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How to Create a Windows Live CD Using PE Builder

June 19th, 2013 by Admin

A Live CD is a bootable media that contains an operating system, along with software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing computer problems. It can save you a lot of trouble in case of a computer crash or malware infection on your PC. By using a Live CD, you can easily access these files on your unbootable computer and backup them to an external storage device. You can also use a Live CD to clean severe malware infections.

In previous post we’ve introduced 7 free system rescue discs. But most of them are based on Linux and many Windows users find they are very difficult to use. Here today we are going to show you how to create a Windows Live CD using PE Builder.

Requirements:

  • Windows XP installation disc
  • PE Builder
  • A blank CD and CD/DVD burner

How to Create a Windows Live CD Using PE Builder?

Download the latest version of PE Builder self-installing package from Bart’s site and run it. It extracts all the files to a folder (e.g. C:\pebuilder3110a) and creates a desktop shortcut to launch the PE Builder.

Double-click the PE Builder desktop shortcut. PE Builder will ask to search for windows installation files. Click No and specify the source path to your Windows XP installation disc.

pebuilder

Click the Plugins button, you’ll see a list of plugins that will be integrated into the Live CD. Plug-ins are nothing but a way to add additional software to your Windows Live CD. You can visit the Bart PE plug-in repository and add more software to your Live CD.

bartpe-plugins

After configuring your plugins, click on Close to return to the main interface. In the Media output section, select “Burn to CD/DVD” and then click the Build button.

If the build process completes without any errors, you have made yourself a Live CD. You can then use it to boot up your computer.

BARTPE

Congratulations. You have created a Windows Live CD, far more useful than the system repair disc created by Windows. With this Live CD, you can rescue files from your crashed computer, defragment the hard disk and even surf the Internet without leaving any traces!

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7 Free System Rescue Discs to Make Your Life Easier

June 18th, 2013 by Admin

What to do if your computer is infected with malware such as a virus, or won’t boot because Windows files are corrupt? There are lots of errors that can render your PC unbootable and your data inaccessible. A great way to fix computer problems is to boot from a system rescue disc. I would like to share with you 7 free system rescue discs that can be used to recover, rescue and repair your computer.

1. Ultimate Boot CD for Windows

Ultimate Boot CD is designed to troubleshoot Windows and Linux systems, and comes with a wealth of hardware testing, hard drive management, and partition troubleshooting and repair tools. With network support, the ability to modify NTFS volumes, recover deleted files, create new NTFS volumes, scan hard drives for viruses, etc. this software includes almost everything you need to repair your system problems.

2. Hiren’s Boot CD

Hiren’s Boot CD is aimed at repairing Windows systems, and includes a wealth of tools to that effect, including antivirus tools to scan your hard drive, anti-malware utilities to clean out spyware and adware, even rootkit detection tools. Hiren’s BootCD can also help you repair, adjust, or re-flash your system’s BIOS or wipe your CMOS, clean out temporary files and folders, securely erase files, back up your data to another hard drive or to the network, update and back up hardware drivers, scan your system for hardware failures, repair lost or damaged partitions, and much much more.

3. Trinity Rescue Kit

Trinity Rescue Kit is a free command-line Live CD Linux distribution created especially for rescuing Windows PCs. It can run on a CD (or a USB stick if you prefer) and once booted gives you tools to reset lost Windows password, scan hard drives for viruses and malware, clone drives, recover lost partitions, even open up the drives as network shares so you can get files off of them and to other computers on your network.

4. Emergency Boot CD

Emergency Boot CD is a self-contained bootable OS on live CD, intended for system recovery in the case of software or hardware faults. It is able to create backup copies of normally working system and restore system to saved state. You can use also use it to restore access to your PC when you forgot Windows password, fix various boot related problems, create/format/delete and wipe partitions.

