Archive for the ‘Windows XP’ category

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Recover Lost Administrator Password with Windows Password Recovery Freeware

May 2nd, 2013 by Admin

Lost administrator password and now you cannot log into Windows? It can happen to anyone especially those who constantly change passwords or haven’t used their computer for a long time. There is a useful password removal software called Reset Windows Password, which can help you instantly remove lost Windows 8/7/Vista/XP password. However, if you insist on recovering the original password, there is another easy method to crack your password by using the most popular Windows password recovery freeware: Ophcrack Live CD.

Ophcrack is a Linux Live CD using which you can boot your computer and it will automatically crack Windows login passwords for all your user accounts. Here is how you can recover Windows administrator password you have forgotten using the Ophcrack live CD.

How to Recover Lost Administrator Password with Windows Password Recovery Freeware?

Step #1: First of all you’ll have to download Ophcrack. Once the Live CD ISO is downloaded, you’ll need to burn it on a blank CD using a software like ISO2Disc or ImgBurn.

Step #2: Now when ever you forget or lose your Administrator Password. On system restart, insert the burned disc into your CD/DVD-ROM. Make sure you have set the boot sequence to CD-ROM first. If not go to BIOS and set the boot sequence accordingly.If every thing works, you should see a loading screen immediately.

Step #3: Once the Live CD loads it will automatically start working on the passwords, using rainbow tables and some pre-calculated data stored in memory, it will crack the password depending upon the length and complexity. For average passwords of length 6-10 letters it can take up to 3-7 minutes. In case you have more than one account, you will have to choose from a list of accounts.

Step #4: Note down the cracked password once its displayed. After recovering your lost administrator password, you can take the Ophcrack CD out from the CD/DVD drive and start booting into Windows. Type in the recovered password at the Windows logon screen, you can then successfully logged back into Windows.

Ophcrack Live CD can really help those who forgot Windows administrator password on regular basis. However, it does not crack strong passwords. If your password uses only numbers and letters (both lowercase and uppercase letters), then you have a better chance of the password recovery.

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

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How to Recover Lost Windows Password

May 1st, 2013 by Admin

I get many questions from our customers about how to recover a lost Windows password. Sometimes busy day makes you forget a few things such as your windows password. What to do if you forget your password? And the password hint is not helping your brain to remember the password. You have to recover Windows password in order to log back on your computer.

There are several ways to recover a lost windows password. Hidden administrator account method and third party software are some of the methods you can try.

Hidden Administrator Account Method

In Windows 8/7/Vista/XP, there is a built-in administrator account that is hidden from the Windows logon screen. By default, this user account is not password protected. If you haven’t created a password for the hidden administrator account, you can use it to log on your computer and then reset any user account password easily!

There are two options to access the hidden administrator account: one is to start up the machine in the Windows welcome screen and pull up the classic login dialog. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice in order to do this. The classic log on dialog will display an editable user name and password field. In the User name field, type in Administrator, leave the Password field empty, and log into Windows. The second option is to boot the machine into safe mode by tapping the F8 key as the computer first started, then logged in as Administrator with a blank/empty password.

Recover Lost Windows Password with Password Recovery Bundle

Recovering lost Windows password is not as difficult as imagined. All you really need is just a bootable password recovery CD/USB drive. Password Recovery Bundle allows you to create a Windows password recovery CD or USB flash drive which could be used to boot your locked computer and recover the lost password easily. Follow these steps:

Step 1:
First, download Password Recovery Bundle on another PC in order to make a bootable Windows password recovery CD/USB drive. After the download is complete, install it. Launch Password Recovery Bundle and click on Windows Password button, a new dialog will appear which enables you to create a bootable recovery disc.

Step 2:
After the recovery disc is created, move to the locked computer with a Windows password you want to recover, 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 remove/reset your lost Windows password instantly!

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

It’s so easy to recover a lost Windows password! It’s illegal to recover others’ Windows passwords without permission. This tutorial is designed to recover only Windows password on your own computer when necessary. If you worry about others using it to recover your password, make sure you are the only person who have physical access to your machine, or go to BIOS > change the boot sequence > HDD first > and then set a BIOS password, so others are unable to boot your computer from a CD/USB drive.

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

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Password Expired and Can’t Log into Windows?

April 28th, 2013 by Admin

Hi! It seems that my windows 7 account password has expired. When I typed the password as usual, the following message appeared: Login Failed:Your password has expired. Is there any way of me logging in? Just to be clear I am not asking how to disable password expiration but rather my password has expired and I cannot log in. Also I can’t log in to safe mode either.

password-expired

Password expired and can’t log into Windows? This usually happens when you haven’t used a computer for a long time so you forgot the password. Sometimes, even if you can remember the old password, you’ll also fail to change the password and still get stuck at the logon screen. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to fix the issue of Windows password expiration so you can log back into Windows.

