Archive for the ‘Windows Vista’ category

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!

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with PCUnlocker Boot CD

June 24th, 2013 by Admin

So you forgot your Windows password and can’t get into your computer? Hey, it happens. We’re supposed to make very complicated passwords so they’re difficult to guess but sometimes we make them so complicated that we forget them ourselves. There are many software that can unlock your password, but nothing beats PCUnlocker Boot CD which is extremely powerful CD. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to reset lost Windows password with PCUnlocker Boot CD.

Since you obviously can’t get into your computer right now because you’ve forgotten your Windows password, we need to make a PCUnlocker Boot CD on another computer that you have access to. Then you can use it to boot off your computer and it enables you to reset lost Windows 8/7/Vista/XP password easily!

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with PCUnlocker Boot CD?

Download the zipped ISO image of PCUnlocker Boot CD. Unzip the download file and burn the ISO image on a CD or DVD using your preferred software such as ImgBurn, BurnCDCC, ISO2Disc or InfraRecorder.

Once you’ve created a PCUnlocker Boot CD, put it into the CD drive of your locked computer. Turn on the computer and change the boot sequence in the BIOS to set CD/DVD-ROM as the first boot device. On a Windows 8 computer with UEFI BIOS, you also need to disable the Secure Boot option and change the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy.

After booting from the PCUnlocker Boot CD, the Computer will run a Windows PE operating system from the CD, it will NOT install anything. Just about one or two minutes, you’ll see the PCUnlocker program. The program should display a list of user accounts existing in your Windows SAM registry hive.

Choose a user account and click on “Reset Password” button. The program will reset your lost Windows 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 Boot CD.

When you come to the Windows login screen, just leave the password box empty and you can log back into your Windows user account immediately. Done!

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.

How to Recover Lost Windows Vista Product Key

June 19th, 2013 by Admin

Two years ago I bought an Asus laptop with Windows Vista pre-installed. I now want to reinstall Windows and fully format the hard drive – however, the sticker with the Windows product key under the laptop is unreadable. How can I retrieve the product key? It seems stupid that it was only placed on the sticker that is destroyed after some time if you frequently hold the laptop on your lap.

If by any chance, you’ve lost your Windows Vista product key, no need to worry! Product Key Finder can recover it for you. It’s a great software that retrieves your Windows Vista product key from registry, giving you access to print or save it for future. It recovers keys for Windows 8/7/Vista/XP, Windows Server 2012/2008/2003/2000, Office 2013/2007/2003/XP, etc. It can also recover lost keys for many other applications as well.

How to Recover Lost Windows Vista Product Key?

  1. Download and install Product Key Finder on your Windows Vista computer.
  2. Installation is pretty simple. Just follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and run the program.
  3. 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.
  4. Select the “From current system” option, the program will instantly decrypt and recover Windows Vista product key, and find license keys for other commercial software installed on your local computer.

After recovering your lost Windows Vista product key, you can save it in a plain text file for easy reference at some later date. Remember to create a backup of your product keys on a regular basis in case of system crash or re-installation of Windows.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password on Compaq Presario Laptop

June 18th, 2013 by Admin

My sister forgot the password to her Windows Vista Compaq computer, and it is the only account on the computer. Is there anyway to unlock or reset it? She doesn’t have a password hint or a password reset disc. Thanks in advance.

Forgot Windows 7, Vista or XP password on your Compaq Presario laptop? Can’t access an old laptop which you haven’t used for a long time? The only method that most people will think of is re-installation of Windows but it will mean loss of important data and settings. Fortunately, now there are programs which make it easy for us to reset Windows admin/user password easily. Here I’ll walk you through how to use a password removal CD/USB drive to reset lost Windows password on Compaq Presario laptop.

Requirements

  • An alternate computer you can use to make a password removal CD/USB drive
  • A blank CD or USB flash drive

How to Reset Lost Windows Password on Compaq Presario Laptop?

First, download the Reset Windows Password utility and save it on your alternate computer. Unzip the download file and you’ll find a bootable CD image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn the ISO image to a blank CD or USB flash drive using ISO2Disc program.

Now you need to use the password removal CD/USB drive to boot your locked Compaq Presario Laptop. Connect the CD/USB drive into the computer and turn it on. You may see a screen that says, “Press XXX for Boot Menu”. This indicates the key you need to press to enter the Boot Menu.

