Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ category

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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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How to Reset System Password on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP

September 13th, 2012 by Admin

What do you do when you forget your Windows system password? Forgetting your Administrator password can leave you without access to your system, or worse. This could happen out of honest forgetfulness, the result of idiotic roommates with nothing better to do, or any number of other situations that could result in a total loss of access to your system.

Thankfully, being locked out doesn’t mean you can’t regain control through Windows password recovery software. In fact, all you really need is a USB thumb drive and another computer to create a bootable USB disk on. In many cases, you can reset system password in just a few minutes.

How to Reset System Password on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP?

The password-resetting procedure can be divided into 3 steps. It is perhaps the simplest solution for you to regain access to your system on Windows 8/7/Vista/XP.

Step 1: Create a System Password Reset Disk

The first thing you’ll need to do is create a bootable system 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 system 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 system password reset disk is created successfully, you can then use it to boot your locked computer and perform password resetting.

Step 2: Boot from System Password Reset Disk

Now you need to set your locked computer to boot from the system 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 System Password

Once you’ve configured the locked computer correctly, plug in your USB thumb drive and turn on the computer. It will boot from the system 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 system password.

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 system with a blank password.

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

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Windows Password Remover

September 11th, 2012 by Admin

What if you forget the password of your Windows or you need to remove Windows password for other purpose? Just got a Windows password remover utility, a professional Windows password recovery software to remove lost Windows administrator and user passwords easily. No need to reinstall Windows.

There are many ways of removing forgotten Windows password out there, but most of them are so painful and ineffective, or too technical for most computer users to follow. Here I’ll show you the simplest and effective way to help you remove Windows password on any Windows system, including Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2008/2003/2000. Reset Windows Password utility is the Windows password remover tool we’ll use to create a bootable CD/USB for password removal. Let’s see the detail instructions.

How to Remover Windows Password with Windows Password Remover Utility?

To get started, you need to find another computer to create a Windows password removal CD or USB drive, then you can use the CD or USB drive to boot the computer whose password you want to remove.

  1. Download the Reset Windows Password utility. Unzip the download file, you’ll see the ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  2. Burn that ISO image to a blank CD or DVD using whatever burning software you prefer, such as BurnCDCC. If your computer doesn’t come with a CD/DVD recorder, you can burn the ISO image to a USB flash drive with ISO2Disc.
  3. Insert the CD or USB drive you’ve just created into the computer whose password you’re going to remove. Set the computer to boot from the CD or USB drive.
  4. When the computer is configured correctly, it will load the operating system inside the CD or USB drive, and launch the Reset Windows Password utility.

  5. From the screen of Reset Windows Password utility, you can see the Windows SAM registry hives detected on your hard drive. Choose one of your Windows SAM registry hives from the drop-down list, the program will show a list of Windows user accounts for your Windows installation.
  6. Select your desired user account and then click Reset Password button. It will remove your forgotten Windows password in no time.

Now take out the Windows password removal CD or USB drive. Restart the computer and at the logon screen, click your user account and leave the password box blank, you can then log in to your computer without any hassle. Windows password remover tool makes it incredibly easy to remove your forgotten Windows login password!

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

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2 Ways to Run a Program as Administrator in Windows

September 10th, 2012 by Admin

One of the features that make Windows 8/7/Vista securer than its previous versions is that most of the applications are launched by default without having local admin rights, even when you log in as an account that belongs to local administrator group.

And you probably already know that if you want to launch an application with local admin rights, you would have to use Run as Administrator to fire up the application.

Many applications need to be run as administrator in order to function properly, especially older software that haven’t been updated to support Windows 7 or Vista yet. So here I’ll show you 2 ways to run a program as administrator in Windows 8, 7, Vista.

Method 1: Run a Program Once as an Administrator

  1. Navigate to the program folder of the program you want to run. For example, C:\Program Files\Top Password.
  2. Right-click the program icon (the .exe file).
  3. Choose Run As Administrator.
  4. If you see a User Account Control prompt, accept it.