5. Ubuntu

Ubuntu can be an extremely effective tool for repairing and working on computers. It gives you access to your computer and back up all of your files in ways Windows can’t – or when Windows is completely broken. Ubuntu Live CD also comes with GParted, which is a pretty amazing drive partitioning program. If you’re looking to re-size your Windows partition, or turn some empty space into a secondary partition, this is the tool you’re looking for.

6. BartPE

Bart’s PE Builder helps you build a BartPE (Bart Preinstalled Environment) bootable Windows CD-Rom or DVD from the original Windows XP installation/setup CD, very suitable for PC maintenance tasks.

It will give you a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. Very handy for burn-in testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on.

7. Knoppix

Knoppix is a Debian-based Linux distribution and one of the first Linux live CDs that was available. It lets you restore your boot loader to your master boot record, back up hard drives, and repair file systems. It even works as a great Windows recovery CD, as you can read and write to all the major Windows file systems, including FAT, FAT32, and NTFS. It can restore corrupted system files, back up documents and settings, scan the system for viruses, and even edit the Windows Registry.

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Forgot Windows 7 Password to Your Acer Aspire Laptop

June 17th, 2013 by Admin

I had not used my Acer Aspire computer in a couple of years and had this computer as a backup computer. I set a password for the administrator account and can not remember it. Can I somehow get into the computer to reset it?

Forgot Windows 7 password on your Acer Aspire laptop? Or your friend changed the Acer login password without telling you what it is? If so, then this is the stuff you are looking for. Windows passwords are set and used to keep the laptop or PC secure, but can sometimes prove disastrous. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to reset forgotten Windows 7 password on an Acer Aspire laptop using a boot CD or USB drive.

Forgot Windows 7 Password to Your Acer Aspire Laptop? How to Reset it?

Firstly, you need to create a password cracking boot CD/USB drive on an alternate PC. Download the ZIP archive of Reset Windows Password utility. Unzip the download file and you’ll find the ResetWindowsPwd.iso file which needs to be burned onto a CD or USB drive using ISO2Disc program.

Once you’ve created a password cracking boot CD/USB drive. Power on your locked Acer Aspire laptop. Press the F12 key while the system is performing the power-on self-test (POST). When you see the Boot Menu, choose the CD/DVD-ROM Drive or Removable Drive to let your PC to boot from your password cracking CD/USB drive.

After the booting procedure is complete, you’ll see the Reset Windows Password program appears. The program automatically searches your Windows 7 SAM registry file and displays user accounts available on your Acer laptop.

Choose a user account and then click on “Reset Password” button. The program quickly removes the existing password and unlock your user account. Restart your Acer laptop and remove the boot CD/USB drive. You can then log into your Windows 7 user account without a password.

Conclusion

There are lots of ways to unlock or reset Windows 7 password, but this method should be the easiest way for you to reset lost or forgotten Windows 7 password for your Acer Aspire laptop.

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How to Reset Lost Windows Password with Hiren’s BootCD

June 14th, 2013 by Admin

If you forgot your Windows password you will not be able to log in to Windows. So what to do in this case? Is there a free password cracking software to reset lost Windows password? Answer is yes. In this tutorial we’ll guide you through step-by-step procedure of resetting lost Windows password using a free Linux-based boot utility – Hiren’s BootCD.

Hiren’s BootCD is an ultimate solution to almost all your computer problems. It comes loaded with hell lot of tools. Each of them is powerful and can be really very helpful if used with caution. You can solve nearly all your PC problems like virus infection, hdd failure, data recovery, Hard disk partitioning, password recovery using this CD.

Note: Hiren’s BootCD a customized Linux distribution that you need to go through so many steps on Command Prompt to reset your forgotten Windows password. If you aren’t tech savvy, I recommend you use the Reset Windows Password utility which comes with GUI graphical interface.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with Hiren’s BootCD?

To get started, download Hiren’s BootCD from here. Once the download is complete, unzip the download file and you’ll find two useful files: Hiren’s.BootCD.15.2.iso and BurnCDCC.exe. Simply burn the ISO image of Hiren’s BootCD to an empty CD using BurnCDCC program.

