Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ category

How to Unlock HP Pavilion g7 Laptop After Forgetting Windows 8 Password

July 4th, 2013 by Admin

I have purchased a HP Pavilion g7 laptop which comes with Windows 8 pre-installed. I changed the administrator password a week ago and now have totally forgotten the password. Now I can’t access anything from my computer. Is there a way to bypass the password screen or reset the password?

Forgot Windows 8 password on your HP Pavilion g7 laptop? How can I unlock your HP laptop without restoring it to factory settings? Well you have come to the right place! In this tutorial we’ll walk you through how to unlock HP Pavilion g7 laptop using a PCUnlocker boot CD, in case your Windows 8 password is lost or forgotten. With PCUnlocker boot CD you can reset your Windows 8 password and get right into your HP laptop.

How to Unlock HP Pavilion g7 Laptop After Forgetting Windows 8 Password?

Because you’ve been locked out of your HP Pavilion g7 laptop, you can’t install any software on it. To reset your lost password, you need to create a PCUnlocker boot CD on another PC you have access to. Next you have to turn off the Secure Boot option in BIOS in order to get your HP Pavilion g7 to boot from the CD. After booting from the CD it enables you to reset lost Windows 8 admin/user password easily! This guide can be divided into 3 steps:

Part 1: Create A PCUnlocker Boot CD

Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker on your computer. After you’ve downloaded it, unzipped it and you’ll find the pcunlocker.iso file. Burn this ISO image to a blank CD (or USB flash drive) using ISO2Disc.

Part 2: Turn Off the Secure Boot Option in BIOS

Secure Boot is enabled by default on computers that were manufactured with Windows 8. In order to boot from a CD/DVD, you need to disable the Secure Boot option. Follow these steps to disable Secure Boot on HP Pavilion g7 laptop:

  1. Turn on your HP laptop. Immediately press the Esc key repeatedly, about once every second, until the Startup Menu opens.

    hp-startup-menu

  2. Press F10 to enter BIOS Setup. Next use the right arrow key to choose the System Configuration menu, use the down arrow key to select Boot Options, then press Enter.

    hp-bios

  3. Use the down arrow key to select Secure Boot and press Enter key, then use the down arrow key to modify the setting to Disabled. Save your changes and exit.

    hp-secure-boot

Part 3: Unlock HP Windows 8 Password

  1. Insert the PCUnlocker boot CD into your HP Pavilion g7 laptop. Turn on the laptop and press Esc key to bring up the Startup Menu again. This time you need to press F9 to select Boot Device Options. On the next screen, choose the Internal CD/DVD-ROM Drive in order to boot from CD. If you use a PCUnlocker USB drive, you need to choose the “Patriot Memory” option instead.
  2. After booting from the CD, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program after a while. PCUnlocker will automatically analyze your Windows 8 SAM registry hive and then display a list of local user accounts on your HP Pavilion g7 laptop.

  3. Choose a user account and then click on Reset Password button. The program will reset its password and unlock the user account if it is already disabled, locked out or expired. Click on Restart to reboot the machine and take out the PCUnlocker boot CD. After that you can log back into your Windows 8 system without a password!

Conclusion

Using PCUnlocker boot CD you can also reset lost Windows 8 password on other models of HP laptop, desktop and tablet PCs, including HP ENVY Sleekbook, HP Spectre XT Ultrabook and HP ElitePad 900 G1 Tablet.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password of A Microsoft Virtual PC Instance

July 3rd, 2013 by Admin

I have forgotten the administrator password of the Windows 2003 which runs on Microsoft Virtual PC. I really don’t want to reinstall the virtual machine again. How can I recover or reset the password?

Losing Windows administrator password is a frustrating experience, as you have likely lost access to all the applications and files on your PC. Resetting a lost Windows password on a virtual machine is the same process as resetting one from a physical machine. But in order to reset lost password of a Microsoft Virtual PC instance, you only need to get a bootable ISO image which contains Windows password recovery tool.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password of A Microsoft Virtual PC Instance?

Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocer on your host OS. After you’ve downloaded it, unzipped it and you’ll get a bootable ISO image: pcunlocker.iso.

Power your virtual machine in Microsoft Virtual PC. Click on CD menu and select Capture ISO Image as shown below.

Browse the pcunlocker.iso file and click Open, the virtual machine will boot from the ISO image. If not, go to Action menu and click reset to restart Virtual Machine. This time it will boot with ISO file.

