 steps. It should be the simplest solution for you to regain access to your Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2008/2003 64-bit operating system.

Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset Disk

The first thing you’ll need to do is create a bootable password reset disk. This may require you to grab a thumb drive and use a friend’s computer to do this. Follow the instructions to create a password reset disk:

  1. Download the Reset Windows Password package.
  2. Once you’ve downloaded the package, unzip the download file and you’ll get the CD/DVD ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso, which you can burn it onto a CD, DVD or USB thumb drive.
  3. Burn the ISO image to a USB thumb drive using the ISO2Disc tool.

Once the password reset disk is created successfully, you can then use it to boot your locked computer and perform password resetting.

Step 2: Boot from Password Reset Disk

Now you need to set your locked computer to boot from the password reset disk you’ve created. Booting from a USB thumb drive can be done fairly easily using BIOS settings. Every BIOS is a little different, though you should be able to access it using the instructions that appear on screen when you first power up your machine and find a boot order or option to select boot device. Holding DEL or F12 when rebooting can usually get you where you need to be. Some systems are different, however.

If you still can’t figure out how to make your computer boot from USB thumb drive, please refer to this article:

How to Set Your Computer to Boot from CD or USB Drive

Step 3: Reset Admin Password on Windows 7 64-bit PC

Once you’ve configured the locked computer correctly, plug in your USB thumb drive and turn on the computer. It will boot from the password reset disk. Once the boot procedure is complete, it will launch the Reset Windows Password program. This is the software you’ll need to reset your forgotten admin password on Windows 7 64-bit PC.

The software allows you to select the Windows SAM registry hive from the drop-down list. It will then display a list of Windows user accounts inside the SAM file. Choose your desired user account and then click on the Reset Password button. It will remove your forgotten or unknown password instantly.

The next step is to unplug the USB thumb drive and restart the computer. You can then log in to your Windows 7 64-bit system with a blank password. If you don’t have a USB thumb drive, you can also use a CD or DVD to follow the steps above to reset your forgotten admin password.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 7

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