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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DragonFire
thank you for this post, it worked with method 1 ;)
mohan
i have a problem
my system is very slow
and at task manager it's showing 100% cpu usage
so what process i have to stop to recover cpu usage
pls do needful help
waiting for reply
manoj patel
R sir
my pc on domain but change the server i have this pc change in work group
& restart the pc this pc any password not accpted
i have know the pass word but pc is password not acceptad
pl send solution
as erly as possible
manoj patel
kim
i tried the "Offline NT Password & Registry Editor" tool several times today to reset the administrator password and it works. But everytime i will shutdown the computer and start to log-in again, the log-in window appears and still ask for the ADMINISTRATOR password...that supposedly been reset already. Why is that? Can anybody help me on this? thanks a lot!
yash narkhede
hi, microsoft MVP i have sony CD-RW CRX320E rom in which i can only run/read/write cd but the dvd is not working.
Demetri Mamacos
This is what worked for me on an HP 530 Laptop with XP not sure of version:
As computer is powering on, tap the F8 key until the "Advanced Options" screen appears
Tap F8 one more time
Select SAFE MODE
Click on Administrator (no password required) - different from Normal Mode
Go to Control Panel / Users
Choose the account to change password
I done this yesterday for a Tourist who forgot their password.
IGY
Thanks, very interesting
Midnight Phase Locked Out
I've got a challenge for anyone willing to give it a shot. I have a Windows XP Emachine 2006. My CD drive has stopped working and locked me out there. I've since had a virus intrude into my computer and need my admin account to help get rid of it. However, there's a slight issue. I've long forgotten the password and everything I've tried has failed. So, anyone with a clue on how I can fix this without trashing the comp or getting a new one? I really miss access to DOS. Give me a 95 or older model and I can make it work like a dream. Anything newer... grrr.
Richard
Hi.. Can someone please help me! Im having a major problem. First of all, I installed McAfee because I needed to update my spyware, then asked me to restart my computer in order to take effect to run the scans and start deleting viruses. So it restarted and I tried logging on and as soon as it logged on and the desktop appeared for a couple seconds, it logged me back off, saved settings, and went right back to the log on screen..? Most important thing to keep in mind is my Windows XP disc cracked so I cant use it to restore. Ive tried restarting to safe mode but still cant log in at all. Tried the ctrl alt delete thing for the admin pop up but it says Im unable to log in because of an account restriction. Oh, and I also tried the last known configuration that worked thing too. What happened and can I do anything to restore my settings or data. I think without my Windows XP cd, Im S.O.S...? I just seem to be stuck trying to log in, when I cant, whatever I try to do. Am I just going to have to start all over and how would I go about doing that?? Thanks for your time and hope to hear back soon.
VG
^^ If your system is a branded one, then there must be an option to repair OS at startup like pressing F10 key or similar. If its not, then you'll need the setup disc to repair Windows. You can borrow the disc from someone else.