Choose the CD/DVD-ROM Drive or Removable Device from the Boot Menu, the computer will try to load the operating system inside the password removal CD/USB drive. After a while, you’ll see the Reset Windows Password program, which displays a list of local accounts existing in your Windows SAM database.

Select your Windows account and then click on “Reset Password” button. The program will prompt you to confirm the operation. After confirmation, it will remove your Windows user password in no time.

Now you’ve already reset lost Windows password on your Compaq Presario Laptop. Restart the computer and remove the CD/USB drive, you can then log into your Windows user account without a password. Enjoy it!

How to Reset Lost Administrator Password with Windows Password Resetter

June 17th, 2013 by Admin

Need to use your computer urgently but what if you have forgotten your Windows administrator password and can’t log in? Or bought a laptop but didn’t remember to ask the seller Windows password? No worries if you’re going through this situations as I am going to share with you a powerful Windows password resetter that will reset your lost administrator password with ease.

Reset Windows Password is a easy-to-use tool that lets you to reset and unlock lost Windows 8/7/Vista/XP administrator passwords on your computer whatever the brand is. It’s a bootable utility that can run from either CD or USB drive.

How to Reset Lost Administrator Password with Windows Password Resetter?

Firstly, you need to create a Windows password resetter 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. Here I will use a USB flash drive and burn the ISO image to it using ISO2Disc program.

Boot your locked PC from the Windows password resetter USB drive that you’ve created above. To have your computer to boot from USB drive, you may need to change the boot order in BIOS and set Removable Drive as the first boot device.

Once successfully booting from the USB drive, the computer will load the Windows PE operating system from your Windows password resetter disk and eventually start the Reset Windows Password program. From the main screen of Reset Windows Password program, you’ll see the Windows SAM registry file and local user accounts which are detected on your computer.

Choose your administrator account and click on “Reset Password” button. The program will not only reset the lost administrator password instantly, but also unlock the administrator account if it is locked out, disabled or expired.

Restart the computer and remove the Windows password resetter USB drive. Now you can log back into your Windows administrator account without a password. Done!

Conclusion

Ever had trouble logging into a computer with an unknown password? Or you just want full access to that public PC that is in your library? If so, then this is the stuff you are looking for. With Windows password resetter CD/USB drive you can reset lost administrator password quickly and easily! It works on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems.

How to Change or Reset Windows Password with BartPE Live CD

June 15th, 2013 by Admin

If you’ve ever forgotten Windows password and can not access anything on your computer, you’ll know how frustrating it can be. Well, not it’s easy and simple to get back in. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change or reset forgotten Windows password with BartPE Live CD.

To get started, you need to download Bart’s PE Builder utility, which helps you build a BartPE (Bart Pre-installed Environment) bootable Windows CD-Rom or DVD from the original Windows XP installation/setup CD. To add the Windows password resetting feature into BartPE Live CD, you need to install the Sala Password Renew plugin into it.

After your BartPE Live CD is created successfully, you can then follow the steps below to change or reset your lost or forgotten Windows 7/Vista/XP password easily!

How to Change or Reset Windows Password with BartPE Live CD?

Place the BartPE Live CD into the CD drive of your locked computer. Turn on the computer and get it to boot from the BartPE Live CD. You may need to get into BIOS and set CD/DVD-ROM as the first boot device.

After booting from the BartPE Live CD, you’ll see a Windows XP like interface. Once getting into Windows PE system, click on the Go icon and then navigate to Programs > Password Renew.

BARTPE

Once Password Renew dialog box is open, click on “Select a Target” button to specify your Windows installation before performing password reset. In most case, the Windows installation is c:\windows.

password-renew

There are 3 options available on the program: Renew existing user password, Create new Administrator user, and Turn existing user to Administrator. For this example, we’re just going to change the administrator password so choose the “Renew existing user password” option and type a new password.

renew-administrator-password

Now click on “Install” link from the left hand side. Restart the computer, eject the boot CD and you should be able to log back into that user account with your new password.

Conclusion

So this is how can you reset or change forgotten Windows password with BartPE Live CD. If you still can’t get it to work or the Live CD is incompatible with your computer, I recommend you use the most powerful Windows password recovery software – Reset Windows Password, which could be used to reset lost Windows admin/user passwords on any Windows computers.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with Hiren’s BootCD

June 14th, 2013 by Admin

If you forgot your Windows password you will not be able to log in to Windows. So what to do in this case? Is there a free password cracking software to reset lost Windows password? Answer is yes. In this tutorial we’ll guide you through step-by-step procedure of resetting lost Windows password using a free Linux-based boot utility – Hiren’s BootCD.