Boot your locked PC using Hiren’s BootCD that you’ve created. Make sure you have your BIOS set to boot from CD/DVD. Once you boot from the Hiren’s BootCD, you’ll see a list of powerful system repair and maintenance tools. Choose the Offline NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 Password Changer and press Enter.

offline-nt-password-changer

The screen will display a list of Linux Kernel Boot options. Simply press Enter to continue.

boot-options

Now the step to choose the correct drive where the Windows is installed. If you have more than one operating system then choose the correct drive and hit Enter. Here I will type “1” and press Enter, because the /dev/sda1 is the system partition on my hard drive. Next press Enter to confirm that your registry directory is WINDOWS/system32/config.

select-partition

When it asks you which part of registry to load, type “1” and press Enter. When the “chntpw Main Interactive Menu” is shown, type “1” and press Enter to choose the “Edit user data and passwords” option.

edit-user-passwords

Now the screen will display a list of local user accounts existing on your registry file. For example, if you want to edit Windows administrator password, type “Administrator” and press Enter.

clear-windows-password

The program will display a list of account properties for your user account. To clear or blank your user account password, type “1” and press Enter. You’ll receive a message that says “Password cleared!”

After successfully resetting your forgotten Windows password, type “!” to close the User Editor Tool.

Now type “q” and hit Enter to close the Offline Password Editor and Registry tool.

Now type “y” and hit Enter to confirm the password change.

Now it will ask you whether you want to use it again or not. Just type “n” and hit Enter.

exit-boot-cd

Remove your Hiren’s BootCD and press ALT + Ctrl + Del to restart your system. You can then log on your computer with a blank/empty Windows password.

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Posted in Free Software, Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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How to Override Lost windows 7/Vista/XP Password with USB Drive

June 13th, 2013 by Admin

Locked out of Windows after forgetting the administrator password? Just bought a used laptop but it is password protected and you are unable to get into it? Is there any way to override a lost Windows password and regain control of your computer without wiping any data? Here is a very easy method using a USB drive to override lost Windows 7/Vista/XP password quickly.

How to Override Lost windows 7/Vista/XP Password with USB Drive?

Firstly, you need to prepare a bootable password removal USB drive on another PC which you can log on. Download the .zip archive of Reset Windows Password utility onto your desktop. Open the ZIP file and extract it to a folder on your desktop. Within that folder, you’ll find a file called ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Simply burn the ISO image file to a USB drive using ISO2Disc program.

Plug the USB drive into your locked PC which needs to override a lost Windows password. Turn on the computer and get it to boot from the USB drive. Make sure you have your BIOS set to boot from removable device. Once you boot from the USB drive, the computer will start loading the WinPE operating system and open up the Reset Windows Password program.

On the main interface of Reset Windows Password program, you can see all user accounts for your Windows installation. Choose a user account and click on Reset Password button. The program will unlock your user account and override the lost Windows password.

Unplug the USB drive and restart your computer. Now you should be able to log back into Windows system with a blank/empty password. It’s that easy!

Conclusion

So this is how can you override lost Windows 7/Vista/XP password easily. Instantly regain access to your password protected computer when you lost or forgot Windows password. No need to reinstall Windows.

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How to Boot Windows 8 or 10 into Safe Mode

June 12th, 2013 by Admin

Couldn’t find a way to boot Windows 8/10 into Safe Mode? In the previous version of Windows, we can boot into Safe Mode by simply pressing F8 key while Windows starts. However, this all changes since Windows 8 and the F8 key doesn’t work anymore. Booting into Safe Mode when using Windows 8 or 10 is not as simple as with previous versions of Windows – but it is possible. Here is how to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8 and Windows 10.

How to Boot Windows 8/10 into Safe Mode?