Password Expired and Forgot the Current Password

If you’ve forgotten the existing password on your computer, you are unable to change the expired password from the logon screen. In this situation, Reset Windows Password utility can be of help! Download a copy of the Reset Windows Password utility and burn to a blank CD from another PC, then boot from this CD and there is a password removal program on it to reset your password. This program also helps you disable the password expiration of your user account.

Password Expired and Know the Current Password

For some unknown reasons, some computer users will get the error message such as “access denied” when changing the expired password from the login screen. In other words, your password is expired but Windows doesn’t allow the user account the privilege of changing its password! If you have run into this issue, try to roll back the BIOS clock. Boot the machine into the BIOS setup mode, then set the BIOS clock back by one or two months until the password is not expired.

Once you’ve change the expired password successfully, you might also want to disable Windows password expiration so you won’t be forced to change the password from now on, then proceed to the next section.

Disable Windows Password Expiration

Once you’ve managed to log into Windows, you can then turn off Windows password expiration easily, by following these steps:

  1. Open the Local Users and Groups administration panel by typing in lusrmgr.msc into the start menu search box. (or the Run box on XP) Select “Users” in the left hand pane, and then double-click your user account in the list.
  2. On this screen you’ll find the “Password never expires” checkbox.
  3. Just make sure the box is checked and you won’t be forced to change your password anymore.

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

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2 Options to Turn off Password Expiration in Windows 8/7/Vista/XP

April 27th, 2013 by Admin

When booting up to the logon screen, Windows may notify you that your password will expire in a number of days and ask whether you want to change it now. This behavior can start months after your initial installation of Windows. Its purpose is to help enforce password policies in a business environment, but if you don’t need that enforcement, it can be very annoying. In this tutorial we’ll show you two options to turn off password expiration in Windows 8/7/Vista/XP. The steps are quite simple!

Note: If your password expired and couldn’t remember your Windows password, you need to use a password cracking bootdisk such as Reset Windows Password utility to remove your forgotten password, before following this guide to turn off Windows password expiration.

Option 1: Turn off Password Expiration Through GUI Interface

  1. Press Windows + R key combination to bring up the Run box. Type netplwiz or control userpasswords2 and press Enter. The User Accounts dialogue box will appear.
  2. Click on Advanced tab in the user account.
  3. Click on Advanced button in the Advanced user management window and it will open Local User and Group.
  4. Double click the Users Folder in the Local User and Group.
  5. Select your user account from the list. Right click on it and then select Properties
  6. It will open another window, click on General tab and check the option of Password never expires.
  7. Click Apply and then OK.

Option 2: Turn off Password Expiration Using Command Prompt

Open up a Command Prompt as administrator (type “Command Prompt” in the Start search box and instead of just pressing Enter as normal, you right-click the menu item for it and select “Run as administrator”) and type the following command at the prompt:

net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited

and press Enter. That should do it. (If you get access error 5, you didn’t run Command Prompt as administrator.)

Note: If you don’t know how to open up a Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8, please refer to this article: http://www.top-password.com/blog/how-to-run-an-application-as-administrator-in-windows-8/

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

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Can’t Remember Windows Password? How to Get Back into Your Computer?

April 26th, 2013 by Admin

I have an old laptop that’s not been used for quite a while and I can’t remember my Windows password. I’ve tried many different passwords that it could possibly be without any luck. Is there anyway I can recover or reset the password? I have some important documents and pictures on there that I really don’t want to lose with a brand new windows install. It’s currently running windows 7.

Can’t remember Windows password? How to get back into your computer without data loss? It’s one of the most annoying problems a computer user can face. In such a scenario, be sure to check whether you can boot into safe mode and log in to the built-in administrator account. This account was, by default, not password protected so you could just log on and remove your forgotten user account password. If this option doesn’t work, some third-party password cracking software can be of help.

Reset Windows Password utility is one of the most popular and powerful password cracking software which can help you reset lost or forgotten Windows password easily! This program can run from a bootable CD or USB flash drive and perform password recovery on all versions of Windows systems, including Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. Let’s see how can you reset lost Windows password and get back into your computer, in case you can’t remember Windows password.

Can’t Remember Windows Password? How to Get Back into Your Computer?

Step 1:
First, download the Reset Windows Password utility on another PC in order to make a bootable Windows password recovery 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 CD Burning utility such as ISO2Disc or ImgBurn.

Step 2:
Now move to the locked computer with a Windows password you can’t remember, 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 remove/reset your forgotten Windows password instantly!

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

Conclusion

Can’t remember Windows 8/7/Vista/XP password? Follow the simple steps above you can reset your forgotten Windows password by yourself and get back into your computer immediately! No need to wipe and reload your computer.

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

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How to Hack Windows XP Password with a Installation Disc

April 24th, 2013 by Admin

Forgot Windows XP administrator password? Can’t log in to your system and lose access to your important files? If that’s your only problem, then you probably have nothing to worry about. As long as you have your Windows XP installation CD, you can hack Windows XP password using a simple but effective method made possible by a little known access hole in Windows XP.

