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How to Reset Windows 2000 Password When You Forgot it

July 30th, 2012 by Admin

I can’t seem to remember my Windows 2000 password. It asked me that my password has expired and it requires a new one. The problem is, my laptop (Toshiba 1500) has been put away for a few months and I cannot find the original password. I need to get to my laptop and retrieve some important files. Can anyone tell me how I can recover or reset this password?

Forgot Windows 2000 password on a computer you haven’t used for a while? You logged off your PC and when you got back on the next day it wouldn’t accept your password? We all have the possibility of forgetting Windows password, so for those when your password completely escapes you, this guide will come to your rescue. Take a look at this tutorial to learn how to reset Windows 2000 password when you forgot it.

Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset Disk

  1. First we need to find an accessible computer so we can create a Windows password reset disk on it.
  2. Download the ISO image of Reset Windows Password boot CD which is zipped.
  3. Extract the ISO file from the ZIP archive using WinZip.
  4. 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 reset forgotten Windows 2000 password.

Step 2: Set Your Locked Computer to Boot from Password Reset Disk

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Next save your changes and reboot the computer.

Step 3: Reset Windows 2000 Password

  1. Once your computer boots from the Windows password reset disk, it will launch the Reset Windows Password utility.
  2. This utility automatically scans your hard drive and find Windows SAM databases for all your Windows installations.
  3. Choose a Windows SAM database. The program will display all Windows user accounts inside it.
  4. Select the Windows user account whose password you forgot, then click Reset Password button to reset/remove the password.

Reboot your computer and eject the Windows password reset disk, the computer will boot normally and you can then log in to Windows 2000 system without entering a password. What’s more, this guide also works with Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP and Windows Server 2008, 2003.

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How to Reset Windows Server 2003 R2 Password

July 28th, 2012 by Admin

Did you just set a new administrator password on Windows Server 2003 R2 and can’t remember it now? You have come to the right place. Although, resetting a forgotten Windows password is a bit tricky, but it is entirely possible. Today I will be covering the easiest way of resetting Windows Server 2003 R2 password if you forgot the local or domain administrator password.

You may be completely locked out of the computer. So we can’t install any software on it to reset the forgotten password. The only option is to create a Windows password reset disk on another accessible computer, and then use it to boot off your locked computer and perform password resetting.

Step 1:  Create a Windows Password Reset Disk

Download the Reset Windows Password utility.  Once the download completes, right-click the .zip file and select Extract All. This will decompress the zip archive which there should an ISO image file (ResetWindowsPwd.iso) inside.

Insert a blank CD or USB drive into the computer. Burn the ISO image to it with the ISO2Disc software. It will take about one or two minutes to create a Windows password reset disk.

Step 2:  Set Boot Device Order in BIOS

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: Reset Windows Server 2003 R2 Password

Insert the Windows password reset CD/USB into your locked computer. If you set up the BIOS correctly your computer should automatically boot from the password reset disk.

It will launch the Reset Windows Password utility after a few minutes. The program automatically scans your hard drive for partitions that may have Windows installed. In the example below it found the Windows SAM registry hive for Windows Server 2003 R2. To reset Windows domain password you need to switch to the Reset Active Directory Password mode.

Choose a user account whose password you want to reset, then click Reset Password button. You’ll see a short message appear that says password is reset successfully!

Now remove the Windows password reset CD/USB and restart your computer. You will then log on Windows Server 2003 R2 without entering a password.

Conclusion

The password resetting procedure is clear and easy that nearly every computer user with basic computer skills can get it to work. Apart from resetting Windows Server 2003 R2 password, you can also follow this guide to reset forgotten Windows password on almost all Windows operating systems, such as Windows 8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server 2008/2000.

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Delete Your Confidential Files Permanently with Secure Wipe

July 28th, 2012 by Admin

Once you decide to discard your hard drive or resell your PC, it is mandatory to remove all personal information, passwords, and other details that you saved on it. Just deleting the data or formatting the hard drive is not sufficient, because there are powerful tools to recover all deleted data. Therefore, you need to permanently wipe all data from the hard drive.

Secure Wipe is a small, free utility that allow you to completely delete sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. So, no one can recover your personal or important data from it.

How to use Secure Wipe?

After installation, run the tool. From the setting menu, select the deletion algorithm that you prefer (e.g. Gutmann 35). Then from the Eraser tab select a folder or file that contains your personal details. Then click Erase button to erase the data permanently.

Secure Wipe can be downloaded (917Kb) free at this link.

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Transfer Files and Settings from Windows 7 to Windows 8

July 27th, 2012 by Admin

Whether you plan to upgrade your Windows 7 machine to Windows 8 or buy a new PC with Windows 8 pre-installed, you can use Windows Easy Transfer to copy all your files and settings from your old machine or old version of Windows to your new machine running Windows 8. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps of using Windows Easy Transfer and an external USB drive to easily complete the task.

