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How to Reset Windows Password on Any Computers with UEFI Secure Boot

June 28th, 2013 by Admin

Forgot Windows password on a computer with UEFI Secure Boot enabled? If you’ve bought a Surface Pro tablet from Microsoft, you’ll find that the tablet can only run in native UEFI without CSM. It means most of password reset Live CDs such as Ophcrack, Offline NT Password & Register Editor won’t work on your computer any more. The only bootdisk that works is PCUnlocker. It can run from a USB flash drive on any UEFI-based computer, even without disabling the Secure Boot option. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to create a GPT bootable USB drive and use it to reset lost Windows password on any computers with UEFI Secure Boot.

How to Reset Windows Password on Any Computers with UEFI Secure Boot?

First, download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker Enterprise on an alternate PC you have access to. After unzipping the download file you’ll find a bootable ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso, which needs to be burned on a CD or USB flash drive.

Download and install the free ISO burning software ISO2Disc on your computer, and then launch ISO2Disc program. Click on Browse button to select the ISO image file you’ve gotten, then choose your USB drive and select GPT from the partition style drop-down box. Click on Burn. The program will format your USB drive with a GPT partition table and copy the contents of the ISO image to the partition.

After creating a PCUnlocker recovery USB drive, you can use it to boot up your locked computer which runs in UEFI Secure Boot. No need to disable the Secure Boot option. Just turn on the machine and press a key like F12 to bring up the Boot Menu. The exact key depends on your computer.

Choose your USB drive from the Boot Menu and press Enter. The computer will load the operating system from the USB drive so the password reset utility can access your Windows SAM registry file offline. After a while, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program open up, which shows you a list of user accounts existing in your Windows system.

Select a user account and then click on Reset Password button. It will remove/reset your lost Windows password and also unlock/enable your user account in no time. Unplug the USB drive and restart the machine, you can then log back into your Windows system without a password!

Conclusion

So that is how can you reset lost Windows password on any computers with UEFI Secure Boot. The PCUnlocker recovery USB drive supports booting in both UEFI Secure Boot or Legacy BIOS mode.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

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How to Change the Window Border Size in Windows 8

June 26th, 2013 by Admin

If you’ve upgraded to Windows 8, you’ll noticed that the border size of window is fairly thick, which doesn’t look good. If you’re one of those users who want to customize the window border size, then you hit the right place. In this article we’ll show you how to change the window border size in Windows 8 using a quick registry tweak.

How to Change the Window Border Size in Windows 8?

First, we have to open the Windows Registry Editor. Press Windows + R key combination to bring up the Run box, type regedit and press Enter.

Navigate to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the right panel, you can easily find the values here that are related to the border width are BorderWidth and PaddedBorderWidth. The default value of BorderWidth is -15 and that of PaddedBorderWidth is -60. Change them to higher values to reduce the border width.

change-windows8-border-size

To make your window borders as small as possible, double-click BorderWidth and set it to 0, and then double-click PaddedBoderWidth and set it to 0.

That’s it. Now you have successfully changed the window border size in Windows 8. Restart your system and see the effect. To make your window look more attractive, you can also change the color of the window borders. To do so, right-click on your desktop and select the Personalize from the context menu, then click on the Color option which allows you to change the border color to whatever you like.

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Forgot the Administrator Password for Windows 7 Starter

June 26th, 2013 by Admin

I have a Windows 7 Starter netbook laptop, and I have forgotten the administrator password for it. I only have ONE account on it and that is the one where I forgot my password. How can I get in?

Forgot your Windows 7 Starter password? Can’t log into your computer at all after losing the administrator password? In many occasion because of your stress there you have a chance to forget the password. Sometimes it may occur due to the security consciousness of the user as you frequently change the password.

Fortunately there is a safe and quick recovery disk to reset lost or forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP password. With PCUnlocker you can unlock and reset passwords for local system accounts easily. In this tutorial we’re going to walk you through how to reset Windows 7 Starter password using PCUnlocker Recovery USB drive. Quickly get back into your computer in case your administrator password is lost or forgotten.

How to Reset the Administrator Password on Windows 7 Starter?

Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker and save it to any computer that you have access to. Unzip the download file and burn the ISO image to your USB flash drive using ISO2Disc program. PCUnlocker can also load from a bootable CD but USB drive should be more useful when your computer doesn’t come with a CD/DVD burner.

