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What to do if I do not remember my Windows user password ?

+1 vote
asked by (130 points)
edited by

I forgot my user password and now I cannot access my Desktop.

11 Answers

+2 votes
answered by (540 points)

To reset Windows user password, there are several free methods:
1. With another admin account.
2. With Windows 7 password reset disk.
3. From Safe Mode.
4. With CMD.
5. Using "lusrmgr.msc"
More dtails you can found on other sites, it is easy to find.

Anothe tip: Reset Windows user password with Windows Password Recovery Tool.
1. Install this program on another computer and create a password recovery disk with USB
2. Insert the disk to your laptop and set your laptop to boot from it.
3. All user accounts will be loaded, then you can reset any user password.
If you want to read more details:

+1 vote
answered by (740 points)

What to do if you do not remember your Windows user password, you can make use of SmartKey Windows Password Recovery Professional.

Step 1: Install SmartKey Windows Password Recovery from on another computer and create a password recovery disk with USB
Step 2: Insert the disk to your laptop and set your laptop to boot from it.
Step 3: All user accounts will be loaded, and then you can reset any user password.

commented by (120 points)
Bear in mind that the "Trial" version is worthless as it just prompts you to buy the full version.  Kind of lame.
0 votes
answered by (100k points)
edited by

Windows provides several ways to get access to your desktop using its built-in features. One way to get access to your system is to press Ctrl+Del for a few times when you are at the log-in screen in Windows. From its fancy interface, it will turn into a classic desktop where you can enter your username and password. By default, when you install Windows operating system and create a username, the system will automatically create the username called Administrator. This username is only accessible from Safe Mode but if you get the log-in prompt then you can use it there. In the window that opens, type in Administrator and press enter without any password. You will enter your desktop from where you can access User Accounts in Control Panel. From that location, you can change the password and the username you have forgotten. Log out then using the new password for your username, log back in and gain access to your desktop.

0 votes
answered by (180 points)

There is another way to reset the localadmin password or user 'Administrator' on a windows machine when the password is forgotten. Download an ISO called System Rescue CD from Burn this ISO to a CD using your choice of burning Software. I use CDBurnerXP (Which works on other windows versions).

Boot from this CD and you will be in what is called a Bash Shell in Linux with only a few commands. One of these is a command that will allow you to blank out the 'Administrator' password for access to the machine.
Here is how to do it:
- Burn the ISO to a CD disc
- Insert the System Rescue CD and restart your computer allowing to boot from CD
- If you only have Windows on the Hard Drive run these commands in order:
- ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /mnt/windows –o force
- cd /mnt/windows/Windows/System32/config

Now that you are in the system folder you will see a file "SAM" this is where the passwords are stored for windows to read and use for authentication. This is what you want to access.
Now use these commands:
- cd /mnt/windows/Windows/System32/config [This will show all users/privileges]
- RESET Administrator just use chntpw SAM
- Use and Asterisks for the password to blank it out and 'y' to confirm.

At this point you are done and can restart your computer, or do it by user:
- chntpw –u [UserName] SAM (Where [UserName] is the users pswd to reset)
- After choosing the user type "1" to blank the password and then "y" to confirm

You can now reboot the computer using the command 'reboot' or simply use the power button. But remember to remove the System Rescue CD first!!! Now when you get back to the windows login screen if you are using XP or Vista with a list of users press ctrl+alt+del twice to take you to a screen where you can type in the user name 'Administrator' and leave the password blank. This will log you in and you can now manage the passwords locally on your machine as you always would.
* One piece of advice if you have problems getting to the correct directory use the exact case of the word windows such as 'WINDOWS' in some systems it is case sensitive and in all uppercase. This should be all you need to do if you have problems. *

There is one other program that if your computer allows and is not blocked by a
BIOS filter or Anti-Virus BIOS called Ophcrack that could allow you to reset user passwords.

** Please note that this will only work on the local administrator of the machine. If you are on a domain or hybrid network using remote authentication from a server for log-in authentication you will only be able to access the local computer if you manage to log-in after reset and only if your network admin allows it **

0 votes
answered by (280 points)

Windows XP password lost I also met before. With the recommendation I used the Ophcrack. But it is not helpful for me. So I used the reset software, Windows Password Key 8.0, I finished my lost Windows XP reset and my data was safe all.
Get it from:

0 votes
answered by (180 points)

A few days ago, I had met the headache things that I had forgotten Windows login password. The login screen rejected my passwords. I was frustrated because there was very important data on my disk and I couldn't reinstall the OS. ………….
However, I fortunately got to know the Reset Windows Password utility, which is a professional windows password recovery tool for us to reset windows 7 password instantly yet no data loss.

I think it will also work for your situation.
Good luck!

0 votes
answered by (180 points)

Take it easy! To reset Windows password is not a big trouble. I have also lost my password every and then. You can try some software to reset the password. Know more in I suggest you creating a password reset disk in advance.

0 votes
answered by (14.7k points)

The same question is asked Here

0 votes
answered by

Assuming that your PC runs on win 7,you can recover your password in some ways below:
Solution 1: Reinstall Your Windows 7 Operating System

The most primitive method is to reinstall your Windows 7 operating system. If there is no important file in your C disk and you have no idea about how to get the lost password back or reset it, you can use this method.

Solution 2: Unlock Windows 7 Admin Password from Safe Mode

Windows 7 system has a built-in administrator account that is created during Windows installation and disable by default, which has no password in it. You need to enable that account before forgetting your other admin account password. Otherwise your built-in administrator account won’t appear in the screen in this tip.
Step1: Start your win 7 computer and press “F8″ while the computer boots up. Scroll down to “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” with the arrow keys on the keyboard and press “Enter.” Your computer starts in Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
Step2: Select the Administrator account that appear in the screen, then enter command prompt. Type: net user ****** 123456 and enter (****** is the account name and 123456 is the new password), it will show you a message that” the command completed successfully.
Step3: Restart your win 7 computer, then you can log in as ****** with the password 123456. You can go to control Panel to change your account password if necessary.

Solution 3: Unlock Windows 7 Password with Password Reset Disk

Password reset disk only works on condition that you have created it before losing the account password. Therefore, you had better to create this win 7 password reset disk when you set up an account. Here is how to unlock windows 7 password with password reset disk.
Step 1: While typing a wrong win 7 password, a password hint will appear. Click “Reset password “, it will show you the Password Reset Wizard.
Step 2: Click NEXT and select your disk drive to reset the password with a new one.
Step 3: Then you can use the new password to log in your win 7 PC.

Solution 4: Unlock Windows 7 Password with Windows Password Key

In this situation you need to download Windows Password Key to unlock the lost windows 7 password.
Step 1: Download and install Windows Password Key in another accessible PC.
Step 2: Run the downloaded file to install Windows Password Key Standard. You can install it on any PC you have access to.
Step 3: Windows Start menu - From your Microsoft Windows Start Programs menu, select Windows Password Key Standard. It will be launched automatically.
Step4: Using a Windows Password Key bootable CD/DVD to reset Windows password or using a Windows Password Key bootable USB Flash Drive to reset windows password.
Any question please refer to

0 votes
answered by (860 points)

Hello, you can use a tool named Windows Password Recovery Tool Ultimate to unlock the password. Here are detailed steps:

  1. Launch the software on the workable computer. Then insert a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive into the workable computer, and burn an ISO image file to the device with Quick Recovery or Advanced Recovery Wizard.

  2. Pull out the created password reset disk and insert it into the locked computer, and set BIOS to boot the locked computer from the disk. If your computer is preinstalled with Windows 8 and use UEFI, you have to disable UEFI Secure Boot before the BIOS setting.

  3. Then you will see interfaces of Windows Password Recovery Tool, follow the instructions on them to reset the password.

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