Before we get started, let me clarify exactly what you can transfer using Windows Easy Transfer:

  • User accounts
  • Documents
  • Music
  • Pictures
  • E-mail (including contacts and e-mail settings)
  • Internet Favorites
  • Videos
  • And more

Part 1: Save Windows 7 Files and Settings to USB Drive

  1. To get started, you need to open Windows Easy Transfer on your old PC. In Windows 7, just search for Easy Transfer and you’ll see it show up:
  2. Click on Windows Easy Transfer from the list of programs.
  3. You’ll be presented with the Welcome to Windows Easy Transfer screen, which gives you an overview of what items you can transfer. Click Next to start.
  4. Select An external hard disk or USB flash drive.
  5. Now, select This is my old computer option to transfer files and setting from current PC.
  6. In this step, it shows currently logged-in User Profile and Shared Items options. You can customize the default folder and file section by hitting Customize. The Customize link present in User Profile section lets you pick Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Program Settings and Windows Settings, whereas the Shared Items section’s Customize link will open a Shared Items menu, allowing you to choose the shared items that are to be moved.
  7. Once you’ve selected the files, it will ask you to enter the password to secure the transfer process. Clicking Save will prompt you to specify the USB drive where your files and settings are to be copied.
  8. When the destination folder is selected, it will start copying the settings and selected folders. The time it takes to complete the copying process depends upon the volume of selected data.
  9. Window 7 Easy Transfer wizard saves all the settings, user folders, and files from Windows 7 in a MIG file. Now, eject the USB drive, and move to PC running Windows 8.

Part 2: Restore Files and Settings from USB Drive to Windows 8

  1. To get started, open Windows Search from Windows 8 Start hover menu, enter easy transfer in search bar, and then click Apps. Now, launch Windows Easy Transfer utility from main window.
  2. In Windows Easy Transfer wizard, select An external hard disk or USB flash drive option to restore data and settings saved in MIG file.
  3. In next step, choose This is my new computer option.
  4. It will now ask you to plug-in the USB drive where the MIG file is saved. Plug-in the USB drive and select Yes to specify the Windows Easy Transfer file.
  5. On selecting the MIG file, it will ask you to specify the password. Enter the password to restore the data, and click Next.
  6. Once access is granted, it will ask you to choose what to transfer from old PC. At this point, you can select the files and settings that are to be transferred to your new PC. Click Customize under User Profile and Shared Items sections to select the folders.
  7. Once you’ve selected the settings and folders, hit Transfer to begin the settings and data migration process.
  8. After this has finished you will get a message telling you the transfer is complete. You can also see a list of what files and programs were transferred, or choose close to exit the wizard. Now you have the best of both worlds – all your important old files saved onto your new computer.

Windows Easy Transfer provides 3 options to transfer your files and settings: An Easy Transfer cable, A network and A external hard disk or USB flash drive. The first two options require connecting your new PC to old PC in order to send the files and settings. However, if you’re planning to upgrade your PC to Windows 8, select the third option that moves your system settings along with files to external hard drive.

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

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Protect Website Passwords Saved in Your Browser

July 25th, 2012 by Admin

One of the most convenient tools browsers offer is the ability to save and automatically prefill your website login details and passwords. Because so many sites require accounts and it is well known (or should be at least) that using a shared password is a big no-no, a password manager is almost essential and also a handy feature. But what happens if someone is wandering by and decides to start poking around with your browser and vulnerable internet sites?

To protect your website passwords saved in your browser, it’s essential to learn more about the security features built into Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome.

It doesn’t matter how secure your passwords are if you’ve allowed a browser to store them with no protection. You’re left doubly unprotected by having no Windows password, as an unattended PC will force the user to log back in but without a password, an intruder is straight in.

Firefox offers good protection in that it can store an encrypted password file on your hard drive, if you ask it nicely. This protects all the log-in user names and passwords with a master password. So if someone happens to be on your computer and fires up the browser, they’ll have to enter your master password before the browser starts to automatically fill in all of your bank details without you.

For Internet Explorer there’s no such direct replacement. There is a Content Advisor that’s designed to block inappropriate content rather than block access to the browser and stored passwords. If you open Internet Options > Content and under Content Advisor click Enable, you’ll be prompted to enter a password and hint.

Initially this is massively annoying as it’ll prompt you for every website. We suggest you set a homepage, so when the browser is first opened the password will be required and you can allow all the other sites. The alternative is to set up blocks just on sites that require passwords.

When it comes to Chrome, security is even more lax: there isn’t any way to password protect access to the browser within Chrome itself. There is an extension called Secure Profile that goes some way to address this. It forces a password to be entered before access to the browser is allowed. However, as it’s an extension it can be disabled by knowledgeable people and due to limits on Java it displays the password being entered. But it does block access and is better than nothing.

Note: If you already forgot website passwords saved in your browser and want to recover them, Password Recovery Bundle is the software that can help you easily recover website logins and passwords stored in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. But if your website passwords are protected with a master password, it’s unrecoverable unless you know the master password.

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How To Install Windows 8 from USB Flash Drive

July 24th, 2012 by Admin

Some times you may prefer to install windows 8 from USB, there may be wide variety of reasons like, you don’t have a DVD drive or you wanted to install windows 8 in you netbook etc. No matter what the reason is, there is an easy way to do this. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to create a bootable Windows 8 installation USB drive and then use it to do a clean install of Windows 8.

