Archive for the ‘Windows Vista’ category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

2 Options to Get out of Safe Mode in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista

November 20th, 2015 by Admin

Are you stuck in Windows Safe Mode? Every time you turn on or restart your computer and you still keep ending back in Safe Mode? In this article we’ll show you 2 ways to get out of Safe Mode in Windows 10, 8, 7 and Vista, so your system will go back to normal mode.

Note: The following methods require you to log on your computer as administrator. If you’ve forgotten your password, try to reset lost Windows password with PCUnlocker.

Option 1: Get out of Windows Safe Mode Using MSConfig Utility

MSConfig is a built-in tool available in all versions of Windows, which is designed to help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. From within the MSConfig utility, you can set Windows to start in normal node instead of Safe Mode.

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type msconfig and press Enter.

    msconfig

  2. When the System Configuration window opens, you’ll see the Safe boot option under the Boot options section.

    safe-boot-settings

  3. If Safe boot is checked, your computer will keep booting in Safe Mode. To get out of Safe Mode, you have to uncheck Safe boot and click Apply.
  4. Restart your computer and it will start in normal mode.

Option 2: Get out of Windows Safe Mode Using Command Prompt

  1. Before get started, you need to open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. If your computer is current running in Safe Mode – Alternate Shell, you should be now at an administrator Command Prompt.
  2. Type the following command directly at the Command Prompt. Press Enter and it will turn off Safe Mode.
    bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

    get-out-of-safe-mode

  3. Reboot your computer with the command:
    shutdown /r
  4. Now your computer will boot back into normal mode. That’s it!

Comments Off on 2 Options to Get out of Safe Mode in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista »

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista

Tags:

2 Ways to Set Password Hint for Windows User Account

November 9th, 2015 by Admin

“I have activated the built-in guest account on my system so guests can use to work on my computer. To log on they must enter a password. How can I set a password hint to inform users of the correct password when entering wrong password? Please help!”

windows-password-hint

The password hint is used to remind you of your password in case you forget it. In this article we’ll show you 2 ways to set up a password hint for any user account in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP. The first method is the most common way of setting a password hint, but it doesn’t work for Windows guest account. While the second method is a bit complicated but it works with any situation.

Method 1: Set A Password Hint Through Control Panel

It’s super easy to set up a password hint when you change or reset your Windows user password. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Control Panel. Set the View by option to Large icons. Click on User Accounts.

    control-panel

  2. Once on your user account page, click on the Manage another account link at the bottom.

    user-accounts

  3. Click on the user account whose password hint you want to create or change.

    manage-accounts

  4. In the next window, click on Change the password.

    change-windows-password

  5. Type your current password and set a new password. Next enter a word or sentence for your password hint that will help you (and you only!) remember your password. Click Change password when you are done.

    set-up-password-hint

Method 2: Set A Password Hint Through Windows Registry

It turns out that the password hint is stored in Windows registry as a readable format after you set up it through the Control Panel. Here we’ll walk you through the steps of set a password hint directly from the registry.

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM. To go beyond SAM you have to give yourself permission by right-clicking the second SAM Key and selecting Permissions….

    sam-permissions

  3. In the Permissions for SAM dialog box, highlight the “Administrators” and click the “Full Control” box, click Apply and OK.

    permissions-for-sam

  4. Press F5 to refresh the registry and you’ll be able to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM\Domains\Account\Users.
  5. You’ll notice a Names subkey with a registry key for each user account. Click on your desired account and you’ll see the RID of your account in the right pane. In my example, 0x1F5 is the RID of the built-in Guest account.

    account-rid

  6. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM\Domains\Account\Users\{User_RID}. Right-click on an empty area in the right pane. From the pop up menu, select New > String Value.

    new-string-value

  7. Rename New Value #1 to UserPasswordHint. Next double-click on UserPasswordHint, type your password hint and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and it’s done.

    UserPasswordHint

After setting the password hint, log off or restart your computer. Type in a wrong password at the Windows login screen and it will show you the password hint as a reminder of the password. Make sure you choose a good and secure password hint. If you’re locked out and the password hint couldn’t remind you of the forgotten password, you have to use PCUnlocker to reset the login.

Comments Off on 2 Ways to Set Password Hint for Windows User Account »

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags:

Reset Dell Laptop to Factory Settings without Knowing Admin Password

November 5th, 2015 by Admin

How to reset your Dell computer to original factory settings if you forgot the administrator password? A forgotten password should not become an obstacle on the way! This guide explains how to perform a factory reset on Windows 10/8/7/Vista Dell laptop, without knowing the admin password.

Note: a factory reset is used to wipe and take your computer back to where it was on the day you opened the box. It will delete everything on your hard drive. Be sure to backup anything you don’t want to lose.

Part 1: Reset Windows 10/8 Dell Laptop to Factory Settings without Admin Password

Locked out of your Dell laptop after forgot the admin password? Don’t worry! Follow these steps and you can factory reset Windows 10 or 8 from the login screen:

  1. From the login screen, click the Power icon in the lower right corner of the screen. While holding the Shift key, click Restart.

