Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ category

2 Options to Recover Windows Product Key from Dead or Unbootable PC

May 27th, 2013 by Admin

How to recover Windows product key in the event your computer won’t boot? In one of my previous post I wrote how to recover Windows product key, but it requires that you are able to boot normally into Windows. What to do if your computer has already crashed? In this article we’ll show you two options to help you recover Windows product key from a dead or unbootable computer.

Option 1: Connect your Dead or Unbootable Drive to Another Working PC

Simply take the hard drive out of your dead or unbootable computer, then attach it to another working computer as a slave (or secondary) drive. Using KeyFinder Plus program you can easily recover lost Windows and software product keys from the Windows registry file on your dead or unbootable hard drive. Follow these steps:

Launch KeyFinder Plus and then click on “Start Recovery” button.
Choose the “From non-booting system” option from the drop-down menu, a new dialog box will appear.
Click the “…” button to specify the SOFTWARE registry file of your dead or unbootable hard drive, which is present in the Windows\System32\Config folder. Click OK.
The program will now show you all the product keys that it is able to find from your broken computer which makes it very handy when needing to re-install.

Option 2: Using a Key Finder Bootable CD

PCUnlocker is the ultimate rescue & recovery bootdisk which can not only be used to reset forgotten Windows admin/user password, but also recover lost Windows product key from crashed or dead computer.

Boot your target computer from PCUnlocker Live CD, which can be created by following this tutorial.
When the PCUnlocker program starts, click the Options button at the bottom left corner and then select “Find Product Key“.
In the popup window, you’ll see a list of product keys which are recovered from your Windows installation. Click on Save.
Browse to a location where you want to save the product keys. It could be your external USB flash drive.

Conclusion

There are many other ways to recover lost Windows product keys from a dead or unbootable computer, but these two method above should be the best and the easiest ones. The key finder programs mentioned above support the product key recovery for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Microsoft Office and many other softwares.

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

Tags: find windows product key lost windows product key recover windows product key recover windows product key from crashed computer recover windows product key from dead computer recover windows product key from external hard drive recover windows product key from hard drive recover windows product key from unbootable computer recover windows product key from unbootable drive windows key finder windows product key finder windows product key recovery

How to Reset Lost Parental Controls Password in Windows 8/7/Vista

May 24th, 2013 by Admin

Using parental controls in Windows 8/7/Vista, you can control the times that your children can use your computer, the kinds of games they can play, and the programs they can access. If you realize that you have forgotten your parental controls password, then you are unable to log on the administrator account and change the parental controls settings. In this article we’ll explain how to reset lost parental controls password in Windows 8, 7 and Vista.

How to Reset Lost Parental Controls Password in Windows 8/7/Vista?

To disable or make some changes with your parental controls settings, you’ll need to log on the computer with administrator account. In case you lost or forgot your admin password, you can reset it easily by following these steps:

Download the self-extracting Zip file of Reset Windows Password package.
Unzip the download file, there is a bootable ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn it onto a blank CD/DVD or USB stick using ISO2Disc or any CD/DVD burning software you like.
Boot the computer with parental controls enabled from the Live CD/USB drive you’ve burned.
Wait until the boot process is complete. When a window pops up with all your Windows accounts, select the administrator user account and then click the Reset Password button.
The program will unlock and reset your lost administrator password immediately.
Take out the Live CD/USB drive and restart the computer, you can then log in to the administrator account without entering a password.

So this is how can you reset lost parental controls password in Windows 8, 7 and Vista. If you are very tech savvy and need to recover the original administrator password without resetting it, you can try the free Windows password recovery software: Ophcrack.

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

Tags: parental control password parental control password reset parental controls parental controls password parental controls password reset

2 Options to Reset Lost Microsoft Account Password in Windows 8

May 23rd, 2013 by Admin

I just switched over from Windows XP to Windows 8 and for some reason. But now I can’t remember The password that I used for Microsoft account. Is there any way to recover or reset the Microsoft account password so I can regain access to my computer?

Lost or forgot your Microsoft account password? Windows 8 allows you to sign in to your computer using either a Microsoft account or a local user account. If you have forgotten the password for the Microsoft account that you use to log in to your Windows 8 computer, it seems to be impossible to hack into your computer. In this article we’ll show you two methods to help you reset lost Microsoft account password in Windows 8.

Method 1: Reset Lost Microsoft Account Password Online

If you’re using a Microsoft Account instead of a local user account, you can reset your password online if you forget it. To do so, visit the Reset Your Password page on Microsoft’s website. Enter your account’s email address and enter the CAPTCHA code to confirm you’re a human being, not a robot.

There are a number of ways to receive a reset link, including via email to the address associated with your account, a code sent via SMS message to a phone you’ve associated with your account, and a PC you’ve trusted to access your Microsoft account.

