Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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Lost Windows 7 Password?

September 24th, 2012 by Admin

Did you lose Windows 7 password? Have you forgotten your Windows 7 password? Follow the guide in resetting Windows 7 password to gain access again to Windows 7.

When installing Windows 7 the first time, the setup will prompt us to create a user account and password. The password ensures that only you have access to your user account or user profile. If Windows 7 is installed already, when you first turn on your new computer, you will still be prompted to setup a Windows login credential. It’s a rule of thumb of remember the password and keep it private by not sharing it to anyone. However, there are end-users who forget their Windows 7 password, so we’ll discuss on this article on what to do if you lose your Windows 7 password.

Using Password Hint and Password Reset

If you forget Windows 7 password and received an error message that the entered user name or password is incorrect, Windows will display the password hint. Try remembering the password using the hint that you’ve created. If you really cannot remember your password, and you have created a password reset disk, click “Reset Password” on the login screen and follow the instructions when Forgotten Password Wizard is displayed.

There’s no Password Reset Disk?

Not everyone created Windows 7 password reset disk which means your account is locked and you have no access unless you have another administrator account. Try to login using another administrator account in Windows 7 (it can be another admin user account that you’ve created before or the default but hidden administrator account that you’ve enabled), select Start button, type lusrmgr.msc in the Search box and press Enter key. The Local User and Groups console will be displayed. Select “Users” in the left pane. Right-click the account that you need to reset the password for, and click Set Password. Type and confirm the password.

Note that resetting the password in Windows 7 using another administrator account has impact: You will lose access to encrypted e-mail messages, stored password for websites and encrypted files on that account that you reset the password for. If your emails and files are not encrypted, you are not affected.

What if there’s no other administrator account in Windows 7 to reset a password?

The worst scenario is you did not enable the default but hidden admin account in Windows 7 or you don’t have another account with administrator permission. Don’t worry, because you can try another method to reset when you lose your Windows 7 password by using a third-party password utility software: Password Recovery Bundle.

To prevent from losing your Windows 7 password again, take advantage of the password reset disk in Windows. The Forgotten Password Wizard will create a userkey.psw file in any removable drive of your choice so you can use to reset a forgotten Windows 7 password in any event. This will save you time and trouble in case you’ve forgotten your Windows 7 password.

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How to Change Active Directory Password Policy in Windows Server 2008

September 24th, 2012 by Admin

When setting up a new Windows Server 2008 server with Active Directory you will discover that you are not allowed to edit the default domain policy. You can use complex passwords to meet the default password policy, but sometimes you may need to continue using simple passwords, edit or disable the strong password policy, what should you do next?

Here is the step-by-step guide to change Active Directory password policy in Windows Server 2008. You need to log on domain controller using administrative account so you have sufficient privileges to make the change.

How to Change Active Directory Password Policy in Windows Server 2008?

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Group Policy Management.

  2. Under Group Policy Management window, go to Forest > Domains > {your domain} > Default Domain Policy, click on the Settings tab you can see the default password policy applied to your domain user accounts.

    Unfortunately, there is no option for you to edit or change the default domain policy. The only way to change your password policy is to create a new domain policy to overwrite the default domain policy.

  3. To create a new domain policy, please click on your domain name in the left panel, then select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here….

  4. Now right-click on the domain policy you’ve created and then click Edit.

  5. In the appearing window, go to Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy.
  6. You can double-click on the Password must meet complexity requirements in the right pane to disable the setting, or double-click on Minimum password length to change the password requirement, and so on.
  7. After you complete the editing of your domain policy, right-click on your new domain policy and tick the Enforced and Link Enabled to make your changes to take effect.

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How to Reset A User Password in Active Directory

September 24th, 2012 by Admin

Active Directory allows network administrators to centrally manage the user accounts, and other resources on a network. Users can use a single username and password to log in to any computer on the Active Directory domain. If you forget your password, you can reset it from the Active Directory Users management console. You must be an Active Directory administrator with the proper permissions to reset a user’s password. This guide provides a step-by-step set of instructions on how to reset a user password in Active Directory.

Note: If you have forgotten domain administrator password and can’t log in to the domain controller any more, you need to use the Reset Windows Password utility to reset your forgotten domain admin password.

