Many times we face this problem when we or our friends forget Windows password and can't log into Windows. So here we are posting a few methods / utilities which can be used to recover Windows password:
DISCLAIMER: Following information should be used only if its your system and you have forgotten account password. Don't use this information to access a system which is not yours without permission.
1st Method:
The first thing which you check if you forget login password. When we install Windows, it automatically creates an account "Administrator" and sets its password to blank. So if you have forget your user account password then try this:
Start system and when you see Windows Welcome screen / Login screen, press <ctrl>+<alt>+<del> keys twice and it'll show Classic Login box.
Now type "Administrator" (without quotes) in Username and leave Password field blank. Now press Enter and you should be able to log in Windows.
Now you can reset your account password from "Control Panel -> User Accounts".
Same thing can be done using Safe Mode. In Safe Mode Windows will show this in-built Administrator account in Login screen.
2nd Method:
If the above mentioned trick doesn't work, try following trick which is actually a loophole in Windows XP Setup and a big security hole:
A. Boot using Windows XP Setup CD and follow the instruction like Accepting EULA, etc.
B. When it asks to repair your existing Windows installation, accept it and press "R" to run the repair.
C. Setup will start repairing your Windows and will start copying files, etc.
D. After a few minutes setup will restart your system and when it restarts don't press any key when it shows "Press any key to continue..." otherwise Setup will start from the beginning. Don't press any key and setup will resume where it left.
E. Now it'll start doing other tasks and will show a small progressbar with a few details in left side.
F. Look carefully at the details and when it shows "Installing devices", press <Shift>+F10 keys in your keyboard.
G. It'll open a Command Prompt window. Now type nusrmgr.cpl and press <Enter>.
H. It'll open the same "User Accounts" window which you see in Control Panel.
I. Now you can remove or reset any account password without any problem.
3rd Method:
You can use various bootable rescue CDs as mentioned in following link:
Download FREE Bootable Rescue CDs from Kaspersky, BitDefender, Avira, F-Secure and Others
There are also a few 3rd party utilities and rescue discs to help you recover your Windows password:
UBCD for Windows:
UBCD4Win is a bootable recovery CD that contains software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem. UBCD4Win is based on Bart's PE. Bart's PE builds a Windows "pre-install" environment CD, basically a simple Windows XP booted from CD. UBCD4Win includes network support and allows you the ability to modify NTFS volumes, recover deleted files, create new NTFS volumes, scan hard drives for viruses, etc.
Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD):
Ultimate Boot CD runs independently of any operating system. It will boot from any Intel-compatible machine, regardless of whether DOS/Windows/Linux/BeOS is installed on the machine. However, you do need an operating system and a ISO-capable CD writer software to create the Ultimate Boot CD from the downloaded ISO image file.
Offline NT Password & Registry Editor:
This is a utility to reset the password of any user that has a valid (local) account on your NT system. You do not need to know the old password to set a new one. It works offline, that is, you have to shutdown your computer and boot off a floppydisk or CD. It'll detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled out user accounts. It is also an almost fully functional registry editor.
4th Method:
Windows XP and further versions also provide another method to recover forgotten password by using "Reset Disk". If you created a Password Reset Disk in past, you can use that disk to reset the password. You can create password reset disk using Control panel -> User Accounts applet.
5th Method:
If all fails, then simply reinstall Windows and create new accounts. To recover lost data, you can use Data recovery tools available on net but the chances will be very low to get data back.
That's all we can suggest. If you have any other method / tool, feel free to post here.
Also check:
How to Reset / Remove / Bypass a BIOS or CMOS Password?
This article was posted by VG in following section: Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
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ashishbk
Awesome.. now i was only knowing the 2nd method.. Thanx
Ronak Agrawal
kEEP pSOTING
Manan
dude this is another great 1 from u .... really really helpful thanx man
Abhilash Manapatt
hi man,
first of all, let me say, the methods are good.
the prime importance is given to getting da data back, rite? and not jus sneakin into some computer wi da admin passwd?
ok, well.... is there any way to use da comp as a slave and access it from another computer jus like an external hard drive? then, i guess when a person buys a new computer he can transfer all da data from da old to new very easily..rite?
well.. im asking dis cos i know da Target Disk Mode in a mac. i always do transfer movies from my old mac(which i use as a dload server) and then transfer to da new portable using the Target Disk Mode(all i need is a firewire/USB cable)
VG
^^ You can use USB cables to connect both computers or you can use remote access software to transfer files.
Abhilash Manapatt
USB cables and Remote Access? waaat?? when u dont even have access to da windows machine?? u can do that??i dont think so.. im quite sure abt da remote access dat its no possible when u dont have da administrator passwd of da other comp..explain da USB thing to me
and how fast is it?
VG
^^ You didnt mention about the remote thing. USB cable is only useful when you have 2 computers and want to transfer data between them. Its a simple form of networking.
Just connect cable between both computers and both pc will detect each other and you'll be able to transfer data.
Abhilash Manapatt
hey man... again u r tellin da same thing... ur Blog was actually resetting the passwd or getting access to da comp where u dont have any administrative rights and passwd..rite??
wat im askin is, Is there anyway, u can get access to dat comp using anyways?? and u suggest me remote desktop and USB?? i dont think its possible in windows...
is there any otehr way??
VG
This tutorial was meant for resetting your own Windows administrator password not for remote computers. ;)
And I thought that you want to access remote computers for transferring data, thats why I suggested Remote Desktop.
Sorry for misunderstanding.
sudhir
good keep posting