When the password is reset, you will be able to use your Microsoft account with the new password to sign in to your Windows 8 computer. Make sure the Windows 8 computer is connected to the Internet before you attempt to sign in.

Method 2: Reset Lost Microsoft Account Password with Boot Disc

There are tons of password recovery boot discs available on the internet which can help you recover or reset lost Windows local account password. But they don’t support Microsoft account password recovery at all, except the Reset Windows Password utility.

Reset Windows Password utility basically boots off from a WinPE disc and hack into the SAM database that stored the password hash of Microsoft account and reset your account’s password from there. Let’s see how can use it to reset your forgotten Microsoft account password in Windows 8:

First, you need to find an alternative computer in order to make a bootable Live CD. Download the Reset Windows Password utility and save it on the computer. Unzip the download file and you’ll get an ISO image file called ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn the ISO file to a blank CD (or USB flash drive) using ISO2Disc program.
Next, insert the Live CD into your locked Windows 8 computer and boot the computer from it. If you don’t know how to set your computer to boot from CD, please refer to your computer’s manual or check out this guide: How to Boot A Computer from CD or USB Drive.
The computer will load the mini operating system inside the Live CD and open up the Reset Windows Password window as follow.
From the window, you can see a list of local user accounts existing in your Windows 8 installation. For dual-boot or multi-boot computer, make sure you choose your desired Windows SAM registry hive from the drop-down list.
Choose the local user account which is linked to your Microsoft account, and then click on Reset Password button. The program will assign a new password (Password123) to your Microsoft account.
Remove the Live CD and restart the computer, you can then log in to your Windows 8 Microsoft account using the new password: Password123

Note: This Live CD only replaces the password hash of your Microsoft account which is cached on the local computer, so you can log in to your Windows 8 PC using a new password. It doesn’t reset your online account password.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: forgot Microsoft account password lost microsoft account password Microsoft account password reset reset Microsoft account password windows 8 microsoft account

No User Accounts Show Up on Windows Welcome Screen? How to Log In?

May 23rd, 2013 by Admin

I’ve got an issue with Windows 7 logins. There is no user accounts appear when the computer boots to the Windows Welcome screen. How do I log into Windows? I also tried to boot up in safe mode and got the same thing. Is there a way to resolve this?

Cannot log into Windows because somehow the user accounts are gone from the Windows login screen? When you start the computer and reach the Welcome screen, there are no user accounts to click on to login. This is one of the most tricky computer problems faced by Windows users. Most of us have no other choices but to reinstall Windows. However, there is an easy fix to this problem.

No user accounts at Windows Welcome screen

No user accounts at Windows Welcome screen? This usually happens when you disable or delete all of your Windows user accounts. It can also caused by inappropriate local group policy or registry settings. Reset Windows Password utility can help you fix all of these problems so your user account will show up again on Windows Welcome screen. Quickly log back into Windows Desktop without reinstalling Windows.

Solution to the Problem of “No User Accounts Show Up on Windows Welcome Screen”

Reset Windows Password utility is mainly designed for resetting forgotten Windows user account passwords. But it can also help you fix the login problems that might be caused by inappropriate local group policy, registry settings or others. Just go through the following steps to get your user account show up again at Windows Welcome screen.

Step #1: First, you need to find an alternative computer in order to make a bootable Live CD. Download the Reset Windows Password utility and save it on the computer. Unzip the download file and you’ll get an ISO image file called ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn the ISO file to a blank CD (or USB flash drive) using ISO2Disc program.

Step #2: Place the Live CD into the CD drive of your problematic computer and select CD/DVD as the first boot device in computer BIOS. If you don’t know how to get your computer to boot from CD, please refer to this article: How to Set Your Computer to Boot from CD or USB Drive.

Step #3: Once the computer boots from the Live CD, it will open up the Reset Windows Password program after one or two minutes. The program automatically searches your Windows installation and displays a list of user accounts existing inside Windows SAM registry file.

Step #4: Choose a user account and click on “Reset Password” button. The program will remove your user password and also fix any problem with your user account: enable the account if it was disabled, unlock the account when it was locked out, tweak your local group policy or registry settings which cause your account disappear from the Windows Welcome screen.

Step #5: Restart the computer and remove the Live CD. When booting to the Windows Welcome screen, you should see your user account show up again. Simply click on your user account and left the password field blank/empty, you can then log back into Windows Desktop.

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

Tags: no user account on welcome screen no user account on Windows login screen no users on welcome screen no users show up on welcome screen.