  2. The computer will restart and take you to the troubleshooting option screen. Click on Troubleshoot.

  3. Now you’ll see the options to reset or refresh your computer. Click on Reset your PC.

  4. Click Next. The system will reboot and begin preparing to reset the PC.
  5. At the Reset your PC screen, click Just remove my files and then Click Reset.

Part 2: Reset Windows 7/Vista Dell Laptop to Factory Settings without Admin Password

Unlike Windows 10/8, Windows 7 and Vista will require you to enter admin password when resetting it to factory state. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can remove the password by booting your Dell lapltop from PCUnlocker Live CD. If you don’t have such as a Live CD, you can create one from another computer you have access to.

Once you’ve successfully removed the admin password (or you could remember your password), let’s proceed with a factory reset on your Windows 7/Vista Dell laptop:

  1. Turn on the laptop. As soon as the Dell logo appears on the screen, repeatedly press the F8 key until you see the “Advanced Boot Options” menu.

    repair-your-computer

  2. Select “Repair your computer” and press Enter. The System Recovery Options screen opens.
  3. Select your keyboard layout, and then click on Next.

    select-keyboard-layout

  4. At the next screen it will ask you for the user name and password. Type your Administrator username and password, and then click OK. If you’ve removed the admin password, leave the password field blank.

    enter-admin-password

  5. When you’re presented with a list of system recovery options, look for an option named “Dell Datasafe Restore and Emergency Backup“, “Dell Factory Image Restore“, or “Dell Backup and Recovery Managers“. Click on it and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your Dell laptop to factory settings.

    dell-factory-reset

Comments Off on Reset Dell Laptop to Factory Settings without Knowing Admin Password »

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista

Tags:

2 Options to Add a User to Local Administrators Group

July 13th, 2015 by Admin

Only an administrator can perform the administration tasks such as installing a driver or an application. If you have an existing standard or limited account, you can grant it administrator privileges by adding it to the built-in Administrators group. Here are two options to add a user to the local Administrators group in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP.

Option 1: Computer Management

The easier way to add a user to the local Administrators group is to use the Computer Management app. Here’s how:

  1. To open the Computer Management, right-click on My Computer icon on your desktop and then select Manage. Another method is to press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box, then type compmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
  2. When the Computer Management window opens, expand Local Users And Groups in the left pane, and click on Users (Please skip to the option 2 below if you don’t see Local Users and Groups.)

    local-users-and-groups

  3. Double-click your desired user account in the right hand side.
  4. In the User Properties window, click the Add button.

    account-properties

  5. In the Select Groups dialog, type the name of your administrators group. Click Check Names, and then click OK.

    select-groups

    If you don’t know the name of your administrator group, click Advanced and next click Find Now.

Option 2: Command Prompt

However, not every edition of Windows have the Local Users and Groups entry in the Computer Management (for example, Windows 8 Home and domain controller). This method will work on all editions of Windows.

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. In Windows 10 or 8, press the Windows key + X and then click “Command Prompt (Admin)“. In Windows 7 or Vista, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories, then right-click on Command Prompt shortcut and select “Run as Administrator“.
  2. To see a list of local groups available, just type:
    net localgroup
  3. You can add a user to the built-in Administrators group by running the following command:

    net localgroup Administrators [username] /add

    For example, add a user named test to the administrators group, we can run the below command.
    net localgroup Administrators test /add

    add-user-to-group

Comments Off on 2 Options to Add a User to Local Administrators Group »

Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags:

How to Bypass the Password on Any Windows Version

July 6th, 2015 by Admin

There are lots of people that for some reason forget the login password on their Windows computers. Most of the answers they find all over the Internet is to reinstall or reset the password. This is not the answer you’ll get here. Today I’ll share with you how to bypass the password on any Windows version, not just reset it.

How to Bypass the Password on Any Windows Version?

  1. Download the required password bypassing tool – PCUnlocker. Once it’s finished, double-click the zip file to extract it. You will then need to burn the ISO file to a writable CD using a program like ISO2Disc.

  2. Insert the CD into the computer that needs its password bypass 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, it will run the Windows PE environment from memory. When the PCUnlocker application opens, you’ll see a list of Windows user accounts that are discovered on your computer.
  4. Here we’re not going to reset the user password, so don’t click the “Reset Password” button. At the bottom-left side of your screen, there is an Options button. Click on Options and select “Bypass Windows Password”.

  5. Confirm your password bypass operation and click OK to proceed.

  6. When you see the Congratulations dialog box, you’re almost done!

    Restart your compute and take out the CD. When it boots to the Windows login screen, click the icon of any User account (supporting Windows 8 Microsoft account) and you can login with arbitrary password.

I have tested this procedure on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP and it works fine, so if yours somehow does not work, go back through the steps again and make sure you have not missed any step. Or check out the boot up toubleshooting guide for PCUnlocker.

