How To: Recover Your Lost Windows User Account Password
Posted 02/18/09 at 03:00:00 PM by Josh Kampschmidt
Comments
Print
Email
More likely than not, you’ve been asked in the past to help fix one of your friend’s or relative’s computers. Most of the time, the problems you’ve been brought in to remedy are basic malware or virus infections that you can address by grabbing the appropriate diagnostic and software removal tools stored in your trusty USB toolkit. But once in a while, you’ll be faced with a novice struck with the most basic and frustrating of problems: forgetting their Windows administrator login password. With no way to get into the system, you can’t even perform basic maintenance, let alone a thorough tune-up. Formatting is always an option, but we consider that a last resort. (Plus, guess who’s going to have to help reinstall all the programs lost after a wipe?) But all hope is not lost. There are a few ways to actually retrieve a lost Windows account password. Read on, and we’ll show you the light.
This guide is split into two sections. If you want to get rid of the old user account password, use Offline NT Password and Registry Editor. If you want to find out what the password is without changing it, then you need to use Ophcrack. There are a lot of Windows password revealers and crackers available, but we’ve found that these two programs are the most effective.
Time = 1 hour, 15 minutes
What You Need:
- Offline NT Password and Registry Editor
Free, http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ - Ophcrack
Free, http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/ - A ISO burning utility, IsoBurn
Free, http://isoburn.sourceforge.net/
Use Offline NT Password and Registry Editor
Offline NT Password and Registry Editor is one of the easiest password recovery tools to use. It allows you to reset a user account password, including the Administrator password. It is also a relatively small download.
To download Offline NT Password and Registry Editor, click here. Save the zip archive to your Desktop.
Extract the archive and you will get an ISO file. Burn the ISO to a CD using any CD Burning software, such as, CDBurnerXP or ISOBurn.
After you get the ISO successfully mounted, put the disk in the drive and restart your computer. Make sure you set your BIOS to boot from the CD drive. You can change your boot order by accessing the boot menu with F10 before the OS loads.
The program will begin loading off the disk. You will get a line that states “boot:” press Enter and the process will continue
When the loading process stops again, press the “1” key. This will allow the program to search for all probable NTFS partitions.
When the program asks what the registry directory pathway is, press Enter. This will keep the default \Windows\System32\config directory.
You will now see a list of registry entries. For our purpose, you do not need to worry about anything, just press Enter. This tells the program we want to reset the password and loads the appropriate registry hive.
Now that the hive is loaded, press Enter on your keyboard to edit user data and passwords.
You will now see a list of all the user accounts present on the system. Find the user account you want to change and type the appropriate name. Make sure you enter the username EXACTLY as it appears and hit Enter.
Be careful when the program asks you what task you want to perform. You do not want to set a new password right now. This could cause serious problems when trying to boot a Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating system. Instead, press “1” to clear the password.
The program will give you a Password cleared message, indicating that the password removal was successful.
Now type an exclamation mark to return to the main menu. Press “q” to quit the program. On Step 4, make sure you save the changes; otherwise, the password will be left unchanged. To save the changes, type “y”.
When the program asks if you want to do a new run, press “n” since the password is already removed at this point.
To close the program and return to Windows, press Ctrl-Alt-Del. The computer will restart and the password should have been removed from the account.
bypass windows password
Submitted by happykaka on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 1:37am
If you are not a computer technician, or not familiar with computer system operations, you may feel the above methods are scary and still can’t figure out what I am saying. Then you may try to use the software programs which may suit you. The existing software that used to recover passwords are many.Windows password unlocker 4.0 (http://www.passwordunlocker.com/products/wpu.html )is mostly used by people. It’s easy-to-use little tools that people like. The program do not require professional knowledge. You just follow the instructions to click mouse or press keys will be OK. Plus, It also works with other versions of Windows, like Windows Vista/2000/NT workstations (including Windows XP Tablet PC Edition).
Welcome to my blog http://pdf-to-wrod.blogspot.com , I am interested in password recovery. Besides, http://wiki.e107.org/?title=Bypass_Windows_XP_Password there is an article about how to reset windows password. It must b
Submitted by wskaihd on Sat, 09/26/2009 - 4:41am
I would like to introduce Windows Password Recovery Tool 2.0 . it not only supports XP, 2000, and NT, I have personally tested it with Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. It works perfectly to reset any local user account to a blank password. I Wrote it to an old 128mb USB flash drive do this. Booting up and clearing a password takes a minute or two works like a charm. You can download it from http://www.windowspasswordsrecovery.com
Submitted by wskaihd on Sat, 09/26/2009 - 4:37am
As far as I know, Windows Password Recovery Tool 2.0 is safe and easy to use. An .ISO file included in windows passwords Recovery. So, you just need to free download windows passwords Recovery, which is available at many download sites like
http://www.windowspasswordsrecovery.com
Submitted by wskaihd on Sat, 09/26/2009 - 4:37am
As far as I know, Windows Password Recovery Tool 2.0 is safe and easy to use. An .ISO file included in windows passwords Recovery. So, you just need to free download windows passwords Recovery, which is available at many download sites like
http://www.windowspasswordsrecovery.com
Tracking
Submitted by PhoneyVirus on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 8:17pm
Every Powerusers should have a copy of this no matter what nice work thanks.