How to Reset A User Password in Active Directory?

Before resetting Active Directory user password, you need to log on domain controller with administrator rights, then follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.
  2. Navigate to the Users item of your Active Directory domain in the left pane.
  3. Right-click the domain user account you want to reset the password for in the right pane, and select Reset Password.

  4. Type a new password into the Password and Confirm Password boxes.
  5. Click OK. Done!

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How to View or Show Password Hidden Behind Asterisk Characters

September 20th, 2012 by Admin

Almost all web browsers, instant messengers, email applications, FTP clients and many other software offer the capability of remembering usernames and passwords, which makes it convenient to automatically login to your user account. If you launch the application, you can see that the password field is protected and masked with some asterisk characters. This is good security measure. However, in some scenarios, there may be a need to view or show the actual password hidden behind asterisk characters, especially if you forgot the saved password.

In this guide we’ll show you an easy way to view and show the hidden password behind asterisk characters. With Asterisk Password Recovery utility you can reveal and view the masked password hidden under the asterisks on password field on web pages and program’s user interface.

How to View or Show Password Hidden Behind Asterisk Characters?

  1. Launch the Asterisk Password Recovery program.

    Asterisk Password Recovery

  2. Open up the application you wish to recover a password from. In my case it was MS Outlook. Once the program is open, bring up the account properties dialog of your email account.

    Reveal Outlook Password

  3. Click on the icon , drag the icon to the password field with asterisk characters.
  4. The hidden password will be showed and you can view the actual password of your email account.

Note that the asterisk password recovery tool is meant for password recovery purpose. They won’t be able to decrypt and show Windows logon password (and password in User Account Manager in Control Panel). If you forgot Windows logon password, you can choose to remove the forgotten password with Reset Windows Password bootdisk.

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What to Do if You Forgot Windows Password?

September 19th, 2012 by Admin

What to do if you forgot Windows password? In this tutorial we’ll show you all tips and tricks you can take to recover or reset your forgotten Windows password, so you can log back into your PC without reinstalling Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP or Windows Server 2008/2003/2000.

Forgot Windows Password?
Windows may ask for your password to continue using the computer. This is true if the user account was set up with a password. The password to logon to Windows is set to expire after 42 days by default, but if your password expires or you forget your Windows password, you cannot logon to Windows. Many people have asked the question “How do I unlock my computer without a password?” and we’ll answer that by providing steps in recovering or resetting forgotten Windows password.

1. Recall Your Password
If you tried entering the password but Windows does not recognize it and you cannot remember your password, you can try clicking the question mark beside the password logon box. It will show the password hint that you had entered before. However, if you still can’t remember the password after answering the password hint, your other option is by using your password reset disk.

2. Use Password Reset Disk
Many people do not create a password reset disk which means that option is not for you. For end-users who have created a password reset disk to prevent issues with a forgotten password, simply insert the floppy diskette into drive A. Follow the wizard to creating a new password and the new password hint, then use the new password to logon to Windows.

3. Boot into Safe Mode
People who failed to create a reset disk must not lose hope because you can try resetting the Windows password by rebooting the computer to safe mode. Proceed to logon using the hidden Administrator account. Note that the hidden administrator account does not have a password, so simply click the Admin account to login. However, if the PC vendor created a password for the hidden admin user account and you did not reset it, type “password” without quotes as the password.

Proceed by navigating to User Accounts in the Control Panel, then create a new password for the account that was locked out due to a forgotten or expired password.

Restart the computer to normal mode and logon using the new password. If you happened to create an account password for the hidden administrator account but you forget that as well, your only option is to either reinstall Windows or by using third-party software to recover or reset your forgotten Windows password.

4. Last Resort

Forgot Windows login password? Account locked out due to invalid password attempts? With Reset Windows Password utility you can reset Windows local admin/user passwords on Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2008/2003/2000, change forgotten domain user passwords in Windows Server 2008/2003/2000, and unlock any user account which is disabled or locked out.

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

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2 Ways to Change Your Office 2010 Product Key

September 19th, 2012 by Admin

Prepare to upgrade from Office 2010 beta? Perhaps you need to change your Microsoft Office 2010 product key to resolve activation issues or other reasons. No matter what the reason is, changing Office 2010 product key is simple.