Method 2: Always Run a Program as an Administrator

  1. Navigate to the program folder of the program you want to run. For example, C:\Program Files\Top Password.
    Right-click the program icon (the .exe file).
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. On the Compatibility tab, select the Run This Program As An Administrator option.
  4. Click OK.
  5. If you see a User Account Control prompt, accept it.

You can run a program once as an administrator, or you can set a program to always run as an administrator, which fully depends on your choice.

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

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Forgot Windows 7 Password and No Reset Disk?

September 8th, 2012 by Admin

I forgot Windows 7 password to my computer, and it is the only account on the computer. I do not have a reset disk and I don’t think I ever had a reset disk. I cannot use that computer at all. No I have no idea how to log on to Windows. I can’t re-install windows now because I have data in it. How can I get in?

Forgot Windows 7 password and don’t have a password reset disk? Windows has a built-in password reset feature, which allows you to reset forgotten Windows password easily. But you need to create a password reset disk before you forget Windows password. But Many people may not be aware of do the preparation, so they tend to run into the situation of forgetting Windows 7 password without reset disk.

Here we’ll discuss on how to reset Windows 7 password easily if you forgot Windows 7 password and don’t have a password reset disk. So you can regain access to your computer without formatting or reinstalling the entire operating system.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows 7 Password without Reset Disk?

First of all, choose a software tool that can help you solve this forgotten Windows 7 password problem. If you don’t have option in front of you, Reset Windows Password is recommended. It will let you boot your computer and reset the password without changing anything else on your computer.  Here are the steps:

  1. Download the self-extracting Zip file of Reset Windows Password package.
  2. Unzip the download file, there is an ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn it onto a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive using ISO2Disc or any CD/DVD burning software you like.
  3. Boot your locked computer from the CD or USB flash drive.
  4. Wait until the boot process is complete. When a window pops up with all your Windows 7 user accounts, select an user account and then click the Reset Password button.

    Reset Windows Password

  5. It will reset your forgotten Windows 7 password immediately.

Now all things are done, reboot the computer as usual and you can get into the system without being asking for any password. The forgotten Windows 7 password has been removed. If you are about to set a new password, make sure it’s safe and you’ll never forget it again.

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

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Forgot Windows Logon Password?

September 5th, 2012 by Admin

I have forgotten my Windows logon password. I am afraid to cut my computer off for fear I won’t be able to get back into it. Please help me recover my password or bypass it, either one. I need a baby steps tutorial since I am not too computer savvy as you can see. Please help. I’ll stay online until I get a response.

The Windows logon password is one of the most important passwords we have memorized and if you’ve lost or forgotten this password, the entire world can seem just out of reach. People are constantly locking themselves out of their personal laptops and home computers by forgetting the logon password. Luckily there is an easy way to reset forgotten Windows logon password so you can then log on to your computer in minutes.

How to Reset Windows Logon Password?

  1. Download the .zip archive of Reset Windows Password utility. Unzip the download file, you’ll get a bootable ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso, which can run from CD, DVD or USB flash drive.
  2. In my case, I’m going to reset Windows logon password on a netbook without CD/DVD drive, so I choose to burn the ISO image to USB flash drive with ISO2Disc utility.
  3. Once the burning process is complete, we need to make some changes to the computer with a forgotten Windows logon password: Get into computer BIOS and set USB or Removable Device as the first boot device.
  4. Plugin the USB flash drive into your locked computer. Restart the computer, it will then boot from the USB flash drive.
  5. When the Reset Windows Password program is launched, you’ll see the Windows SAM registry hive and user accounts on the boot screen.
  6. Choose a user account and then click Reset Password button, it will reset your forgotten Windows logon password immediately.

Restart the computer and unplug the USB flash drive, you’ll find you can log on to your computer without being asked to enter a password. As you can see, the dread of forgetting your Windows logon password can typically be put behind you. It’s the simplest option to reset forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP logon password.