Turn on your computer and wait until it boots into the Windows 8/10 login screen. If the computer logs on to your user account automatically, you need to manually log off in order to bring up the login screen.

windows-8-login-screen

Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the Power icon visible on the bottom right of Windows 8/10 login screen, then click Restart option. In a moment you’ll see the recovery screen. click on the Troubleshoot option.

recovery-mode

Now select Advanced Options.

troubleshoot

In a moment you’ll see the Advanced options screen, as shown below. Select the Startup Settings option.

advanced-options

Next hit the Restart button.

startup-settings

Wait while your computer restarts. You don’t need to do anything here or hit any keys. After a while, you should see the Startup Settings menu. You’ll see a number of advanced ways to start Windows 8/10, all aimed at assisting you in solving a Windows startup problem.

enable-safe-mode

Press F4 key on your keyboard to enter into Safe Mode. There’s nothing to do here but wait. Next up will be the login screen you normally see when your computer starts. Log on as administrator and now Windows 8/10 is running in Safe Mode.

Note: If you forgot the administrator password and can’t log into Safe Mode, you can easily reset the lost password using a Windows Password Reset boot CD/USB drive.

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How to Reset Lost Windows 8 Password for UEFI-based Samsung Laptop

June 12th, 2013 by Admin

Locked out of your Samsung laptop because you’ve forgotten Windows 8 password? How to reset lost administrator password on your UEFI-based Samsung laptop? If you’ve bought a Samsung laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed, you may find out there is no option to boot from a CD/USB drive. That is because the traditional PC BIOS has been replaced with UEFI, which is no long compatible with your boot CD/USB. So how to unlock a Windows 8 Samsung laptop using a password reset boot CD? In this tutorial we’ll walk you through how to reset lost Windows 8 password on UEFI-based Samsung laptop.

How to Reset Lost Windows 8 Password for UEFI-based Samsung Laptop?

  1. If you don’t have a password reset boot CD/USB drive, you can create one easily. Simply download the self-extracting archive of Reset Windows Password utility on your computer. Unzip the download file which contains a bootable CD image. Burn the ISO image to a blank CD or USB drive using ISO2Disc, BurnCDCC or ImgBurn program.
  2. Connect the boot CD/USB drive to your UEFI-based Samsung laptop. Upon powering on the laptop, press F2 to enter into BIOS. Navigate to the Advanced tab, disable the Fast BIOS Mode.

    samsung-bios-mode

  3. Switch to the Boot tab, and then disable the UEFI Boot Support. Press F10 to save your changes and exit.

    samsung-uefi-boot

  4. Turn on or restart your Samsung laptop. Press F10 when you see the Samsung logo. Now you’ll see the boot CD/USB drive shown in the list of Boot Menu. Highlight your CD/USB drive with the cursor keys and press Enter. The computer should now boot from the CD/USB drive.
  5. After a while, the system will launch the Reset Windows Password program, which displays a list of Windows 8 user accounts on your Samsung laptop.

  6. Choose a user account and click on Reset Password button. The program will quickly remove your forgotten Windows 8 login password and unlock your user account if it is disabled, locked out or expired.
  7. Restart your Samsung laptop and remove the boot CD/USB drive. When the computer is powered on again, press F2 to enter into BIOS and then enable the UEFI Boot Support option. When you boot to the Windows 8 login screen, you can successfully log back into your user account using a blank/empty password.

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How to Run the Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 8

June 11th, 2013 by Admin

There are many situations where you need to open up the Command Prompt as administrator. But in Windows 8 the classic Start Menu is replaced with a new Charm Bar, which doesn’t provide you an option to run the Command Prompt. So here we’ll show you 2 options to run the Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8.

Note: If you have logged on as a standard or limited user, you’ll be prompted to enter the administrator password when trying to run the Command Prompt as administrator. If you’ve forgotten the admin password, you can reset it using a Windows Password Reset boot CD or USB drive.

Option 1: Win + X Menu

Right-click in the bottom left corner of your screen, or press the Windows + X keyboard combination. This will bring up a menu with many administrative options, including Command Prompt (Admin), Control Panel, Computer Management, Task Manager, Windows Explorer, etc.

win+x-menu

Simply click on the Command Prompt (Admin) option, it will open up a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. This Win + X menu is also know as Power User Menu. It should be the easiest way to run the Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8.