After successfully booting from the ISO image, the computer will load the WinPE operating system. After a while it will launch the PCUnlocker program, which automatically locates Windows user accounts existing in your virtual machine.

Choose a user account whose password is unknown, and then click on Reset Password button. It will unlock / reset your lost Windows password immediately. After that, reboot the VM and you can then log back into the system inside your Microsoft Virtual PC.

Conclusion

Just boot your VM from PCUnlocker ISO image, you can reset lost Windows password for any Microsoft Virtual PC, no matter what version of Windows your guest OS is! PCUnlocker also works with virtual machine running in VMware Workstation, VirtualBox, Parallels, etc.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP User Password

July 2nd, 2013 by Admin

Forgot your Windows user password? How can I reset it? Sometimes we forget our Windows administrator password which leads to chaos as we cannot even change any system settings or install any software for the user account, but luckily there’s a really easy way to reset the password. All you need is a bootable USB stick and you can reset forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP user password immediately.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows 8/7/Vista/XP User Password?

First, download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker 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 onto a USB stick.

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 stick and select GPT partition style. Click on Burn. The program will create a GPT bootable password reset USB stick, which could be used to reset password on any computers, including UEFI-based Windows 8 tablet PCs.

Plug the USB stick into your locked computer that you want to reset the Windows user password for. 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 stick from the Boot Menu and press Enter. The computer will load the WinPE operating system from the USB stick. After a while, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program open up, which shows you a list of user accounts for your Windows system.

Select a user account and then click on Reset Password button. It will reset your lost Windows user password instantly. Unplug the USB stick and restart the machine, you can then log back into your Windows user account without a password!

2 Options to Change Windows 8 Password without Knowing Current Password

July 1st, 2013 by Admin

Lost or forgot Windows 8 password and wonder how to change the password without logging in? How can I change Windows 8 password using the command prompt if the existing password isn’t known, but I have admin rights? In this article we’ll show you 2 options to change Windows 8 password without knowing the current password.

Option 1: Change Windows 8 Password Using Command Prompt

As long as you can log into Windows 8 with administrator privileges, you can then change Windows 8 password simply by following the steps:

  1. Press Windows + X key combination to bring up the Power User menu, and then click/tap on Command Prompt (Admin) option. It will open up the Command Prompt immediately.
  2. Using the following command you can change the current password to a new one.
    net user {username} {password}
    Replace {username} with the name of the account you want to change and {password} with the new password.

Option 2: Change Windows 8 Password with PCUnlocker Live CD

How to change Windows 8 password when I am completely locked out the computer? This method is almost as easy as the one above. As long as you have a PCUnlocker Live CD, you can boot your Windows 8 computer from this CD and it enables you to change Windows 8 password immediately.

Here we will guide you through step-by-step procedure of creating a PCUnlocker Live CD and using it to change Windows 8 password without knowing the existing password.

  1. Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker. When the download is complete, unzip it and you’ll get a bootable ISO image file. Burn it to an empty CD using ISO2Disc, BurnCDCC, ImgBurn or other CD recording software.
  2. After you’ve created a PCUnlocker Live CD, insert it into your Windows 8 computer. When the computer is turning on, go to the boot menu (usually by pressing F8 on most computers, F12 on my Dell laptop). When inside the boot menu, select the CD/DVD-ROM Drive and press Enter.
  3. The computer will boot up the WinPE operating system that is in the Live CD. After a while you’ll see the PCUnlocker program which displays a list of Windows 8 user accounts. Choose a user account and click on “Reset Password” button, it will remove your forgotten Windows 8 password instantly.

Conclusion

Using the methods above you can change Windows 8 password easily, without knowing the current password. These methods also work on Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Windows 8 Tablet Password Recovery

June 29th, 2013 by Admin

Lost your Windows 8 tablet password? Unable to login after changing the Microsoft account password? In this article we’ll show you a quick way to recover access to your Windows 8 tablet easily after you’ve lost or forgotten the password to your administrator account or Microsoft account. This method will work with all brands of Windows 8 tablet PCs, including the tablets with UEFI Secure Boot turned on.

How to Recover Windows 8 Tablet Password?

To get started, you need to make a bootable password recovery USB drive. Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker on an alternate PC you have access to. Unzipping the download file and you’ll find a bootable ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso, which needs to be burned on a CD or USB drive. Obviously, USB drive is a better option for tablet PCs without CD drive.