Step 1: Create a Bootable Windows 8 Installation USB Drive

  1. First of all, insert your pen/USB drive and back up any data inside it.
  2. Now download Windows 7 USB/DVD tool and open it.
  3. Browse to your windows 7 ISO image using the “Browse” button.
  4. As we are going to create a bootable USB drive, select “USB device” option.
  5. Now select the USB drive letter and click “Begin copying”.

Step 2: Configure the BIOS of Your Computer

  1. Turn on your computer. 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.
  2. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to Removable Device so you can boot from a USB flash drive and perform Windows installation.
  3. Press F10 to save your changes.

Step 3: Install Windows 8 from USB Flash Drive

Assuming that you properly configured your BIOS, insert the Windows 8 Installation USB Drive into the USB port on your computer. Turn on the computer. Windows 8 setup program should now load, you can now continue to finish setting up Windows 8  from USB drive. Depending on the speed of your USB device, this may take a while.

Conclusion

This guide is quite easy to follow and anyone who has basic computer skill will able to create a bootable Windows 8 installation USB drive and install Windows 8 with any hassle. Many computers ship without Windows installation discs. So it’s necessary to create a Windows installation disk in case you need to do a fresh install of Windows on your own. Enjoy!

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How to Reset Windows Server 2008 R2 Password

July 23rd, 2012 by Admin

I have forgotten my Administrator Password in Windows Server 2008 R2. How should I recover or reset it? I’ve searched the web a lot without any satisfactory results, and I’m desperate I don’t know what to do. I have the original DVD, but I don’t want to reinstall it tho, because I also have Win 7 on another partition, and I don’t know how will it go. Please, do you know of any tips/tricks for doing that?

Windows 2008 R2 server is the latest and more secured operating system from Microsoft. If you are a system administrator dealing with Windows Server 2008 R2, you might have faced the situations of forgetting the Windows administrator password and don’t know how to bypass or reset the password. This post explains very simple steps to reset Windows 2008 R2 administrator password without knowing the original password.

To reset the forgotten administrator password on a computer which you can’t login, you need to use a bootable live CD to boot the computer. Password Recovery Bundle is the right software that can help you create a bootable password reset CD/USB. Follow the steps below to reset your forgotten Windows Server 2008 R2 administrator password easily.

How to Reset Windows Server 2008 R2 Administrator Password:

  1. Download Password Recovery Bundle and save it on another computer you have admin access to. Install and launch Password Recovery Bundle, then click Windows Password button, the pop-up dialog enables you to create a password reset CD.
  2. To make your locked computer boot off the password reset disk, head over to the computer’s BIOS and make some changes: Set CD-ROM as the 1st boot device.
  3. Insert the password reset disk you’ve created into your locked computer. Restart the computer. You’ll notice the boot screen is not the same as usual because it is loading from the password reset disk now.
  4. It takes a while to load some necessary files and launch the Reset Windows Password utility. On the main screen of Reset Windows Password utility, you can see the Windows SAM database file and a list of Windows local accounts on Windows Server 2008 R2.

    Here we’re going to reset Windows local administrator password, so we choose the Reset Local Admin/User Password option.

  5. Choose a user account whose password you forgot, then click Reset Password button. The program will reset your forgotten password and unlock the user account if necessary.
  6. Remove the password reset disk and restart the computer.

Now you can log in to Windows Server 2008 R2 without entering a password. Additionally, you can also use the boot CD to reset forgotten domain administrator password on Windows Server 2008 R2.

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Use WinPE to Recover Data from Unbootable System

July 23rd, 2012 by Admin

I’m in a big pinch right now. My computer (32-bit Vista Home Premium sp2) refuses to boot up (it keeps crashing with an error code 0x7b). I don’t care about the computer right now but I need to backup the data inside it. How do we transfer the data from a computer into an external drive when Windows doesn’t even boot up?

How to recover from a crashed system and safely carry out all the important data from a crashed computer? If your PC just won’t boot, or you can’t get into it because it is overrun with viruses, you can use a Windows PE boot CD as a quick way to get access to your files and copy them to another PC, or external drive. The process is simple enough.

How to Recover Data from Unbootable System:

  1. To get data back from any crashed and unbootable system, we need a bootable CD to access all the available partitions on the system. Click the following link to create a Windows PE bootdisk on any accessible computer.

    2. How to Create a Bootable Windows PE CD or USB Flash Drive

  2. Set your crashed or unbootable computer to boot from CD by going to the Computer BIOS.
  3. Once the computer boots off the CD,  it will load the operating system inside the CD. After logging into Windows PE system, you’ll be able to see all the data and files on the hard drive of your crashed or unbootable computer.
  4. Attach an USB or any external storage drive to the system and you can copy and backup all your important files to it.

Personally, I have used this CD on numerous occasions and in most cases, I successfully recovered my files like my Mp3 collections, software and documents files. With a non-booting system, our primary aim is to recover all the data first before trying out any solution since a wrong solution can wipe out all the available data from the hard drive.

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