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

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How to Reset Windows Password with Ubuntu for Free

September 3rd, 2012 by Admin

Windows has an in-built option to create password reset disk to log into system in case a user forgets the Windows account password. However, in a worst case scenario, where you don’t have a password reset disk nor have access to any administrator account, Ubuntu Live disk may help. In this article, we will guide you through step-by-step procedure of resetting Windows user account password.

While Ubuntu Live CD is widely used to troubleshoot PC problems, you can use it to reset Windows user account passwords as well. The process requires creating a Ubuntu Live CD or Live USB, and then booting it to gain full system access for resetting forgotten Windows password.

Note:  This method is free and easy for Linux users. For Windows users, we recommend you to try the Reset Windows Password bootable utility – Which is based on Windows PE and you can use it to easily reset forgotten Windows password on Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2008/2003/2000.

Step 1: Create a Bootable Ubuntu Live USB

To get started, grab Universal USB Installer, and then download Ubuntu 10.10 (32-bit or 64-bit) from here.

Launch Universal USB Installer, select Ubuntu 10.10 from drop-down menu, and then click Browse to select the Ubuntu ISO file. Now, select the USB drive letter and set the persistent file size.

Once all settings are in place, click Create to begin creating a bootable Ubuntu Live USB.

Step 2: Boot from Ubuntu Live USB

After the Ubuntu Live USB is created, reboot your PC and access computer BIOS by pressing ESC, F2, F10, F9 or other system defined key. Head over to Boot menu and set USB/Removable Hard disk as first boot option. Once boot priority is changed, save the changes and reboot the system. From boot menu, choose Run Ubuntu from this USB option to load Ubuntu 10.10.

Step 3: Install Chntpw

Once your booted into Ubuntu, hit Ctrl + Alt + T to open a Terminal window. I know this may seem a little scary but it is actually quite easy. Once this window is open, simply type sudo apt-get install chntpw and hit Enter. It should download and install the program without needing further assistance. Once it’s finished and your back at the regular prompt, simply type exit and hit Enter. Now you should be back on the Desktop.

Step 4: Reset Windows Password

Now, you need to mount the hard disk partition where Windows is installed. You will be able to access all the removable drives and hard disk partitions from Places menu.

Open all partitions to find the drive with Windows folder. When you find it, make a note of the drive’s label that appears in the menu bar of the file browser.

Once the drive with Windows folder is mounted, open Applications menu from panel, and select Terminal from Accessories menu.

In Terminal window, enter cd /media command, and then list all mounted media drives with ls command.

Once listed, you have to navigate to drive that contains Windows folder. Enter the following command to do so.
cd <hard drive label>

Since we have to make changes to Security Accounts Manager (SAM), which is residing in Windows/System32/config folder. Enter:
cd Windows/System32/config

Once you’re in config folder, use chntpw tool to read Windows user account credentials and make changes to saved passwords. Enter following command to run chntpw tool.
sudo chntpw SAM

The chntpw shows all the configured Windows user accounts with their current status.

It presents 4 different Windows user account tweaking options at the bottom, including clear the admin account password, replace current password/edit password, promote standard user, and unlock locked user accounts. You can reset Windows admin user account password by pressing ‘1’ followed by ‘Y’,  However, to edit the admin password, press ‘2’, enter a new password, hit enter and then press Y to change the password.

The sudo chntpw SAM command can only make changes to Windows admin account password. If you want to change standard user’s password, use the switch –u followed by correct user account name.
sudo chntpw –u <user account name> SAM

Once you’ve changed the user account password, reboot your system, and plug out Ubuntu Live USB. If you’ve just reset the admin password, Windows will not prompt you to enter the password. However, if you changed the password, use the new password to log in to Windows.

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

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How to Retrieve Windows Password

August 30th, 2012 by Admin

Here is the situation. You just changed your Windows admin password. The next morning when you boot your PC, you can’t remember the password to login to your Windows. You got nervous and don’t know what to do. Every passwords you entered were wrong. But, be calm… Every problems have their solutions. Here are 2 solutions to help you reset / retrieve Windows password quickly and easily.