Download and install ISO2Disc on your computer, and then start ISO2Disc program. Click on Browse button to select the ISO image file of PCUnlocker, then choose your USB drive and select GPT from the partition style drop-down box. Click on Burn. The program will create a bootable password recovery USB drive which can boot in either UEFI mode or legacy BIOS mode.

After creating a bootable USB drive, you can use it to recover your Windows 8 tablet password. Plug the USB drive into your Windows 8 tablet and get the machine to boot from USB drive.

The computer will load the WinPE operating system inside the USB drive. After a while, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program open up, which shows you a list of local user accounts existing on your Windows 8 tablet.

Select a user account and then click on Reset Password button. It will remove/reset your lost Windows 8 tablet password and also unlock/enable your user account in no time. If you’re using a Microsoft account on your Windows 8 tablet, you need to choose the local user account which is linked to your Microsoft account, the program will reset the cached password on your machine.

After that, unplug the USB drive and restart your Windows 8 tablet, you can then log back into Windows 8 without a password! It’s that easy!

How to Create A Bootable UEFI/GPT-Based Windows 8 Installation USB Drive

June 28th, 2013 by Admin

In order to perform a clean install of Windows 8 on my computer, I’ve made a bootable Windows 8 installation USB drive using Microsoft’s Windows USB/DVD download tool. However, the USB drive never showed as UEFI bootable in the Boot Menu. After some Google searching I discovered that this is because UEFI boot only recognizes FAT32 and will not show up NTFS devices during boot selection. What’s more, the USB drive must also be partitioned with GPT (GUID Partition Table) instead of traditional MBR.

So here I’m going to walk you through how to create a bootable UEFI/GPT-based Windows 8 installation USB drive. It’s very useful in case your computer doesn’t have optical drive, especially if you’re using a tablet such as Microsoft Surface Pro. To make the job easier, we’ll use a free ISO burning software – ISO2Disc, which provides you a super easy way to make a bootable UEFI/GPT-based USB drive from an ISO image.

How to Create A Bootable UEFI/GPT-Based Windows 8 Installation USB Drive?

Step #1: First download and install ISO2Disc utility on your computer.

Step #2: Launch ISO2Disc program. Click on the Browse button to specify a 64-bit Windows 8 ISO image file. Remember that only x64 versions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 support UEFI Secure Boot.

Step #3: Click on the Burn to USB Flash Drive option, then select your USB drive from the list. Choose the GPT from the partition style. This allows you to partition your USB drive with a GUID Partition Table.

Step #4: Next click on Burn. The program will begin creating a UEFI/GPT-based Windows 8 installation USB drive.

Step #5: When the burning procedure is complete, unplug the USB drive and you can then use it to boot off any UEFI-based computers and perform Windows 8 installation from your USB drive. It’s that simple!

How to Remove Microsoft Surface Pro Password with A Bootable USB Drive

June 28th, 2013 by Admin

Forgot your password for signing in to Windows 8 on your Microsoft Surface tablet? There are lots of Windows password recovery bootdisks which could be used to reset Windows 8 password, but they would be unable to boot up your Surface Pro. That is because Microsoft Surface Pro only supports UEFI native boot. Luckily, PCUnlocker can create a 64-bit UEFI capable USB drive which can be used to remove your lost Microsoft Surface Pro password easily! It works even if you’ve turned on the UEFI Secure Boot option.

How to Remove Microsoft Surface Pro Password with A Bootable USB Drive?

First you need to make a UEFI bootable USB drive. Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker Enterprise on an alternate PC you have access to. Unzipping the download file and you’ll find a bootable ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso, which needs to be burned on a CD or USB drive. Obviously, USB drive is better choice for Microsoft Surface Pro.

Download and install ISO2Disc on your computer, and then start ISO2Disc program. Click on Browse button to select the ISO image file of PCUnlocker, 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 bootable USB drive, you can use it to boot up your Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. No need to disable the Secure Boot option. Just hold down the volume-down (-) button as you press the Power button. Once you see the Surface logo, release volume button and now it will boot from your USB drive.

The computer will load the 64-bit UEFI capable operating system inside the USB drive. After a while, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program open up, which shows you a list of user accounts existing on your Microsoft Surface Pro.

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 Surface Pro, you can then log back into Windows without a password!

Conclusion

So this is how can you remove Microsoft Surface Pro password with a bootable USB drive. Quickly unlock your Microsoft Surface Pro tablet when you lost or forgot your Windows password. No need to reset or restore your Surface Pro back into factory settings, especially when there are important data or files left in your tablet.

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.

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.

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.