Posts Tagged ‘windows password reset disk’

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.

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

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How to Bypass Windows 8, 7 and Vista Password without A Reset Disk

May 12th, 2015 by Admin

A password reset disk is essentially a USB drive that contains a small file: userkey.psw, which can be used to change your password from Windows logon screen. But the catch is that you have to create a password reset disk while you’re logged in. If you’ve already forgotten your password, it’s too late.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to bypass Windows 8, 7 and Vista password with a bootable media – PCUnlocker Live CD, which can be created on a spare computer after you forgot Windows password. PCUnlocker can be used to reset the password of any user on any Windows machine, while a password reset disk can only reset the password of the account for which it was created.

How to Bypass Windows 8, 7 and Vista Password without A Reset Disk?

If you don’t have a PCUnlocker Live CD, you can create it on any Windows computer that you still have full access to. Download the CD image of PCUnlocker and burn it to a blank CD (or USB thumb drive) with the freeware ISO2Disc.

Put the PCUnlocker Live CD in the CD drive of your locked computer. Once booted to the PCUnlocker program, it will detect all the partitions which contain a valid Windows installation.

Select the SAM file for the Windows installation whose password you need to bypass, it will list all the user accounts stored in your selected SAM file. If you’re running PCUnlocker on a dual-bot machine, there should be two SAM files and make sure you choose the desired one.

Choose a user account and click on “Reset Password”. This program will wipe the password, enable/unlock the account, and promote it to an Administrator if it’s a standard or limited account.

Take the CD out of the CD drive and reboot the computer. You can then log back into Windows without typing password. So this is how you can bypass the password for any version of Windows.

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

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How to Reset Your Windows Password without A Reset Disk

August 26th, 2012 by Admin

Have you forgotten your windows login password? This is the common problem which may arrive to every user at some point of time. The simplest way to reset a forgotten password is by using a previously created password reset disk. You can create such disk on a USB removable media or floppy within the Windows User Accounts Menu, for which go to Windows Control Panel > User Accounts > Create a password reset disk which you will find in the left pane. You can do this to your new PC as once you have the disk, insert it when starting the PC in turn it will cause Windows to display the Reset Password option at the login screen, in this way you will regain an access to your system.

But imagine worst case scenario when you try to login to your computer after many days (months may be) and you forget your Windows password and also haven’t created a password reset disk beforehand. What to do next? Here we’ll show you an easy way to reset your forgotten Windows password without a reset disk.

How to Reset Your Windows Password without a Reset Disk?

After forgetting your Windows password, the computer will become inaccessible and you can’t install any software to get around the problem. The only way is to create a Windows password reset disk and then use it to boot your computer, so you then have the ability of resetting your Windows password. Let’s begin.

Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset CD

  1. To prepare for the password-resetting procedure, you need another computer to connect to the Internet, download the Reset Windows Password utility.
  2. Unzip the download file which contains an ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  3. Next, burn the ISO image to a CD/DVD with any CD burning software such as BurnCDCC. A Windows password reset disk will be ready in one or two minutes.

Step 2: Boot Your Locked PC from the Password Reset CD

  1. Now that you’ve prepared the Windows password reset CD, go to the computer for which you have forgotten the password.
  2. Insert the Windows password reset CD and turn on the computer.
  3. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
  4. Change its BIOS settings to make it try to boot from the CD first.

Step 3: Reset Windows  Password

  1. Once you have configured the BIOS correctly, your computer will boot from the Windows password reset CD.
  2. After a while, the boot CD will launch the Reset Windows Password program.
  3. Choose the SAM registry hive from the list, the program will display a list of Windows user accounts on the computer.
  4. Select the user account whose password you forgot, then click Reset Password button.
  5. It will reset your forgotten Windows password in no time.

Now take out the password reset CD and reboot your computer. You can then log on to your computer without be asking for a password. It’s also super easy to reset your forgotten Windows password even if you haven’t created a password reset disk beforehand.

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

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How to Erase Windows Password When You Forgot It

August 7th, 2012 by Admin

I gave my father my old HP computer. He tried to set it up. I thought that I erased the need for a password, but it keeps asking for a password. I know repair workers can bypass and erase passwords. How can I do this to allow my father access to my old computer?