Solution 1: Retrieve Windows Password with Ophcrack

All you need is Ophcrack, a Windows password recovery tool. Borrow someone PC, download the tool and burn it in CD. Then boot your PC with the Live CD and Ophcrack will start do its work. But make sure to set your BIOS to 1st boot from CD or you will end up with boot in Windows. Launch the program and wait the password to be retrieved.

Ophcrack won’t work against strong passwords – particularly if you are trying to retrieve a Windows Vista/7 password. The cracking process can take some time, as well, depending on the password you are trying to crack. Simple passwords tend to be quick – complex passwords take more time. If you used a complex password on a Windows Vista/7 machine you may be out of luck.

Solution 2: Reset Windows Password Instantly

Retrieving Windows password is a time-consuming task, but you can reset forgotten Windows password quickly and easily. Reset Windows Password utility could be used to reset Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2008/2003/2000 password in no time. Let’s see how it works:

  1. Download the self-extracting Zip file of Reset Windows Password package.
  2. Unzip the download file, there is an ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn it onto a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive using ISO2Disc or any CD/DVD burning software you like.
  3. Boot your locked computer from the Windows password reset disk.
  4. Wait until the boot process is complete. When a window pops up with all your Windows accounts, select an user account and then click the Reset Passwordbutton.Reset Windows Password
  5. It will reset Windows password immediately.

Now you can then log in to your account with a blank password and regain access to your computer immediately! No need to spend a long time to retrieve your forgotten Windows password.

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

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How to Reset Your Windows Password without A Reset Disk

August 26th, 2012 by Admin

Have you forgotten your windows login password? This is the common problem which may arrive to every user at some point of time. The simplest way to reset a forgotten password is by using a previously created password reset disk. You can create such disk on a USB removable media or floppy within the Windows User Accounts Menu, for which go to Windows Control Panel > User Accounts > Create a password reset disk which you will find in the left pane. You can do this to your new PC as once you have the disk, insert it when starting the PC in turn it will cause Windows to display the Reset Password option at the login screen, in this way you will regain an access to your system.

But imagine worst case scenario when you try to login to your computer after many days (months may be) and you forget your Windows password and also haven’t created a password reset disk beforehand. What to do next? Here we’ll show you an easy way to reset your forgotten Windows password without a reset disk.

How to Reset Your Windows Password without a Reset Disk?

After forgetting your Windows password, the computer will become inaccessible and you can’t install any software to get around the problem. The only way is to create a Windows password reset disk and then use it to boot your computer, so you then have the ability of resetting your Windows password. Let’s begin.

Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset CD

  1. To prepare for the password-resetting procedure, you need another computer to connect to the Internet, download the Reset Windows Password utility.
  2. Unzip the download file which contains an ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  3. Next, burn the ISO image to a CD/DVD with any CD burning software such as BurnCDCC. A Windows password reset disk will be ready in one or two minutes.

Step 2: Boot Your Locked PC from the Password Reset CD

  1. Now that you’ve prepared the Windows password reset CD, go to the computer for which you have forgotten the password.
  2. Insert the Windows password reset CD and turn on the computer.
  3. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
  4. Change its BIOS settings to make it try to boot from the CD first.

Step 3: Reset Windows  Password

  1. Once you have configured the BIOS correctly, your computer will boot from the Windows password reset CD.
  2. After a while, the boot CD will launch the Reset Windows Password program.
  3. Choose the SAM registry hive from the list, the program will display a list of Windows user accounts on the computer.
  4. Select the user account whose password you forgot, then click Reset Password button.
  5. It will reset your forgotten Windows password in no time.

Now take out the password reset CD and reboot your computer. You can then log on to your computer without be asking for a password. It’s also super easy to reset your forgotten Windows password even if you haven’t created a password reset disk beforehand.

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

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