What to do next if you forget your Windows 7 or XP password? The very first thing you should try is to go to safe mode and check whether you have set your administrator password. But if the administrator password is also set then you may be thinking the only way is to format the computer and install fresh Windows. Well, here I am going to suggest a method that will simply bypass Windows login password in case you forgot Windows 7/Vista/XP password.
Reset Windows Password is the software we’ll use in this guide to bypass forgotten login password on Windows 7/Vista/XP, which comes in bootable CD ISO image file. Just burn the ISO image to a CD (or USB device) you can use to boot the machine and remove the login password. Here are detailed instructions to bypass Windows login password:
Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset Disk
- First we need to find an accessible computer so we can create a Windows password reset disk on it.
- Download the ISO image of Reset Windows Password boot CD which is zipped.
- Extract the ISO file from the ZIP archive using WinZip.
- Burn the ISO file to a CD or USB drive using ISO2Disc. After a few minutes a Windows password reset disk will be created and we’ll used it later to unlock administrator account.
Step 2: Set Your Locked Computer to Boot from Password Reset Disk
- Turn on your locked computer and hold down F2 or whatever the setup key is shown as during the initial boot screen. This should bring up the BIOS.
- In the BIOS look for the Boot Device Priority option, set CD/DVD as the 1st boot device if you want to boot from Windows password reset CD. You can either set Removable Device as the 1st boot device if you want to boot off a Windows password reset USB drive.
- Next save your changes and reboot the computer.
Step 3: Bypass Windows Login Password
- Once your computer boots from the Windows password reset disk, it will launch the Reset Windows Password utility.
- This utility automatically scans your hard drive and find Windows SAM databases for all your Windows installations.
- Choose a Windows SAM database. The program will display all Windows user accounts inside it.
- Select the user account whose password is lost or forgotten, then click Reset Password button. The program will remove your forgotten password immediately.
Now you’ve completed the procedure of bypassing Windows login password. Remove the Windows password reset disk and reboot your computer. You’ll be able to bypass the Windows login screen without entering a password. It’s so simple!