This method is easy enough for newbies to follow – it doesn’t require using the Recovery Console or any complicated commands. And it’s free – I mention that because you can pay $20 for an emergency download of Reset Windows Password utility which can help you reset/blank forgotten administrator password on all versions of Windows.

Let’s get started to learn how to hack Windows XP password for free during a Windows XP Repair. Here’s a step-by-step instructions to hack Windows XP password with a installation disc:

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be – and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your CD Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from CD”

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next – Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair. It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”. Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

hack-windows-xp-password

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair.

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows XP

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How to Blank or Clear a Forgotten Windows Password

April 16th, 2013 by Admin

Is there anyway to blank or clear Windows password if I’ve forgot my password? I changed my password on Friday and by Monday I have no idea what I changed it to. I don’t want to reinstall OS. Please help!

Forgot your Windows password and locked yourself out of the system? No problem! This tutorial will show you an easy way to blank or clear a forgotten Windows password easily! This method works with all versions of Windows, including Windows 8/7/Vista/XP.

How to Blank or Clear a Forgotten Windows Password?

Reset Windows Password is a small boot disk that you can use to blank/clear lost Windows password quickly and easily. This utility can enable you to blank or delete passwords, but it cannot tell you what the password for an account actually is. No matter how strong your password is, it can clear your forgotten password instantly.

  1. First, download the compressed ISO image of Reset Windows Password utility on an alternate PC and extract it locally. Burn the resulting ResetWindowsPwd.iso file to a blank CD or USB flash drive using ISO2Disc program.
  2. Second, insert the CD or USB drive into the locked computer that has a forgotten password and reboot it. Before the Windows OS loads (while the manufacturer’s screen is briefly displayed), hit the appropriate key (usually one of the twelve ‘F’ keys) to enter the boot menu option where you can specify a device to boot to.
  3. Your computer will load the contents of the bootable CD or USB drive. When it is finished you will be prompted with the Reset Windows Password screen.
  4. The program will search your PC for Windows SAM registry files and display the local user accounts on your system. Choose a desired user account and click on “Reset Password” button. It will blank/clear your forgotten Windows user password immediately.
  5. After clearing Windows password, remove the CD or USB drive and restart the computer. You can then log in to Windows without typing a password! It’s so simple!

At this point the user account should have no password. You can reset the password once you successfully log in to Windows.

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

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Lost Windows XP Password – How to Get Back In?

April 12th, 2013 by Admin

Lost Windows XP password? How do you get back in? Is there a way to override or reset the password without wiping the entire system? Well, it is nearly impossible to recover the original password, but you can reset it easily, and Reset Windows Password utility can help. This tutorial will explain the process involved for resetting lost Windows XP password so you can get back in your computer quickly!

Lost Windows XP Password? A Simple Way to Get Back in Your Computer

Reset Windows Password utility is a program which runs from a bootable CD or USB flash drive. To reset your lost Windows XP password, you need to access to a computer with internet access in order to install the program to a CD or USB drive. After installing, you can use the CD/USB drive to boot off your locked PC and remove the login password instantly. Here are detailed instructions:

Step 1: Download

Download the Reset Windows Password utility on an alternate PC with internet access. Once the download completes Right-click the .zip file and Select “Extract All”. This will decompress the contents, which there should just be a single .iso file inside.

Step 2: Installing to CD or USB Drive

Next, use the freeware ISO2Disc to make a bootable CD/USB drive from the ISO image you downloaded in the previous step. Open up ISO2Disc program and click on “Browse” button to locate the ISO file and choose the blank CD or USB flash drive you’ve plugged in, then click on Start Burn. A password reset bootdisk will be created in minutes.

Step 3: Change Boot Order in BIOS

Insert the bootable CD/USB drive into your Windows XP computer which is locked out. Restart the computer and hold down F2 or whatever the setup key is shown as during the initial boot screen. This should bring up the BIOS. Change the boot order in BIOS so your computer will boot from the CD/USB drive prior to the hard drive.

Step 4: Boot from the CD/USB Drive

If you set up the BIOS correctly the computer should automatically boot from the bootable CD/USB drive. When it loads to the Reset Windows Password screen, click on “Reset Local Admin/User Password” option. It will display a list of Windows local user accounts existing in your Windows XP system.

Step 5: Reset Lost Windows XP Password

Choose a user account and click on “Reset Password” button, it will reset/remove your lost Windows XP password in seconds. Remove the CD/USB drive and restart the computer, you can then immediately get back in your Windows XP system without typing a password!

The procedure is so simple that nearly every user with some basic computer skills can use it to reset Windows XP password easily when they forgot or lost Windows XP password. This method also works with Windows 8, 7, Vista and other operating systems.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows XP

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