Comments for I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

Comment from Leo on 2009-09-26

2009-09-26T16:56:12Z

I'm closing comments on this article because it appears to be a magnet for folks pushing for-pay or questionable tools that claim to do the same thing as the free tool in the article.

26-Sep-2009

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Sam on 2009-09-11

2009-09-12T04:44:55Z

Leo,

If the laptop has Encryption Plus Hard Drive software, how do I boot from the CD after authenticating at the Encryption layer?

Thanks.

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Cancara on 2009-08-22

2009-08-22T09:31:41Z

I am such a n00b, and can't figure out how to "boot" my pc with the cd :s Help? :D

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Ryan on 2009-08-21

2009-08-21T15:48:12Z

Umm... I have a rather interesting issue. The machine i'm trying to get access to the administrator account for DOES NOT HAVE AN ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT! None of the Usernames can be identified as the ADMIN account, not even the account "Administrator". How do I get one?

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Amar N. Singh on 2009-04-07

2009-04-08T03:09:50Z

Will removing the battery from the motherboard lose all previously set password?

It *may* reset the BIOS password, but it will not affect any Windows passwords.

- Leo
08-Apr-2009

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Ted on 2009-02-09

2009-02-09T20:45:28Z

Many thanks for this great tool. I used it to successfully reset the Administrator password on my old laptop (Windows XP) that I hadn't used for sometime. However, I subsequently became "daring" and chose to disable syskey. The result is that no user (including the administrator) can now log on to the computer. Is there anyway I can re-enable syskey or any other way of logging to the computer? Passwords for all users are currently shown to be blank and I cannot change them. Many thanks for your assistance.

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Rebecca on 2009-01-29

2009-01-29T15:37:56Z

I download the program, ut it is asking me for a license key before I can get into my passwords. How can I get this key? What key would it want?

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Granny Brenda on 2009-01-14

2009-01-15T00:36:30Z

I have an emachine and this doesn't seem to work. Does anyone know of something that will work on the emachine? TKS in advance. BTW, the computer I was trying to download cd from had trojans and when I got rid of them then I could download.

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Comment from Barry Eason on 2009-01-01

2009-01-01T08:55:23Z

I went and bought a $650.00 and locked myself out a month after I had. That was last year, so instead of buying a new start up disk or going to eBay Im going to try this.
************Barry***********

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Bruce on 2008-12-11

2008-12-12T03:39:47Z

Sounds interesting and possibly useful. ...
However,
1) the site you link to never loads, always gives me 'timeout' error (i do not get that error for any other website).
2) the computer that we have lost admin PW to is Dell D400 mini laptop which has NO CD & NO Floppy. But does (according to F2 setup) support USB boot.
3) would simply copying whatever is on that reset ISO (if i can get it from someplace else) to USB drive allow the USB to boot and reset?
Thx for all your good tips n helps.

1) I'm experiencing the same timeouts right now. I hope that this is temporary, or that someone has a mirror somewhere. This is a valuable tool.

2) I believe that there was a USB boot image, but I can't be sure without seeing the site.

3) No, in general I don't believe that a CD boot image can simply be extracted onto a USB device would work.

- Leo
12-Dec-2008

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from noobish on 2008-11-18

2008-11-18T13:38:20Z

this is pure genius...worked like a charm...thanks a million for the anyone and everyone who contributed to this...helped me log into my old computer which i havnt used for years

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from PJ Theis on 2008-08-17

2008-08-17T21:30:16Z

Hi Leo, your the expert I know, but I have found a site online to reset the admin password as long as one has access to another acct, and as long as the acct. is specified as an admin acct. It just seems a whole lot easier and less invasive: "http://tweakxp.com/article37368.aspx"

I've used this method and it works great. Works for other accts. as well.

Does the method you advise here benefit those who have lost all access to all acct(s), or is there perhaps a negative with resetting the password via this (tweakxp) method. I do know it negates the user's settings when the password is changed this way.

Thanks Leo, btw..great site!!!
Pj

What your method amounts to is "I can reset the admin pasword as long as I have admin access". Of course that's going to be easier.

The problem that most people face is that they do not have admin access in any form, at which point more drastic measures are called for.

-Leo

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Amin Gilani on 2008-07-23

2008-07-23T17:12:10Z

lol!
.
dude.. i stuff like walkin' up to computers and owning them =P
.
i've got a live CD version of the linux distro called AUSTRUMI
.
plug in a pen drive..
.
boot it up..
.
copy the SAM and SYSTEM file off..
.
go home and crack it..
.
simple =P

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Anth on 2008-07-22

2008-07-23T00:10:29Z

Thanks for another great article, Leo. This password tool is the first one i've tried that actually works!

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Danielle on 2008-06-01

2008-06-02T03:51:34Z

I received a free computer from a Church. Windows XP Pro was requesting an admin password that neither I nor they knew. After several weeks of unsuccessful attempts, I used Offline NT Password and Registry Editor. Within 30 minutes, I had reset the password to BLANK and was able to access Windows. I had tried everything possible and nothing worked until I used this.

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Comment from MIKLO on 2008-05-21

2008-05-22T05:00:28Z

Try anything you like but, the moral is that man makes it and man can break it (password,code,etc)Lucky for me I was raised B4 computers and still know how to use a pencil and paper.I started with computers (work) back in the DOS days and there has always, and will always be a way to get your so called "secure" info.I NEVER put anything on a computer unless I am willing to let the world see it,this has served me well. Those are my thoughts.........thanks.
Miklo

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Comment from routerfive on 2008-05-18

2008-05-19T04:18:47Z

why not "run" control userpasswords2???

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Comment from Ron Nosack on 2008-05-15

2008-05-15T12:34:08Z

Another good solution is to download Ophcrack. This is a self running bootable that actually cracks the password and hands it to you. All within 15 minutes. Everyone should put this in their toolkit - and practice a bit.

As the one gentleman said, bios passwords are pretty easy to get around. Some laptops will have to go back to the factory though, and you'll be charged a 100.00 or so. Staying away from bios passwords, is a good idea.
Packrat1947

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Tiwari on 2008-05-15

2008-05-15T07:19:43Z

is this utility also work with windows xp and win 2003 server etc

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Leo on 2008-05-14

2008-05-15T00:12:13Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Most people don't make a Windows Password reset disk for
their system, and I believe you must create it before you
need it.

Also, booting into safe mode is great - *if you know the
password*. The whole point here is that you do not know that
password. Booting into safe mode still requires that you log
in. No password, no login.

Leo

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFIK3/VCMEe9B/8oqERAtheAJsFJfmdIBlxulKJBjaTwAACJE4PfACfa+jo
MHBD58GbawFyB8m985uxbug=
=RK9n
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Comment from Bhavani.S on 2008-05-14

2008-05-14T12:35:42Z

I have another alternate solution for this issue.
We can also use Windows Password reset disk if created and noot the system through the disk and reset the password.
If no password reset disk then we can boot the system to safe mode and reset the password there.
It will work in Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

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Comment from Narc on 2008-05-13

2008-05-14T02:21:52Z

To Harold Rossi: Defeating BIOS password protection is even faster than the operations described in the article here -- a cracker can open up your PC and short-circuit a jumper on the motherboard (or remove the battery from it... there are a few different specs, but all PCs have something like it), which will clear the BIOS password and reset all its settings to the defaults.

The moral holds -- if someone with malicious intent has physical access to your PC, the data on it is not safe. Products like TrueCrypt (I think that was the name... the one Leo's mentioned a few times) will secure your data -- for a time. Given enough time, a determined attacker will defeat even those.

In short, if you want your data to be secure, don't write it down, don't put it on a computer, and never mention it to anyone. Anything else can be broken.

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Comment from Harold Rossi on 2008-05-13

2008-05-13T18:37:50Z

I try to make it harder for anyone to do by password protecting the BIOS and setting the boot order to not allow the CD or removable drives. That way it will be harder and take more time for anyone else to do. If I need to boot from the CD or USB drive I know the password for the BIOS and can quickly alter the boot order to allow CDROM as the first boot device. But always remember to change it back before leaving the machine. You can't always prevent a determined 'hacker', but you can slow them down. Usually they'll go look for an easier mark.

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Eli Coten on 2008-05-13

2008-05-13T17:41:29Z

I didn't know that this worked with Vista as well - useful to note.

I have found that some times it doesn't always work and for some reason you need to restart the computer and try it twice (or even three times occasionally) before it finally works. When it doesn't work it usually seems to give an error message explaining why but I found that restarting the computer and trying again seemed to work if you persevere.

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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Comment from Destiny on 2008-05-13

2008-05-13T17:00:09Z

Hi Leo,

I found another way. I logged in as Administrator in Safe Mode and was able to change the password there. Alot easier!

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A comment on: I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

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