Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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How to Reset Forgotten SA Password without Stopping SQL Server Instance

November 18th, 2013 by Admin

Forgot your SA password or get locked out of SQL Server? How to connect to SQL Server database in case the ‘BUILTIN\Administrators’ group is removed from SYSADMIN server role? One of my previous articles covers how to recover sa password through single user mode, but that approach requires of restarting your SQL Server instance and causing some downtime. Sometimes this would be unacceptable. In this article we’ll provide you with another way to reset forgotten SA password in SQL Server 2012/2008/2005 without any downtime.

How to Reset Forgotten SA Password without Stopping SQL Server Instance?

  1. To get started, we need to run the SQL Server Management Studio as the system account. This can be done easily with the PsExec program. Download PsExec from Sysinternals website. Extract the PsExec.exe program and save it to a folder on your computer such as C:\.
  2. Open an elevated Command Prompt and run the following command:
    C:\PsExec.exe -s -i "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\Ssms.exe"
    Note: Your actual path of SQL Server Management Studio may be different from the one above.
  3. It will start SQL Server Management Studio as the system account. You’ll see that the username is shown as “NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM”. Simply choose the “Windows Authentication” mode and click on the Connect button.

    connect-to-server

  4. Once you connect, in the Object Explorer view, click the plus sign next to Security, and then the plus sign next to Logins. Once expanded, right-click on the SA user, and choose Properties. You can then change the forgotten SA password with a new one.

    reset-sa-password

It is quite common to get locked out of a SQL Server instance, or simply forgot the SA password. With this approach you can reset forgotten SQL Server password easily! Quickly regain access to your SQL Server database without even any downtime.

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Posted in Others, SQL Server, Tips & Tricks

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Forgot Windows 8 Password and No Reset Disk?

November 6th, 2013 by Admin

Many Windows users are familiar with password reset disk that could be used to reset a forgotten Windows password. But most of people tend to ignore the importance of creating a password reset disk in advance before losing their passwords. What to do if you forgot Windows 8 password and don’t have a password reset disk?

Fortunately, there is a rescue CD called PCUnlocker which can help you reset lost password of both local administrator and Microsoft account in Windows 8. Basically PCUnlocker is a bootable ISO image that you have to write it on a CD or USB flash drive, which contains a WinPE operating system and a password recovery tool that allow you to have access to the Windows SAM file.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to reset forgotten Windows 8 password without a reset disk:

  1. First, you need to use another computer to download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker. Extract the downloaded file locally and then burn the resulting .iso file to a CD-ROM (or USB flash drive) using ISO2Disc program.

  2. Insert the PCUnlocker Live CD into your locked Windows 8 computer and boot from it. You may have to change the computer’s boot order in the BIOS in order to boot from the CD.
  3. If you boot from the CD successfully, the computer will load the contents of the CD drive, and finally start the PCUnlocker program. This program automatically detects your Windows installation and displays all Windows local accounts which are stored in the SAM registry hive.

  4. Choose a local account and click on “Reset Password” button. The program will reset your forgotten password instantly. If you’re using a Microsoft account with your Windows 8 system, please choose the local account which is linked to your Microsoft account and then reset the password.
  5. Restart your computer and remove the PCUnlocker Live CD. You can then log back into Windows 8 successfully.

PCUnlocker is a professional Windows password recovery tools for both technicians and computer beginners. Comparing to password reset disk, it’s much more powerful and every technicians should have it into their toolkit. Just with a PCUnlocker Live CD, you can reset forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP password on any computer.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

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How to Recover SA Password on Microsoft SQL Server

October 24th, 2013 by Admin

If you ever lost SA password, you may have thought your only option is to reinstall SQL Server and re-attach all of the user databases. However, SQL server provides a much better disaster recovery method which preserves objects and data in the master database. Simply start SQL Server in single user mode and you can recover SA password easily with the OSQL command. Here are the detailed steps:

Part 1: Start SQL Server in Single User Mode

  1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager.
  2. Find the SQL Server instance you need to recover the SA password.
  3. Stop the SQL Server instance.
  4. Right-click on the instance and select Properties.
  5. Click on the Advanced tab, and add -m; to the beginning of Startup parameter.
  6. Click OK and start the instance.