How to Show File Name Extensions in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

May 22nd, 2013 by Admin

By default all Windows versions such as Windows 7, Vista, Windows 8 or Windows 10 don’t show file name extensions for known file types. This means that as long as a file type is associated with a program, Windows will show only a file name and not its extension. But sometimes this may cause unnecessary confusion. For example, if there are two files with the same file name but a different extension, it’s difficult to distinguish one file from another. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to show file name extensions in Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7.

Part 1: How to Show File Name Extensions in Windows 11

Open File Explorer, click on View at the top and then select Show from the drop-down menu.
Next, choose “File name extensions” so that there’s a tick next to it. The extensions of all your files will become visible.

Part 2: How to Show File Name Extensions in Windows 10 / 8

Open up File Explorer.
When the File Explorer window opens, click on the View tab at the top. Check the box next to “File name extensions“.
Now, you should be able to see file name extensions for every file on your computer.

Part 3: How to Show File Name Extensions in Windows 7

Open up Windows Explorer.
click Organize in the toolbar on the top, and then select Folder and search options.
Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box. Deselect Hide extensions for known file types and click OK.
This will make Windows 7 show file name extensions immediately.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8

Tags: hide file extensions windows 10 show file extensions windows 10 show file extensions windows 11 show file extensions windows 7 show file name extensions in windows

Best Windows Key Finder to Find Your Lost Windows Product Key Easily

May 20th, 2013 by Admin

Normally, Windows product key will either be displayed on the Windows installation CD sleeve or on the top/bottom of your desktop tower or laptop. However, over time these either get lost or become unreadable. What to do if you lost your Windows product key but have to do a reinstall? This is where 3rd party Windows key finder programs come in.

Product Key Finder is the best Windows key finder program which can help you find lost Windows 8/7/Vista/XP product key easily. It’s a well-known fact that Windows product key is stored in the registry, but it is encrypted for security reasons, so it won’t be of any use to you. With Product Key Finder you can get back your lost product key in just a few simple steps!

How to Find Lost Windows Product Key Using Windows Key Finder program?

Download Product Key Finder and save it on your computer. After the download is complete, double-click on the download file and install it. Next launch the application. Click on the “Start Recovery” button and then choose the “From current system” option. The program will go through the registry on your computer and locate your Windows product key and some keys for other software installed on your machine.

Write down the product keys and then you can reinstall Windows, or place the key in a database where you won’t lose it. Product Key Finder is a handy recovery tool to keep in your software utility toolbox.

That’s all there is to it. The use of this type of Windows key finder program is not illegal, because it is simply locating and providing the product key that you purchased.

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

Tags: find windows product key lost windows product key windows key finder windows product key finder

How to Find Product Key of Pre-installed Windows 8/7/Vista/XP

May 10th, 2013 by Admin

I recently purchased a Lenova Ideapad n580 with Windows 8 pre-installed. I was thinking about adding features. However, this requires the product key and I have been unable to locate it. I checked in the Control Panel under Systems but could only find the last 5 digits of the product key. I want all 25 digits for future reference in case something were to happen. How can I find the product key?

Lost your Windows product key or the product key sticker is torn or destroyed? How to find the product key on a pre-installed version of Windows? If you have bought a computer with a genuine copy of Windows 8/7/Vista/XP pre-installed, follow this guide you can find Windows product key easily from your current Windows installation.

How to Find Product Key of Pre-installed Windows 8/7/Vista/XP?

Actually, Windows product key is located in the registry but it is encrypted and not readable. Fortunately, there is a simple product key finder program which can help you decrypt and extract Windows product key in just a few steps:

Download and install Product Key Finder program on your computer which comes with Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP pre-installed.
Start the program and then click on “Start Recovery” button, it will display a list of recovery options.
Choose the “From current system” option, the program will quickly decrypt the product key which is encoded in Windows registry, and then reveal your Windows product key immediately.

So this is how can you easily find Windows product key from any computer which came pre-installed with Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP. This method also enables you to recover lost product key from a retail copy of Windows operating system.

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

Tags: find windows product key lost windows product key windows product key finder

How to Recover Windows 8 OEM Product Key Embedded in BIOS

May 7th, 2013 by Admin

I did a fresh install of Windows 8 on my PC, I was told the OEM product key will automatically supplied in the installtion. However, it did not happen in my case. Now I’m stuck with an unregistered Windows 8. I’m wondering, now, if there’s a way to extract the product key from my BIOS?

If you have recently purchased a Windows 8 laptop or desktop PC, you might have wondered where the product key sticker is. On the bottom or on the back of the machine? From now onward any PC that comes preloaded with Windows 8 will have its product keys embedded in the system’s BIOS. Product keys will no longer be printed on a sticker on the outside of the machine as has always been the case. This change was confirmed by Microsoft in its ‘Microsoft Answers’ website.