Comments Off on How to Bypass the Password on Any Windows Version »

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags:

How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista

July 1st, 2015 by Admin

One accidental deletion of a single system file can render your computer unusable. By default, Windows hides certain system files from view in Windows Explorer. This protects important files from being accidentally deleted, modified or altered.

But there are times when it’s necessary to view the hidden files and folders when coming to troubleshoot Windows problems. Here’s how to show hidden files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista.

How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista?

  1. Open up a Windows Explorer window, choose Organize -> Folder and search options.

    win7-folder-options

    In Windows 10 or 8, click on the View tab at the top of Windows Explorer, and then click Options.

    win8-folder-options

    In Windows 11, open File Explorer and click on the See more button (three dots) on the right side of the toolbar, and then select Options.

  2. From the opened Folder Options box, go to View tab.
  3. Under the Advanced settings section, click to select “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” radio button. If you are trying to get into the Windows directories, you might want to also remove the checkbox from “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” as well.

    show-hiden-files

  4. When you are done, just click Apply and OK, and your changes will take effect immediately.

Comments Off on How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista »

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

Tags:

FAQs for Password Reset Disk in Windows

June 22nd, 2015 by Admin

A password reset disk allows you to change lost Windows user password from Windows login screen, without needing to know your old password. In one of my previous posts we’ve covered how to create and use a password reset disk in Windows 7. Here we’ll try to answer the frequently asked questions about password reset disk in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP.

The use of password reset disk has actually protected many users against forgetting their logon passwords. And Microsoft recommends you to always create a password reset disk immediately after setting up a new user account. If you have a lot of users and do not wish to create a reset disk for each one, then you should at least create one for the administrator account on that computer. You can then use that administrator account to change any other user’s password.

FAQ: I’ve created a password reset disk for account A, can I use it to reset the password for account B?

No. Password reset disk is unique to an account (good from security point of view). That’s to say, even if you create a password reset disk for account A of Windows machine A, you cannot use it to reset the password for account B of Windows machine A, and you’ll got the following error message:

password-reset-error

FAQ: Can I create a password reset disk after forgetting my Windows password?

It’s too late to create a password reset disk. You have to create a password reset disk before you forgot the password. If you’ve already forgotten your Windows password and don’t have a password reset disk, you need to take use of the third-party live CDs such as PCUnlocker.

FAQ: Do I have to re-create a password reset disk after changing the password?

Your previously-created password reset disk will continue to work. No need to re-create the disk every time you change your user password.

FAQ: Can I create multiple password reset disks for one account?

Only one password reset disk can be created for per account. When you try to create another password reset disk, you’ll get the warn message “There is already a password reset disk for this user account. Creating a new one will make the old one unusable. Do you want to continue?”

replace-reset-disk

If you click Yes, the previous password reset disk automatically expires, and Windows no longer recognizes it when the user tries to use it to reset the password. This is integrated in the operating system for security purposes.

FAQ: Why Windows say “this disk is not a password reset disk”?

A password reset disk is actually a USB drive that contains a single file named userkey.psw in its root directory. userkey.psw is an encrypted backup version of your password.

password-reset-disk

If you try to reset password using a USB drive that doesn’t contain the userkey.psw file, Windows will warn you that it’s not a password reset disk.

not-password-reset-disk

FAQ: Where should I store the password reset disk?

A password reset disk in the wrong hands could be used to reset the account password for whichever computer and user account for which it was created. Therefore it’s imperative to keep your password reset disk in a secure location, preferably away from the computer it was created with.

Comments Off on FAQs for Password Reset Disk in Windows »

Posted in Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags:

How to Enable BitLocker Encryption without TPM Chip

May 17th, 2015 by Admin

BitLocker is a useful hard drive encryption feature in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 10/8/7/Vista, which allows you to encrypt an entire fixed drive. If you try to enable BitLocker on an old computer without TPM chip, you will receive one of the following error messages:

“A compatible Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Security Device must be present on this computer, but a TPM was not found. Please contact your system administrator to enable BitLocker.”

or

“This device can’t use a Trusted Platform Module. Your administrator must set the “Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM” option in the “Require additional authentication at startup” policy for OS volumes.”

However, not all computers include TPM and you can’t add a TPM chip to a computer. Luckily there is a group policy that allows you to configure BitLocker to work without a TPM chip. Here’s how:

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
  2. Go to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating Systems. Double-click on “Require additional authentication at startup“.

  3. In the radio buttons at the top, select Enabled. Check the box marked “Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM“.

  4. Click OK and close out of Local Group Policy Editor.
  5. Now we will need to force the policy to take effect on your PC, to do this press the Windows + R key combination. When the Run box opens, type gpupdate /force and hit Enter.

Now you can use BitLocker to encrypt your system drive without having a TPM chip in your computer.

Comments Off on How to Enable BitLocker Encryption without TPM Chip »

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista

Tags: