What to do if you forgot your Windows or BIOS account password. Resetting your Windows password using a bootable USB flash drive

Question from a user

Hello!

My son sat on my laptop and “played” a little... As it turned out, he set a password for Windows (I have Windows 10 Home installed). Now I can’t turn on the laptop, and he forgot the password...

Help, I can't log in at all. Now you have to contact the service?

Hello.

A common occurrence, many people often simply forget their password. To solve this issue, you will need a flash drive. (enough even for 1 GB) and a work computer to burn a Live CD to it (perhaps you have another laptop, or use the computer of your neighbors, acquaintances, relatives).

Actually, in this article I will analyze in detail and step by step all the steps to reset your password when logging into Windows. In principle, if you are not familiar with a PC for the first time, then you can handle everything yourself, without contacting a service center. So...

How to reset even the administrator password in Windows 7/8/10

1) Tool selection

There are a lot of ways to eliminate password protection in Windows. There are options using an installation flash drive with Windows via file replacement (but in many new builds this no longer works), there are various tricky registry editors (but again, in this case you need to have a good understanding and be in the know), and there are universal tools in the form of Live CD (I recommend one of them below).

It's about Lazesoft Recover My Password

Benefits of the utility:

it allows you to reset your password in all popular versions of Windows: 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits);
supports NTFS, FAT32, FAT file systems;
supports hard drives (IDE, SCSI, SATA, 1394, USB, SAS, RAID Drivers);
supports GPT disks;
supports UEFI and BIOS;
it can be written to CD/DVD/USB-flash/USB-HDD and other media;
the program weighs only ~30 MB, so it can be downloaded even with a slow or limited Internet connection;
and the main thing: when working with it, you will never need to work with the command line, understand the code, or do anything else complicated - the program is designed for novice users!

2) Creating a bootable emergency flash drive

I omit downloading and installing the utility (they are standard and everyone can figure them out...).

After launching the utility, click on the "Burn Bootable CD/USB Disk" button.

Remark! I note that, having chosen the “Windows 10 64 bits” option, I calmly used the flash drive to delete passwords in Windows 7/8 (i.e., the flash drive, in fact, turns out to be universal). However, I admit that this may not work with some OS versions...

We select the OS for which we will reset the password (Important! For me, a similar emergency flash drive works on all versions of the OS, regardless of what I chose here...).

After 3-5 minutes. The flash drive will be ready (pay attention to the message; if everything is OK, you will see “The recovery disc is now ready” as in the screenshot below).

Now you need to connect the flash drive to the computer where you forgot your Windows password, and boot from it. To do this, you need to use either the Boot Menu, or go to the BIOS settings (UEFI) and change the boot priority.

Remark! These topics are quite broad, and if you have no idea what we’re even talking about, then I recommend that you read these articles (there, in accessible language, I tried to explain how and what to do).

How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on a computer or laptop -

How to configure the BIOS to boot from a flash drive or disk (CD/DVD/USB) -

Most often, the F2 and DEL buttons are used to enter the BIOS (UEFI) (it is best to press several times and immediately after turning on the computer). In BIOS (UEFI) you need to open the Boot Menu. Often the boot section is simply called "Boot".

In the boot menu you must specify the drive from which you want to boot (look at the name; flash drives usually have something like “Kingston...”, “Transcend...”, etc.).

4) Reset the password itself directly

After booting from the flash drive, a window should automatically open asking you to reset (Reset Password Windows, see screenshot below). Just click the "Next" button.

If such a window does not appear (or you accidentally closed it), click on START/Lazesoft Recovery My Password (as in the photo below).

If suddenly there was no auto-run window...

Next, you need to specify your Windows OS. In general, if you have one Windows OS installed, the program will automatically select it (if you have several OSes on the disk, then you need to manually specify the required one).

In the next step you should see the users who are registered in the selected Windows. You need to select the account for which you want to remove the password.

By the way, the utility also shows which account is an administrator.

Last step: you need to click on the "Reset|Unlock" button.

Reset/Unlock - press the button

If the operation is completed successfully, you will see a small window with the message “The Password reset successfully”. An example is presented below.

Then restart your computer/laptop and try logging into your account.

Almost certainly, if you did everything similar to the tips above, you will easily log into your account, because Password protection has been disabled/unlocked.

In general, this method is quite simple, universal and accessible for novice users.

If the password was from a Windows account

For some users, the password issue is not related to their local account in Windows, but to their Microsoft account ( note: when installing Windows 10, you are prompted to immediately create your account on the Internet).

To restore access to it, you must first open the official Microsoft website - (this can be done from any tablet, computer, laptop - not necessarily from the one on which you forgot the password).

After which you will need to indicate your e-mail and enter the verification code from the picture. After some time, you should receive instructions on how to restore access to your account by email.

That's all, good luck everyone!

Removing the password when logging into Windows 7 is quite simple. This will require a minimum amount of time and knowledge. This kind of operation usually takes no more than a couple of minutes.

This can be done in various ways: through a special console, command line, or by resetting key data from SAM. Each method has both its advantages and disadvantages.

Why set a password

It often happens that some important and confidential data is stored on the PC, access to which should be limited. Microsoft Windows makes it possible to easily limit the circle of people who have access to files on your computer by installing a special key. Each person can have his own if there are several users.

An access code is also required to protect information on the PC to different owners from each other. For example, this is often necessary for parents so that curious children are not able to familiarize themselves with some information they are not entitled to.

Removing the password through the “Run” console

One of the easiest ways to disable entering an access key on the OS is by using the “Run” item. Accessing it is quite simple - just click on the “Start” button. Most often, the item in question is present on the right side of the window that opens.

Entering a command

To disable the function in question, you must enter a specific command. It will open a special applet that allows you to do this.

The process of entering the command is as follows:

open the Start button menu;
click on the “Run” item;
In the field that opens, write “control userpassword2”.

After completing these operations, a window called “User Accounts” will open.

It contains two tabs:

"Users";
"Additionally".

You need to focus your attention on the first tab. Since this is where all account settings are made, including changing the login, access key and other attributes. In addition, if desired, you can easily add new accounts or delete old ones.

Disabling the password

To disable Password, just open the corresponding window (“accounts” -> “users”). In it, you need to uncheck the box called “Require username and...”. In this simple way you can disable the need to enter Password.

Confirming the user

You can also completely disable the Microsoft Windows login window.

To do this, you need to do the following:

in the window called “Accounts”, double-click on the desired line (admin, user or something else);
click “OK”.

A window will open containing three fields. Only the top one should be filled in; login is written there. The rest remain empty. After that, click on “OK” again. After performing these operations, when starting Microsoft Windows, there will be no need for Password. Which is quite convenient if only one person has physical access to the PC.

video: Password reset

Removing the password when starting Windows without programs

Also, Password in the operating system in question can be unstuck without using the “Run” item, as well as various third-party applications. To do this, just use a special command line. In this way, you can avoid having to enter Password when you turn on the computer, as well as when it comes out of sleep mode.

Command line setup

In order to configure the command line, you need to use the Windows distribution disk. This method of setting up and resetting the access code is suitable if it is forgotten and it is not possible to start the OS otherwise.

First of all, you need to install it through the BIOS to boot from a CD or other device containing the distribution. After this, you should reboot and start the installation.

After this, the following actions are performed:

CmdLine – enter cmd.exe;
SetupType – replace parameter 0 with 2;

select section 999 and click “Unload hive”;
extract the distribution package and reboot the PC.

Resetting your password and login

After loading the operating system, the user will immediately see the command line window. To reset the password, you must enter the following command: net user username

If for some reason User has forgotten the account name, then you can simply write net user without parameters. This will allow you to display all available items and select the one you need.

If the new Password is not intended to be used, then it is sufficient to leave the field blank.

If you need to enter a new one, the command will look like this: disk name:Windowssystem32net user user_name new-key.

It is also often necessary to create a new account without an access key.

To do this, you need to run the following commands in strict order:

These commands perform the following operations in strict order:

creating a new User;
adding it to the Administrator workgroup;
removal from the Users group.

The reset method in question is quite complicated, but quite feasible even for not very experienced PC owners.

Method for resetting key data from SAM file

There are a huge number of different ways to reset your login code. But all of them only change in various ways the information stored in a special file called SAM. It is used by the OS to store data related to both User and Password. This abbreviation name stands for Security Account Manager.

The file in question does not have an extension, since it simply does not require one. It is a direct part of the registry, located in the directory systemrootsystem32config. Also, a copy of the file in question is available on the emergency recovery disk, if for some reason this function was not disabled earlier.

Editing this file to change the operating system login parameters is the most difficult way. To work with SAM, you need specialized software from third-party developers. All operations with SAM must be performed with the utmost care and precision.

How does this work

The most popular application for changing data in the SAM file is active password changer. Before you start, you need to copy the application to some media or other FAT32 hard drive.

After performing this operation you must:

run the password file from the folder "BootableDiskCreator";
in the window that opens, select "Add USB...";
activate the button "Start".

After completing all the above steps, a bootable USB flash drive will be created.

The process of changing data using the application in question is as follows:

This method of working with accounts and their attributes is as secure as possible. Since it allows you to avoid editing the registry and other manual operations. This can sometimes be difficult for not very experienced users who started working with their PC relatively recently. The likelihood of harming the operating system in this case is practically zero.

Another important advantage of this program is the ability to set a schedule for PC use by individual accounts.

The disadvantages include the fact that some older motherboard models do not support launching from a USB drive. In such a situation, you have to look for some alternative options: a floppy disk, a CD, or something else.

Quite often, especially with beginners, situations arise when the combination of characters required to enter the OS is forgotten or lost for other reasons. There are many ways out of such a difficult situation; reinstalling the system is not always required. Moreover, any computer owner who has minimal skills in interacting with this type of equipment can cope with resetting the OS access code.

Modern Windows security features help protect personal data stored on a personal computer or laptop from unwanted users. However, how can the owner of the computer unlock a laptop if he has forgotten his account password? As a last resort, you can always reinstall the operating system, but there are easier ways to recover or crack a lost password. This login is much faster, since it does not require re-installing Windows and configuring numerous software.

This article discusses two simple ways to recover your password and unlock your Windows system. The first uses a secure mode login as administrator using the BIOS, followed by changing the current password for the specified user.

The second method is carried out using specialized account hacking software.

The most trivial and easiest way to log into the system if you have forgotten your account password is through safe mode. You can completely remove the laptop password or change it to a simpler one. In this case, it is completely unnecessary to know the old one.

If you want to perform this operation, you need to do the following:

How to remove a user's password in an administrator account

In diagnostic mode, you can work on a laptop almost like a regular OS. However, many familiar functions will not be here. The first thing that will catch your eye is the lack of a driver for the graphics adapter. Here the user can remove the password he forgot as an administrator. To do this you need to do the following:

Administrator Command Line

Similar actions can be done a little faster if the lack of a graphical interface does not bother you. A console running on an administrator account can help with this. You need to do the following:

The data will be changed, after which you can restart the laptop and log into the operating system.

Ophcrack utility

This software is designed to crack lost passwords. With its help you can easily unlock access to the system. You can run Ophcrack on a variety of platforms and as a LiveCD. This can be useful if you only have one account and you can't log in to it right now.

You can download the utility by following the link. This is the official website of the program developer. Choose the regular version or LiveCD.

The LiveCD image must be installed on a bootable USB flash drive (for example, using the UltraISO utility). After this, you need to restart your computer, go into the BIOS settings and select boot from a flash drive.

Please note: To follow most of the instructions in this article, you must use a local Windows account with administrator rights.

How to set a password on a Windows computer

If other people have access to your computer, it is wise to protect Windows with a password. This way, your settings and data will be safe: without special knowledge, no one will be able to view or change them. Windows will prompt you for a password when you turn on your computer, when you change your account, or after resuming from sleep mode.

Open Start → Settings (gear icon) → Accounts → Sign-in options.
Click "Add" under "Password".
Fill in the fields according to the system prompts and click “Finish”.

How to set a password on Windows 8.1, 8

In the right sidebar, click Settings (gear icon) → Change PC settings. In the menu of the window that opens, select “Accounts” (or “Users”), and then “Login Options”.
Click on the " " button.
Fill out the fields, click “Next” and “Finish”.

How to set a password on Windows 7, Vista, XP

Open the section “Start” → “Control Panel” → “User Accounts”.
Select the desired account and click “Create a password” or immediately click “Create a password for your account.”
Fill in the fields using the system prompts and click on the “Create password” button.

If strangers do not have physical access to your computer, it may be better to disable protection. This will eliminate the need to enter a password every time the system starts.

Use the Windows + R key combination and enter in the command line netplwiz(or control userpasswords2, if the first command does not work). Press Enter.
In the window that opens, select in the list the account for which you want to remove the password, and uncheck the box next to “Require username and password.” Click OK.
Enter the password, confirm it and click OK.

Windows will stop asking for a password only when you turn on the computer. But if you lock the screen (Windows keys + L), log out, or the computer goes into sleep mode, the password prompt will still appear on the display.

If the “Require username and password” option is not available, or you want to completely remove your Windows password rather than disable it, try another method for more experienced users.

To do this, open the account management section using one of the instructions at the beginning of this article.

If the open section says that you are using a Microsoft online profile (sign in with email and password), disable it. Then use the system prompts to create a local profile, but do not fill out the password fields during the process.

After you disable your Microsoft account, the system will no longer sync your settings and files across different computers. Some applications may refuse to work.

If the local profile is initially active in the account management menu, then simply change the current password, leaving the fields for the new password empty.

If you delete an old password, the system will never prompt you for it until you add a new one.

How to remove the password when resuming from sleep mode

If you disable the password prompt when Windows starts, the system may still prompt you for it when you wake up. But you can deactivate this feature separately using these instructions.

In the search bar in Windows, enter “Power Options” and click on the link found to the section with the same name. Or find it manually through the Control Panel.
Click "Require a password when you wake up," then "Change settings that are currently unavailable" and check the "Don't ask for a password" checkbox.
Save your changes.

How to remove password when waking up Windows XP

Open the “Control Panel” → “Power Options” section.
In the window that appears, open the “Advanced” tab and uncheck the box next to “Require a password when exiting standby mode.”
Save your changes.

If you have forgotten your password and cannot log into your local Windows administrator profile, there is no need to reinstall the OS. There is a simpler solution: resetting the password protection. To do this, you will need another computer, a USB drive, and a free password reset utility.

Create a bootable USB flash drive on another PC

Download the Lazesoft Recover My Password installer onto any available computer.
Run the downloaded file and complete the installation.
Connect the flash drive to your computer. If necessary, make a copy of the files stored on it, since all information will have to be deleted.
Open Lazesoft Recover My Password, click Burn Bootable CD/USB Disk Now! and create a bootable USB flash drive using the program prompts.

Boot your computer using a flash drive

Insert the prepared USB drive into the computer for which you have forgotten the password.
Turn on (or restart) the PC and, as soon as it starts to boot, press the key to go to the BIOS settings. Usually this is F2, F8, F9 or F12 - depending on the equipment manufacturer. Most often, the required key is displayed on the screen while loading the BIOS.
While in the BIOS menu, go to the Boot section if the system does not redirect you there right away.
In the Boot section, install the USB flash drive to the first place in the list of devices that appears on the screen. If you don't know how to do this, look around - there should be some control tips nearby.
Save your changes.

If the BIOS is also protected by a password that is unknown to you, then you will not be able to reset Windows password protection using Lazesoft Recover My Password.

Perhaps instead of the classic BIOS you will see a more modern graphical interface. In addition, even in different older BIOS versions, the settings may differ. But in any case, the procedure will be approximately the same: go to the Boot menu, select the desired USB drive as the source and save the changes.

After this, the computer should boot from the flash drive on which the Lazesoft Recover My Password utility is recorded.

Reset your password with Lazesoft Recover My Password

Select Lazesoft Live CD (EMS Enabled) and press Enter.
Reset your account password using Lazesoft Recover My Password tips.
Reboot.

After these steps, Windows will stop asking for the old password, and you can set a new one according to the instructions at the beginning of the article.

How many times have you forgotten your passwords for a coded door at the entrance of a friend, your e-mail or an account in some VKontakte? But if in this case services and recovery services could help you, then in the case when you forget your password from your computer, only specialists will help you... If your hands are “growing from the right place,” then you can try to do something yourself. The easiest way out of this situation is to reset the Windows 7 administrator password.

Options

There are several ways to solve this problem. Today we will talk about resetting the administrator password, which can be done with direct access to the computer, so these tips will not be useful to you for hacking someone else’s PC or server.

Mechanical.
Using the created software.
Using the operating system distribution.

Any of these options is equally good and bad at the same time. Some of them are larger and better suited for laptops, while others are ideal for a desktop computer. In addition, passwords are different, so if you protected your computer by password-protecting it using BIOS, even now it is not completely safe and there are ways to overcome this protection of a stationary personal computer. However, this method will not help you in the case of a laptop, because simply disassembling and putting it back together in working order is a very difficult task, not to mention making any changes.

Via BIOS

To immediately dot all the i's, it is worth saying that resetting the Windows 7 administrator password through the BIOS is not possible. Some concepts should be separated. You will not be able to reset passwords on a user account using any operations in the BIOS, but if you have completely denied access to the computer using the I/O system and have forgotten the password, then here are a couple of tips for you.

It should be immediately noted that these methods are quite dangerous for your computer and work with 100% reliability only on stationary PCs. Yes, and these tricks can only be done with direct access to the system unit.

So, a quick reset of the Windows 7 administrator password is carried out as follows. Unscrew the cover of the PC system unit, having first disconnected it from the power supply, and find a coin-cell battery on the motherboard. You should remove it for a few seconds and then put it back in place. This way, you will reset all temporary BIOS settings on your computer, including the password.

Second method

Also, resetting the Windows 7 administrator password set in the BIOS can be done a little differently. You will need the instructions from your motherboard. In the diagram you need to find a special jumper, with which you can reset the BIOS settings. The jumper looks like a pair of exposed contacts. In order to reset the password, you will have to change the jumper on the jumper and turn on the computer. It will not start, but all settings will be set to default. Remove the jumper and turn on the PC again. When you first boot, you will be thrown into the BIOS control panel. Don't touch anything, just press the exit button and save your existing settings.

With disk

It is worth noting that if you have set a password for the user, then simply removing the battery is not enough. If you still have the operating system distribution, then you can try a couple of the following tricks to reset the Windows 7 local administrator password.

So, first, remember the process of installing your OS. If you did it yourself, then at some point you should have been asked if you wanted to set a password for the “admin panel”. This entry is usually inactive and hidden from prying eyes, and users work on an account with extended rights. If you lose your account password, the administrator can always delete it himself. But what kind of “administrator” can we talk about on a home computer? Therefore, you have to use the system administrator user account, which is installed on the system by default.

To launch it, do the following. Insert the installation disk and on the first welcome screen press the combination “Shift+F10”. This will allow us to bring up the command line. Next, we need to launch the registry editor with the “regedit” command. After this, we perform the following manipulations in the editor.

Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and click "File" - "Load hive".
Find the SAM file in the Windows folder - Swstem32 - config.
In the new branch that appears, go to the folder 000001F4. It is located in SAM - Domains - Account - Users. The "F" parameter needs to be changed.
Double click on it. We are interested in line 0038. In it we need to change the number located in the very first column. "11" -> "10".
We exit and save.
Select the root folder of our branch and click the “File” menu button, then “Unload hive”.

After all the manipulations have been completed, you can restart the computer. Now you can log into your administrator account and reset your Windows 7 administrator password manually using operating system tools.

Another option

There are still ways to log into a password-protected account. The fact is that you can reset the Windows 7 administrator password directly from the console running as an administrator. Now you will be offered a rather complicated method, but one that allows you to leave a small loophole for the future.

Perhaps you have come across a program that is responsible for sticky keys? When you press "Shift" or "Alt" many times in a row, you will receive a message asking you to turn off sticky. The fact is that this function also works in the user selection menu when we just turned on the computer. So if we replace it with something useful, we could benefit from it. For example, calling the command line.

To do this, repeat the steps in the previous paragraph and enter the operating system installation menu. Launch the command line. By default, your operating system should be installed on volume "C:\". If not, just replace it with the desired letter. After launching the line, enter a sequence of commands.

"Copy C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe C:\" - a copy of the file with the code that reacts to sticking is created.
"Copy C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe" - copy the contents of the file that launches the command line to the sticky file.

After entering the last command, you must restart your personal computer (laptop). In the user selection menu, when you are asked to enter a password, we activate the sticky function by quickly pressing a few keys. The command line will open, and enter the command “net user UserName NewPassword”. As you might guess, instead of UserName you need to specify your user name, and instead of the second parameter, a new password. After this, you will be able to log into your account on your personal computer. If you want to return everything to its place, you can turn on the command line from Windows and enter “copy C:\sethc.exe C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe”.

But how to reset the Windows 7 administrator password without a disk?

Utility

If the operating system distribution kit is missing, it is always possible to reset the password using a special utility. You will need a program to reset the Windows 7 administrator password. For example, Offline NT Password and Registry Editor. We write it to a disk or flash drive and restart the computer, choosing to boot from external media. Resetting the Windows 7 administrator password from a flash drive is quite easy to learn if you can read and know English. So let's begin.

After launch, a table with hard disks will appear in front of you. Enter the number of the one on which the OS is installed.
Determine the path to the SAM accounts file. "C:/Windows/System32/config".
Enter "1" twice in a row.
We select the user we need in the table. The administrator password reset program only works with Latin, so if the name is not displayed correctly, you can enter its RID in the format 0xRID.
Once again enter "1".
The following is a sequence of commands: exit, save changes, do not continue.
Reboot the computer by pressing "control-alt-divide".

The Windows 7 administrator password reset program did its job. You can enter your "domain" on the computer.

Warning

Finally, it should be noted that any changes that you make to your computer when trying to reset the Windows 7 administrator password, you do at your own discretion, and all responsibility falls on your shoulders. After them, most likely, no service will accept your computer under warranty. especially after opening the cover of the system unit. After all, it is very difficult to prove that you did something with the operating system, but the opened “seals” on the system unit will look very eloquent. This means you will have to pay specialists a round sum for quite simple actions. When following these instructions, be extremely careful, and if something is not clear, it is better to clarify or look for additional information.

Bottom line

We hope this article helped you with your problem, no matter what method you used, be it a remote battery or a super-sophisticated utility from an unknown manufacturer. The main problem you may encounter is data security. Unfortunately, some information may well be lost during this process. Therefore, try to get it from friends or download a version of the operating system on LiveCD. Then you can simply save all the data that is important to you.

In this article, we did not consider the simplest but longest method - a complete reinstallation of the system. Unfortunately, sometimes there are situations in which it becomes completely impossible to access your computer, and reinstalling Windows becomes the only possible option.