Option 2: Search Charm

Move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, the charm bar will appear on the right side of the screen. Click on the Search icon. Type cmd in the Search box.

Windows 8 will show Command Prompt in search results page. Right-click on the shortcut and select “Run as administrator” option given at the bottom.

That’s it. These are many different ways to open Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8, but the methods above should be the easiest ones.

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How to Bring Back the Delete Confirmation Dialog Box in Windows 8 / 10

June 10th, 2013 by Admin

If you’ve moved to Windows 8 or Windows 10, you will soon find out that Windows 8/10 no longer asks you to confirm the deletion of file or folder. When you select a file or folder and hit Delete key, it will be moved to the Recycle Bin right away without any confirmation. This might cause data loss if you accidentally delete some important files. Luckily, there is an easy way to bring Windows 8/10 file/folder delete confirmation dialog box back.

How to Enable the Delete Confirmation Dialog Box in Windows 8/10?

Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon on Desktop, and choose Properties. (If the Recycle Bin icon is hidden from your desktop, right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose Personalize from the pop-up menu. Click the option to change desktop icons. Select the radio box representing the Recycle Bin and click OK.)

windows-8-recycle-bin

In the Recycle Bin Properties window, check the box next to the Display delete confirmation dialog option. Click OK to save the setting. Now, when you delete a file or a folder, the delete confirmation dialog box will appear.

That’s all there is to it, remember if you want to delete something without just sending it to the Recycle Bin you can always use the Shift + Delete key combination.

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How to Reset Windows 8 Password on Dell Inspiron Laptop

June 10th, 2013 by Admin

I have forgotten the administrator password to Windows 8 installation and locked out. Is there a way to reset the password on my Dell Inspiron laptop? I do have physical access to the PC.

Forgot Windows 8 password on your Dell Inspiron laptop? How to reset Dell laptop password without wiping the whole operating system? You are not out of luck! Just create a password removal Live CD or USB drive on an accessible PC, you can then use it to boot off your locked Dell laptop and reset lost Windows 8 password in no time.

How to Reset Windows 8 Password on Dell Inspiron Laptop?

  1. Firstly, you need to find an accessible PC which you can used to create a Live CD/USB drive. Download the Reset Windows Password program which comes as a .zip archive of bootable ISO image. Unzip the download file and you’ll get the ResetWindowsPwd.iso file. Simply burn the whole ISO image file to a CD or USB flash drive using ISO2Disc utility.
  2. Connect the password removal Live CD/USB drive to your locked Dell Inspiron laptop. As soon as you power on the computer, repeatedly press F12 key to bring up the Boot Options screen. Choose the Setup option under Other Options menu and press Enter to enter into BIOS.
  3. Choose the Boot tab in BIOS. Disable the Secure Boot option and then change the Boot List Option from UEFI to Legacy. Press F10 to save changes and exit.

    dell-bios-uefi

  4. As what you have done above, press F12 key to bring up the Boot Options again. This time you will see 3 boot options on screen: Legacy Boot, UEFI Boot and Other Options. Choose the CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive or Removable Drive under the Legacy Boot menu. Press Enter.
  5. The computer will then boot from your created Live CD/USB drive. After a short while, the Reset Windows Password program will appear, which displays your Windows 8 SAM registry file and a list of local user accounts which can be used to log on your Dell Inspiron laptop.

  6. Choose a user account whose password you want to reset/unlock, then click on Reset Password button. The program will remove your forgotten Windows 8 password shortly.

After successfully resetting your Windows 8 password, remove the Live CD/USB drive and restart your computer. Quickly press F2 key during POST screen to enter into BIOS, then change the Boot List Option from Legacy back to UEFI and save your changes. When your Dell laptop boots to the Windows 8 logon screen, just leave the password blank and you can log back into your Windows 8 user account immediately.

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