Submitted by linky1124 on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 6:28pm
here is a article might help you
http://www.ehow.com/how_5197631_reset-windows-xp-password-forgot.html
forgot your windows password?
use windows password reset.
http://www.resetwindowspassword.com/
Submitted by 1fastbullet on Thu, 07/16/2009 - 5:46am
So far I've had to use the Offline NT Password and Registry Editor on three occasions and it's worked perfectly every time. I'm downloading the others as I write this.
A situation I have now is a Linux Ubuntu machine with no password. I believe I remember it's possible to use a Live Disc to reset ths password, by I may be mistaken.
Recently, I had an old Dell D-8200 that, while I was able to use the offline editor to clear the user admin password, I also found that the BIOS had been password protected. I never did get into it.
In retrospect, had I used a Revealer, instead of a clearing tool, for the admin password, I may have also learned it was the same as for the BIOS.
Any suggestions for clearing/revealing a BIOS password?
Submitted by alexisxy on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 11:37pm
There is a way to reset windows password without erasing anything.
Follow the instructions:
1.Free download the iso file :http://www.resetwindowspassword.com
2.Burn it to a disk to create the boot disk, that simple.
3.Configure your pc or laptop to boot in the cd drive,
4.Insert the CD, reboot from CD drive, and then just follow the process of instruction. A few steps later, admin password would be cleared
Took about 5 minutes for the whole process.
Submitted by windows2 on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 1:30am
There are a lot of Windows password revealers and crackers available, but I’ve found that Windows Password Recovery Tool is the most effective.:
it not only supports XP, 2000, and NT, I have personally tested it with Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. It works perfectly to reset any local user account to a blank passwordYou can use the ISO to burn a boot CD. Follow these instructions:
1. Download ISO file from http://www.windowspasswordsrecovery.com Windows Password Recovery Tool
2. Burn to a CD using a CD burning tool such as Nero or Roxio or MagicISO
3. Insert CD into drive and reboot.
4. You may have to select an option in the BIOS to get the computer to boot from the CD.Booting up and clearing a password takes a minute or two works like a charm.
Submitted by Olmec on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 6:51am
You saved my life!!, I changed the password on three machines, forgot the new one in a single machine, and you guys came to the rescue...again.
Keep this really god work!
from the Land of the Olmec
Big Olmec Head
Thanks
use ide to usb converter
Submitted by Yusonice on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 2:46am
use ide to usb converter
Submitted by KLund1 on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 1:54am
This is all well and good. But there are many machines out ther with no cd/dvd drives; ie netbooks??? (the fasterest growing area in cumputer sales, currently)
What do you do then...... wipe out your portable cd/dvd drive, ya right! When was the last time you saw one of those?
Bootable thumb drives? This artical did not montion that. Trying to make one of those bootable with thier computer is most likely problematic, at best.
Ever wonder why writers do not do enough complete research first, before publishing a technical how to artical? I lost count back in 2003 at 574. It happens even here at one of the best PC mags around!
That is beyond the scope of
Submitted by hackman2007 on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 6:55am
That is beyond the scope of this article.As a writer, you can't possibly predict the different combinations of computer components people have or what type of computers. Many of these netbooks also run a modified version of Linux. Some run Windows, but there are some that run Linux.Almost every computer has an optical drive. Some don't, but then again they probably have a USB optical drive. I picked one up at Wal-Mart last year for about $30. You can always use an IDE/Sata to USB adapter to do it too.
Submitted by rlynker on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 9:03pm
I have used the XP version of Ophcrack on Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 Server and XP. It is fast and will scare you how well it works.
this seems pretty cool.
Submitted by FrancesTheMute on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 2:07pm
this seems pretty cool. Just downloaded it and popped the disk into a machine I'm building for one of our users. I'm wondering if in a domain environment if it doesn't work as well, since while it did find the local admin account password, it did not find either of the 2 user accounts that have been added to the machine.
Works pretty quick, too. It took 6m 2s to complete.
Submitted by Hg Dragon on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 7:06pm
Well, in a domain environment, it's easier for a Domain Admin to reset a user's password than it is to go through the process of cracking it. In Active Directory, it's as simple a right-click. I've used the Offline utility sucessfully several times, including on a machine that was so infested with crap that it would deny any password then lock out the account and on a Server 2003 box.
Must Read Articles
Feature
Review
Feature
Feature
Feature
Most Popular Articles
This Month's Issue
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works
Technology News
Computer Cooling Fans
Computer Cases
PC Game Controllers
PC Games
Computer Hardware
Headphones
MP3 Players
Stream Video
Computer Mouse
Monitors
Motherboards
NAS Storage
Networking
Laptop Computers
DVD Burner
Digital Cameras
Portable Storage
Computer Accessories
Smartphone
Antivirus Software
Sound Cards
Speakers
Computer Systems
Thumb Drives
Video Cameras
Video Card Reviews
Water Cooling
Gadgets
- Keyboards
© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.