You’ve probably landed on this page while looking to find out how to erase Windows password. Whether you’ve simply forgotten your password, or you want to help your friends or colleagues to erase Windows password, I’m going to show you a really easy way to help you erase Windows password when you forgot it.

You only need to create a Windows password reset disk, then use it to boot your locked computer and it can help you erase Windows password in just a few mouse clicks! Let’s go on the detail steps:

Step 1: Create a Windows Password Reset Disk

  1. To prepare for the password-erasing procedure, you need another computer to connect to the Internet, download the Reset Windows Password utility.
  2. Unzip the download file which contains an ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.
  3. Next, burn the ISO image to a CD/DVD or USB flash drive with ISO2Disc software. A Windows password reset disk will be ready in one or two minutes.

Step 2: Boot Your Locked PC from the Password Reset Disk

  1. Now that you’ve prepared the Windows password reset disk, go to the computer for which you have forgotten the password.
  2. Insert the Windows password reset disk and turn on the computer.
  3. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
  4. Change its BIOS settings to make it try to boot from the CD or USB first.

Step 3: Erase Windows Password

  1. Once you have configured the BIOS correctly, your computer will boot from the Windows password reset disk.
  2. After a while, the boot disk will launch the Reset Windows Password program.
  3. Choose the SAM registry hive from the list, the program will display a list of Windows user accounts on the computer.
  4. Select the user account whose password you want erase, then click Reset Password button.
  5. It will erase the forgotten Windows password in no time.

Now you are done! Remove the Windows password reset disk and restart the computer. It should start as usual now, displaying the Windows logo, and finally showing the Windows login screen. Just click on your login icon (if it asks for a password, leave it blank) and you should enter Windows without the password! Now you can open Windows Control Panel to create a new password for your account. Take care to remember it this time, or you would have to go through this procedure again.

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

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How to Reset Lost Administrator Password on Windows 7, Vista and XP

April 5th, 2012 by Admin

Still trying to recall the administrator password to get into your computer and keep failing again and again? If you forgot Windows administrator password and don’t have a password reset disk, you won’t be able to get into your computer and reset the lost password. If there are no other user accounts on the computer, you can never use your computer again until you reinstall the system. That’s really depressing. If you have a Windows password recovery disk, things will become easier than you may think.

In this post we’ll show you how to easily reset lost administrator password on Windows 7, Vista and XP. You only need to burn the ISO image of Reset Windows Password to a blank CD, then set your locked computer to boot from the CD and it’ll guide you to reset the forgotten Windows password to blank. This CD can be used to reset lost password on any Windows system, While the password reset disk created by Windows built-in features works only on the specific computer it’s burned.

Reset Windows Password is a professional and powerful password recovery tool to help you get into the computer and reset forgotten Windows password as blank, and it is always the best way to reset lost administrator password on Windows 7, Vista and XP. Just follow this step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Create a Bootable Windows Password Reset CD

First download the .zip archive of Reset Windows Password to any accessible computer (not the computer you want to unlock). Unzip the download file, you’ll get the ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso.

Then you’ll need to get a CD/DVD-recording software to burn the ISO image to a blank CD or DVD. We recommend you to use this freeware: BurnCDCC. Launch this program, point the File Image to ResetWindowsPwd.iso and select your CD-DVD Burner, then click Start to begin the creating of Windows password reset CD.

Step2: Reset Lost Windows Administrator Password

Insert the password reset CD into your locked computer. Turn on (or restart) your computer, and let’s it boot from the password reset CD. If it still boots from the local hard drive, you might need to change the BIOS setting and set CD-ROM as the first boot device.

When the boot procedure is complete, the Reset Windows Password program will automatically launch.

Select the administrator account, then click Reset to remove its password.

Eject the password reset CD and click on Restart to reboot the computer. Now you are able to log into your locked computer with the administrator account.

Note: This trick can be used to reset lost Windows administrator passwords on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. With a password reset disk at hand, you can easily reset lost Windows passwords for any computer whose password you forgot.

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

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