After creating a PCUnlocker Recovery USB drive, plug it into your Windows 7 Starter computer. Power on the machine and press the key indicated during the power-on self-test (POST) to enter BIOS, then change the boot priority in BIOS to boot from removable device. Save your changes and exit.

This time your computer should boot from the PCUnlocker Recovery USB drive. After a while you’ll see the PCUnlocker program which displays a list of local user accounts existing in your Windows 7 Starter system. Choose the administrator account and click on Reset Password button, it will remove/unlock your Windows 7 Starter administrator password instantly.

Now you’ve successfully reset the administrator password, unplug the USB drive and restart the computer. You can then log back into your Windows 7 Starter administrator account without a password!

Besides resetting Windows 7 Starter password, you can also use the PCUnlocker Recovery USB drive to reset lost administrator password on other editions of Windows 7, such as Windows 7 Home / Professional / Ultimate.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7

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How to Create A Bootable USB Drive for UEFI Computers

June 25th, 2013 by Admin

Nowadays, most of the new Windows 8 laptops, desktops or tablets use the UEFI replacement for the traditional BIOS, such as Surface Pro, Samsung Slate or other UEFI systems. The problem with UEFI-based computers is that they can’t boot from bootdisk with NTFS partition. UEFI system requires that your bootdisk resides on FAT32 partition.

Most USB burning programs will format your USB drive as NTFS, which includes the Microsoft Store Windows USB/DVD download tool. Luckily there is a free ISO burning software that lets you create a bootable USB with FAT32 file system only. It’s called ISO2Disc. But here I’m going to show you how to use the Command Prompt to create a bootable USB drive for UEFI computers.

How to Create A Bootable USB Drive for UEFI Computers?

  1. Open the Command Prompt with administrator privileges, then start the diskpart utility:
    diskpart.exe
  2. List all the disks and identify your USB drive:
    list disk
  3. Select the disk number that is your USB drive.
    select disk 1
  4. Remove all existing partitions:
    clean
  5. Convert the partition table from MBR to GPT:
    convert gpt
  6. Create a new partition, make it active and format as FAT32, then assign a drive letter:
    create partition primary
    select partition 1
    active
    format quick fs=fat32
    assign
  7. Type “exit” and press Enter to quit diskpart utility.

The final step is to copy all the files from your physical boot CD to the USB drive. For example, you can copy all files from either your Windows 8 installation DVD or ISO image to your USB drive. After that, you can use the USB drive to boot your UEFI computer and perform system repairing or installation for your own purpose.

If you still are unable to boot your UEFI computer from the USB drive, you may need to disable the Secure Boot option in the BIOS. In my Samsung Slate tablet PC, I have to disable the Secure Boot by following these steps:

  1. Press and hold Volume-Up and Volume-Down, then power up or reboot the slate. It should go into BIOS setup.
  2. In “Advanced Configuration”, change “Attempt Secure Boot” to Disabled.
  3. Press Volume-Up and Volume-Down to exit, then “Save Changes and Reset”.
  4. Power off the machine.
  5. Plugin USB drive to slate. Press and Hold Volume-Up button, then power up the machine. It should boot into USB drive now.

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How to Reset Forgotten Windows 8 Password on Dell Latitude Tablet

June 24th, 2013 by Admin

I am using a Latitude 10 tablet with the Dell factory release of Windows 8 pre-installed. I have forgotten the administrator password and don’t have a password reset disk. Is there a way to delete/reset the password so I can get into my computer?

Forgot Windows 8 password on your Dell Latitude tablet? How to reset lost Windows 8 password without performing a factory reset? Windows is getting more secure with every release but unfortunately a new feature of UEFI Secure Boot makes old password cracking methods to common problems obsolete. So here I’m going to walk you through how to reset forgotten Windows 8 password on Dell Latitude tablet.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows 8 Password on Dell Latitude Tablet?

Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker on another PC you can access. Unzip the download file and burn the ISO image on a USB flash drive using ISO2Disc program.