This has several advantages, both for Microsoft and OEMs as it is no longer that easy to “steal” product keys this way, and for users who do not have to worry about fading text or damaged labels on their computers. But it also has its own set of cons. For example, say you need to install Windows 8 on a new PC since the old one is fried, but the product key is embedded in the PC.

Luckily, there is still an easy way to recover Windows 8 OEM product key which is embedded in BIOS. Product Key Finder is a handy program that could helps you to extract Windows 8 product key from any laptop or desktop PC which comes with Windows 8 pre-installed. Let’s proceed.

How to Recover Windows 8 Product Key Embedded in BIOS?

Download and install Product Key Finder on your Windows 8 computer.
Installation is pretty simple. Just follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and run the program.
Click on “Start Recovery” button, it will bring up a list of recovery options: From current system, From non-booting system and From remote computer.
Select the “From current system” option, the program will quickly recover and display your Windows 8 product key, and serial numbers for other commercial software installed on your computer.

It’s necessary to backup your Windows 8 product key in advance before your computer is crashed or broken. With Product Key Finder you can find Windows 8 product keys for both OEM and retail versions of Windows 8.

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Tags: extract Windows 8 product key find Windows 8 OEM product key find windows 8 product key find Windows 8 product key in BIOS recover Windows 8 OEM product key recover windows 8 product key recover Windows 8 product key in BIOS windows 8 product key embedded in bios

How to Find Windows 8 Product Key

May 5th, 2013 by Admin

Lost or misplaced your Windows 8 product key? How can I find the product key that was used to activate Windows 8? If you have bought a PC that shipped with Windows 8 pre-installed you may have noticed that it did not come with Windows product key stickers anymore. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to easily find Windows 8 product key for your current Windows installation.

Product Key Finder is the only key recovery program that is fully compatible with Windows 8. It enables you to easily locate your CD key for your current working or crashed Windows 8 installation, and find the product key on any pre-installed version of Windows 8. Let’s see how can you find Windows 8 product key in just a few mouse clicks!

How to Find Windows 8 Product Key?

Download and install Product Key Finder on your Windows 8 computer.
Installation is pretty simple. Just follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and run the program.
Click on “Start Recovery” button, it will bring up a list of recovery options: From current system, From non-booting system and From remote computer.
Select the “From current system” option, the program will find and display Windows 8 product key, and serial numbers for other commercial software installed on your computer.
Right-click on the recovered product keys and select “Select All”, then use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V to copy them to a text file or a Word document for safe keeping.

So that was how you can find Windows 8 product key for your computer. You should always keep your Windows 8 product key noted somewhere so when you do a fresh-install, you can easily find it.

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Posted in Product Key, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: find windows 8 product key locate windows 8 product key lost windows 8 product key recover windows 8 product key windows 8 product key windows 8 product key finder

How to Break into Windows User Account with Windows Password Breaker

May 3rd, 2013 by Admin

Have you forgotten your Windows password and can’t log on to your computer? Just changed your Windows user account password a few days ago and now forgot it? Is there a way to break Windows password without data loss? With the help of a password breaker utility called Reset Windows Password, you can break into Windows user account easily after forgetting your password.

Reset Windows Password is one of the best Windows password breaker utilities out there. It runs from a boot disk and helps you remove forgotten Windows password instantly while leaving all of your files, documents, pictures, programs and settings as they were. Quickly obtain access to your locked-out Windows NT-based systems.

This article will walk you through how to break into Windows user account using the Windows password breaker mentioned above.

How to Break into Windows User Account with Windows Password Breaker?

Step 1:
First, download the Reset Windows Password utility on another PC in order to make a bootable Windows password breaker CD/USB drive. After the download is complete, extract the ISO image file from the zip and burn the ISO to a CD or DVD using your favorite ISO Burning program such as ISO2Disc or ImgBurn.

Step 2:
Now move to the locked computer with a Windows user account you need to break into, either insert the CD/DVD or the USB flash drive what you opted for and select it as the first boot device in computer BIOS.

Step 3:
Once you have booted into it you will see that the computer is loading the Windows PE operating system inside the CD/USB drive. After one or two minutes, the Reset Windows Password program will open up and automatically detect the SAM registry files for all your Windows installations.

Step 4:
Choose the SAM registry file for your Windows installation, it will show you all the user accounts that are associated with your Windows system. Select the user account you forgot password of, and then click on “Reset Password” button. It will break/reset your forgotten Windows password instantly!

Step 5:
After you are completed with all the above steps successfully, remove the Windows password breaker CD/USB drive and restart the computer. you can then happily log back into your computer without a password.

As you can see, if you have lost or forgot administrator password for your system, all is not lost. The Windows password breaker utility possesses the ability to penetrate locked out systems and restore access to user accounts and data. The tool should only be used only on systems for which you possess complete ownership and/or administrative authority.

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

Tags: break Windows password windows password breaker