Part 2: Recover SQL Server SA Password

  1. Open an elevated command prompt and enter the command:
    osql -S myServer\instanceName -E
    Replace myServer\instanceName with the name of the computer and the instance of SQL Server that you want to connect to.
  2. At the next prompts, enter the following commands:
    1> alter login sa enable
    2> go
    1> sp_password NULL,'new_password','sa'
    2> go
    1> quit
  3. Stop the SQL Server instance.
  4. Remove the -m option from the Start parameters field, and then start the SQL Server service.

At this point you should be able to login to SQL Server using the SA user account and the new password you gave it. Besides recovering SA password with OSQL, you can also reset / change your forgotten SA password using the third-party software such as SQL Server Password Changer.

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Posted in SQL Server, Tips & Tricks

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KeyFinder Plus: Recover License Keys of Installed Software

October 22nd, 2013 by Admin

Lost your license key and can’t find it on a CD case, a manual or an old email somewhere? For those situations when you have to reinstall software on your computer and you don’t have the license keys or serial numbers, KeyFinder Plus is your savior. This small application will find the license, serial and product keys for all the software you had installed on your system prior to reinstalling it.

Simply run the KeyFinder Plus program on your computer, it automatically detects and decrypts the license / serial keys of all the popular softwares from your system, including Windows 8/7/Vista/XP, Office 2013/2010/2007/2003, Adobe CS2 – CS6, SQL Server 2012/2008/2005/2000.

One more thing which makes this small utility more useful is that you can retrieve the license keys from external Windows installations or any external Windows directory as well. Along with Windows you can also locate license keys from external software registry hive as well as remote computers.

Overall KeyFinder Plus is a nice tool that helps you to recover lost license key from any running system. After recovering your lost license keys, print them out or save them to disc and you’ll always have your keys to hand, should disaster strike – much more convenient.

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

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How to Find Your Lost Adobe Acrobat Serial Number

October 16th, 2013 by Admin

Need to transfer Adobe Acrobat to a new computer but lost your serial number? How do you find Adobe Acrobat Pro serial number before formatting your hard drive? If you somehow lost your serial number, there may be a way to find it as long as Adobe Acrobat is still installed.

Product Key Finder is a utility for retrieving lost serial numbers from Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Acrobat X, Adobe Acrobat XI. In just a few simple steps, you can find the serial number for your copy of Adobe Acrobat on your computer.

How to Find Your Lost Adobe Acrobat Serial Number?

  1. Download and install the Product Key Finder program on your computer.
  2. Start the program, and then click the Start Recovery button, it will bring up a drop-down menu that provides three recovery mode: From current system, From non-booting system and From remote computer.Recover Product Key from Local Computer
  3. Select the From current system mode from the drop-down menu. This program will scan both your Windows registry and Adobe folders on your computer, quickly locate Adobe Acrobat serial numbers, along with product keys of Windows, Office and other applications.
  4. Now click the Save To File button. It allows you to save your Adobe Acrobat serial numbers into a text file for safe keeping.

Obtaining the serial number from an installed Adobe Acrobat is legal. But if you’ve formatting your hard drive or done a fresh Windows installation, you’ll lose your serial number forever. In that situation, you need to purchase a new copy of Adobe Acrobat.

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Posted in Others, Product Key, Tips & Tricks

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How to Find SQL Server 2012 Product Key from Windows Registry

October 15th, 2013 by Admin

Need to perform a repair installation of SQL Server 2012 and can’t locate your original CD key? How can I recover lost product key from SQL Server 2012 installation? If you’ve misplaced your SQL Server installation key, you can retrieve it from Windows registry using a key finder program.

Product Key Finder is a simple program that can help you find lost product key of SQL Server 2012/2008/2005/2000 from Windows registry. Since SQL Server 2012, Microsoft has changed its algorithm to encode the product key. This cause most of key finder program become useless. Product Key Finder is the unique program available on the internet that can decrypt SQL Server 2012 product key flawlessly.