After you have created a PCUnlocker Live USB drive, connect it to your Dell Latitude tablet which requires a password reset. Turn on the tablet PC and hit F2 from keyboard dock or volume- rocker at startup. In the BIOS, navigate to the System Configuration > USB Configuration and enable the Boot Support option, then go to Secure Boot > Secure Boot and disable the Secure Boot option. Apply settings and Exit.

dell-latitude-secure-boot

Hit F2 from keyboard dock or hold down volume+ rocker at power-on. Choose your PCUnlocker Live USB drive and press Enter. Your tablet will load the WinPE operating system from your USB drive. After a while, you’ll see the PCUnlcoker program. The program displays a list of Windows 8 user accounts existing in your Dell Latitude tablet.

Choose a user account and click on Reset Password button. The program will reset your lost Windows 8 password and also unlock/enable your user account when it’s necessary. Now click on Restart button to reboot the computer and remove the PCUnlocker Live USB drive.

After booting to the Windows 8 login screen, just leave the password box empty and you can log back into your Windows 8 user account immediately. It’s so easy to reset a forgotten Windows 8 password on Dell Latitude tablet PC.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

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How to Find Windows Administrator Password without Resetting It

June 22nd, 2013 by Admin

How can I find out Windows administrator password without changing or resetting it? That’s where Ophcrack comes in. Ophcrack is one of the more effective password cracking software that runs on a Live CD, and it can be used to find your original Windows password.

Since you obviously can’t get into your computer right now because you’ve forgotten the administrator password, we need to make a Ophcrack Live CD on another computer that you have access to. Then you can use it to boot off your computer and it enables you to find Windows administrator password without resetting it.

How to Find Windows Administrator Password without Resetting It?

  1. Put the Ophcrack Live CD in the CD drive of the computer you want to find the Windows administrator of.
  2. Have the computer to boot from Ophcrack Live CD. This shouldn’t be to hard. Depending on computer, enter the bios settings and change the boot settings to boot from a disc drive on first boot device.
  3. After the initial startup of your computer is complete, the Ophcrack Live CD menu should display. Select the Ophcrack Graphic mode option and press Enter.

    ophcrack

  4. The next screen is the Ophcrack Live CD software itself. Ophcrack will attempt to find the passwords for all of the Windows user accounts that it can find on your computer. This password cracking process is completely automated.

    ophcrack-program

  5. After Ophcrack recovers your password, write it down, remove the Ophcrack Live CD from your optical drive and restart your computer. You can then get to log on to Windows with your discovered password!

Ophcrack won’t find every password – some are too long and some are far too complicated. If Ophcrack didn’t do the trick just try some Windows password reset software. One of the most powerful software is PCUnlocker, which can help you reset lost Windows administrator password instantly. It always works no matter how long or complicated your administrator password is.

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

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Learn the Basics of Directory Services Restore Mode

June 20th, 2013 by Admin

Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) is a special boot option similar to Safe Mode in Windows. But this mode is only applicable to Windows Server domain controllers and it is used to restore or repair an Active Directory database. If there is a need to repair or restore Active Directory database, DSRM has to be used. Restarting in Directory Services Restore Mode takes the domain controller offline, meaning it functions as a regular server, not as a domain controller.

Boot into Directory Services Restore Mode

If you have physical access to a domain controller, you can access the Directory Services Restore Mode easily. Simply turn on or restart the computer and press F8 prior to the machine booting into Windows, the system will display the Advanced Boot Options.

dsrm

Choose the Directory Services Restore Mode from the menu and press Enter. The server will then boot into Directory Services Restore Mode.

Directory Services Restore Mode Password

Generally when you run the DCPROMO command to promote an individual server to a domain controller, the install wizard will prompt you to set a Directory Services Restore Mode password. This password is actually for the built-in local administrator account. In order to boot into Directory Services Restore Mode, you need to use the local administrator account along with the DSRM password to get past the Windows logon screen.

It is very important to know what the DSRM password is. The DSRM password provides the administrator with a back door to boot into Directory Services Restore Mode for performing maintenance and recovery tasks. This account is often forgotten by most AD administrators, which results in a significant security risk. If exploited, this security risk can cause high impact.

The DSRM password should be changed on a regular basis. Because the DSRM password can be used to log on in Directory Services Restore Mode, and in this mode the tasks that can be performed are significant, an exploit of the DSRM account can be extremely detrimental to your AD DS forest.

But what to do if you forgot the DSRM password? In the event a DSRM password is forgotten, you can change or reset it easily by using the tricks described in this article: How to Change or Reset DSRM Administrator Password.

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Posted in Active Directory Password, Others

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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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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7

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