Tips: Lost your Office product key? You can use Product Key Finder to easily recover lost Office product key from your current Office installation.

When you activate Microsoft Office, you must enter a product key. If for any reason you need to change the product key in Office 2010, you have two options. You can change it from within any Office 2010 application, or you can change the product key from the Windows Control Panel. Select the option that seems easiest to you.

Option 1: Change the Product Key from Backstage View

The first location where you can change the Office 2010 product key is in “Backstage View” of any Microsoft Office 2010 program, such as Word, Excel or Publisher. In Office 2010, change product key in Backstage View by going to the File tab and clicking the Help tab in the left pane of the window.

Click the Change Product Key link in the About section of the window. The Product Activation window will open. Type your new product key into the box and then wait while your key is validated. Once it has been validated, click the Continue button. Click the Install Now button and wait while Office 2010 is configured with the new product key.

Option 2: Change the Product Key from the Control Panel

The second option you have is to change the product key via the Control Panel. Click the Start button and select Control Panel from the right pane of the Start Menu. Select Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP or Programs and Features in Windows 7/Vista.

Find Microsoft Office 2010 in the list of currently installed programs. Click to select it and then click Change.

From the newly opened dialog box, click Enter a Product Key and click the Continue button. Enter your product key in the field provided and click the Continue button. Click the Install Now button and wait while Office 2010 is configured with the new product key.

Restart a Microsoft Office application. You may need to wait while it is configured with the changed product key. When configuration is complete, you are done.

These methods let you change product key of the following Office 2010 editions and products:

  • Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010
  • Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010
  • Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010
  • Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2010
  • Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010

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How to Create a Windows Password Reset Disk in Mac OS X

September 18th, 2012 by Admin

Did you forget the password to your Windows account and now you cannot login into Windows? How to recover or reset Windows password? As we all know, we can create a password reset disk on another Windows PC and then use it to boot your locked computer for removing your forgotten password. But what if you can’t find an accessible Windows computer on hand? Do you think you have no other option but to re-install Windows?

As long as you have a Mac computer, you can still log in to your Mac OS X and create a Windows password reset disk. After creating a reset disk, you can bring it to boot your locked Windows PC and remove your forgotten Windows password. Here are steps to create a Windows password reset disk in Mac OS X.

How to Create a Windows Password Reset Disk in Mac OS X?

  1. Download the zip archive of Reset Windows Password onto your computer. Double-click the zip file to unzip. Check the extracted folder and you’ll find the ISO Image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  2. Launch Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
  3. Insert your blank DVD or CD.
  4. Drag and drop the ResetWindowsPwd.iso file to the left pane in Disk Utility.
  5. In the list on the left side of the Disk Utility window, you’ll now see an object representing the .ISO file. Click to select it.
  6. Click on the Burn button. Sit back and wait while your new disc gets written!

Once the burning procedure is complete, you can then use the CD or DVD you’ve created to reset your forgotten Windows password. Here is the step-by-step guide:

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with a Password Reset CD

Note: please skip the step 1 in the guide above, because you’ve already created a Windows password disk in Mac OS X.

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How to Disable Password Expiration in Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller

September 18th, 2012 by Admin

Having built a lot of Virtual Development Environments with Windows server 2008 and CRM, one thing that I always have to look up is how to disable the annoying password expiration settings so that the password doesn’t have to be reset every 42 days.

Setting this is not so straight forward, so below are the instructions on how to do this successfully on a Windows Server 2008 that is setup as a domain controller.

Note: If you forgot domain admin password or you are locked out of domain controller, you can use Reset Windows Password utility to unlock your domain password easily.

How to Disable Password Expiration in Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller?

  1. Start –> All Programs –> Group Policy Management.
  2. Expand Forest –> Domains –> (your domain).
  3. Right click on Default Domain Policy and Select “edit…”.

  4. Expand Policies –> Windows Settings –> Security Settings –> Account Policies.
  5. Inside Password Policy you will find all the relevant password settings.

  6. Setting Maximum password age to 0 will disable password expiration notification.
  7. Exit out and in the command prompt run “gpupdate.exe”

Now you should be good to go 🙂

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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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