How to Find SQL Server 2012 Product Key from Windows Registry?

  1. Start the Product Key Finder program.
  2. Click the Start Recovery button, it will bring up a drop-down menu that provides three recovery mode: From current system, From non-booting system and From remote computer.

    Recover Product Key from Local Computer

  3. Select the From current system mode from the drop-down menu. This program will automatically scan your Windows registry, quickly find and recover your lost SQL Server 2012 product key, along with license keys of Windows, Office and other programs.
  4. Now click on the “Save To File” button. It allows you to export the product keys into a text file.

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Posted in SQL Server, Tips & Tricks

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Hide Your Sensitive Data with Protect My Folders

October 14th, 2013 by Admin

All of us have sensitive files that need to be hidden from prying eyes. This can be anything from our documents to pictures of family or friends. If you’re looking for a simple way to help you hide data from prying eyes and don’t want to have to deal with encryption, Protect My Folders might be the ideal choice. It works with Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP.

How to Safeguard Your Data with Protect My Folders?

  1. Download the installer of Protect My Folders. After that, double-click the downloaded file and allow the setup wizard to complete the installation.
  2. Upon first run, you will be asked to create a password for the application. This step is crucial because it will protect the application from allowing others to unhide your hidden folders.

  3. After you create the password, the main window will open for the application. From here, you do all the work. Click the “Add/Lock” button, navigate to the folder you wish to hide and click OK.

  4. Now that the folder is hidden, so it will not appear in Windows Explorer. You cannot even type the path of the folder and have it appear, even from Command Prompt.
  5. To access a folder that you have hidden, all you need to do is run Protect My Folder program again and enter your password. Choose the folder you wish to access and click on Unlock button.

With the folder password protected, the folder cannot be unhidden without entering the password. This  adds a second layer of protection for the folder in case the Protect My Folders program is deleted.

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

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How to Fix “Your PC is offline” Issue in Windows 8

October 7th, 2013 by Admin

I’ve been using Windows 8 since it came out. I shut my computer down last night and I’ve gone to log in this morning and I get this message: “Your PC is offline. Please sign in with the last password used on this PC.” I’ve tried all of possible passwords and can’t log in to my Microsoft account.

This is a very rare error message you may get when you use Windows 8 with Microsoft account. When you first add a Microsoft account to Windows 8, Internet connection is required and your Microsoft account password will be cached locally. Afterwards you should be able to use it to log in to Windows 8, even when Internet connection is not available. But there are many reasons that can cause the logon error of “Your PC is offline”. Here are the steps you can use to fix the “Your PC is offline” issue in Windows 8.

How to Fix “Your PC is offline” Issue in Windows 8?

First of all, if your Microsoft account password includes an upper case character, try to enter the same password all in small case and you should be able to log in. This should be a Microsoft bug where sometimes the last saved password is recorded in the system all in small case irrelevant the original password.

“Your PC is offline” means that your machine is currently not connected to any network. Make sure the network on your tablet or computer is not disabled or not disconnected. Check if the WiFi is on, or physically plugin a network wire to ensure that the machine you are dealing with is connected.

But sometimes the chances are your account has probably disabled due to some unusual activities. If you are using Microsoft Account as your user account, go to Reset Your Microsoft Account Password web page, and follow the steps there to reset your account’s password and to re-enable the account. Once done, you should be able to get into your Windows 8 machine again.

If you already forgot your Microsoft account password, don’t worry! It’s very easy to reset the last saved password that is stored on your PC and regain access to your computer without data loss. PCUnlocker is a powerful yet easy-to-use password recovery utility that enables you to reset the last saved password of your Microsoft account. Just boot your computer from PCUnlocker Live CD or USB drive, select the local account which is linked to your Microsoft account, and click on the “Reset Password” button. Reboot your computer and you can then log back in to your Windows 8 Microsoft account with the new password: Password123.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

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