Hiren’s BootCD is an ultimate solution to almost all your computer problems. It comes loaded with hell lot of tools. Each of them is powerful and can be really very helpful if used with caution. You can solve nearly all your PC problems like virus infection, hdd failure, data recovery, Hard disk partitioning, password recovery using this CD.

Note: Hiren’s BootCD a customized Linux distribution that you need to go through so many steps on Command Prompt to reset your forgotten Windows password. If you aren’t tech savvy, I recommend you use the Reset Windows Password utility which comes with GUI graphical interface.

How to Reset Lost Windows Password with Hiren’s BootCD?

To get started, download Hiren’s BootCD from here. Once the download is complete, unzip the download file and you’ll find two useful files: Hiren’s.BootCD.15.2.iso and BurnCDCC.exe. Simply burn the ISO image of Hiren’s BootCD to an empty CD using BurnCDCC program.

Boot your locked PC using Hiren’s BootCD that you’ve created. Make sure you have your BIOS set to boot from CD/DVD. Once you boot from the Hiren’s BootCD, you’ll see a list of powerful system repair and maintenance tools. Choose the Offline NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 Password Changer and press Enter.

offline-nt-password-changer

The screen will display a list of Linux Kernel Boot options. Simply press Enter to continue.

boot-options

Now the step to choose the correct drive where the Windows is installed. If you have more than one operating system then choose the correct drive and hit Enter. Here I will type “1” and press Enter, because the /dev/sda1 is the system partition on my hard drive. Next press Enter to confirm that your registry directory is WINDOWS/system32/config.

select-partition

When it asks you which part of registry to load, type “1” and press Enter. When the “chntpw Main Interactive Menu” is shown, type “1” and press Enter to choose the “Edit user data and passwords” option.

edit-user-passwords

Now the screen will display a list of local user accounts existing on your registry file. For example, if you want to edit Windows administrator password, type “Administrator” and press Enter.

clear-windows-password

The program will display a list of account properties for your user account. To clear or blank your user account password, type “1” and press Enter. You’ll receive a message that says “Password cleared!”

After successfully resetting your forgotten Windows password, type “!” to close the User Editor Tool.

Now type “q” and hit Enter to close the Offline Password Editor and Registry tool.

Now type “y” and hit Enter to confirm the password change.

Now it will ask you whether you want to use it again or not. Just type “n” and hit Enter.

exit-boot-cd

Remove your Hiren’s BootCD and press ALT + Ctrl + Del to restart your system. You can then log on your computer with a blank/empty Windows password.

How to Override Lost windows 7/Vista/XP Password with USB Drive

June 13th, 2013 by Admin

Locked out of Windows after forgetting the administrator password? Just bought a used laptop but it is password protected and you are unable to get into it? Is there any way to override a lost Windows password and regain control of your computer without wiping any data? Here is a very easy method using a USB drive to override lost Windows 7/Vista/XP password quickly.

How to Override Lost windows 7/Vista/XP Password with USB Drive?

Firstly, you need to prepare a bootable password removal USB drive on another PC which you can log on. Download the .zip archive of Reset Windows Password utility onto your desktop. Open the ZIP file and extract it to a folder on your desktop. Within that folder, you’ll find a file called ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Simply burn the ISO image file to a USB drive using ISO2Disc program.

Plug the USB drive into your locked PC which needs to override a lost Windows password. Turn on the computer and get it to boot from the USB drive. Make sure you have your BIOS set to boot from removable device. Once you boot from the USB drive, the computer will start loading the WinPE operating system and open up the Reset Windows Password program.

On the main interface of Reset Windows Password program, you can see all user accounts for your Windows installation. Choose a user account and click on Reset Password button. The program will unlock your user account and override the lost Windows password.

Unplug the USB drive and restart your computer. Now you should be able to log back into Windows system with a blank/empty password. It’s that easy!

Conclusion

So this is how can you override lost Windows 7/Vista/XP password easily. Instantly regain access to your password protected computer when you lost or forgot Windows password. No need to reinstall Windows.