Resetting Windows PasswordTested on: NT 3.51, NT 4 (all versions
and SPs), Windows 2000 (all versions & SPs), Windows XP (all
versions, also SP2 and SP3), Windows Server 2003 (all SPs), Windows
Vista 32 and 64 bit (SP1 also), Window 7 (all variants). Some also
say that it works on Windows Server 2008 too.If used on users that
have EFS encrypted files, and the system is XP or Vista, all
encrypted files for that user will be UNREADABLE! and cannot be
recovered unless you remember the old password again. If you don't
know if you have encrypted files or not, you most likely don't have
them (except maybe on corporate systems).Boot your computer with
Hiren's BootCD and follow the steps below for resetting your
password:1. Enter "Offline NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 Password Changer"With
Up & Down keys select Offline 'NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 Password
Changer' and press Enter.2. Wait for "Offline NT Password &
Registry Editor" to LoadOn the screen below, you'll see is several
lines of text that quickly run down the screen. You don't need to
do anything here. Wait for "Offline NT Password & Registry
Editor" to load.
1. Select "NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 Password Changer"
2. Linux files are loading...3. Choose the Correct Hard Drive
PartitionThis step in the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
process is to select the partition that contains the Windows
installation that you want to delete a password from.Many computers
have a single operating system installed on a single partition on a
single hard drive, making this a very easy choice.If that's the
case for you, just press ENTER to accept the default partition.
Otherwise, type the number corresponding to the correct partition
from the Candidate Windows partitions found list and then press
ENTER.If more than one partition is listed and you're not sure
which one to pick, chances are the larger partition is the one with
Windows installed.Every Windows 7 PC will have more than one
partition listed.4. Confirm the Windows Registry PathOffline NT
Password & Registry Editor now needs to know the exact location
of the Windows Registry. Except in the rarest of occasions, the
default location will be the correct one.Just Press ENTER to accept
the default Windows Registry path without writing anything
else.
3. Choose the Correct Hard Drive Partition
4. Confirm the Windows Registry Path5. Choose the Password Reset
OptionOffline NT Password & Registry Editor is now asking which
part of the registry it should load.Press ENTER to accept the
default choice of Password reset.The Offline NT Password &
Registry Editor tool can perform various functions aside from
resetting passwords but since that's the focus of this particular
walkthrough, that's all we'll discuss.6. Choose the Edit User Data
and Passwords OptionNow that the registry is loaded and available
to the program, Offline NT Password & Registry Editor needs to
know exactly what you want to do.Press ENTER to accept the default
choice of Edit user data and passwords.This will load the necessary
options for the actual password reset.
5. Choose the Password Reset Option
6. Choose the Edit User Data and Passwords Option7. Enter the
Username to EditOffline NT Password & Registry Editor now needs
to know which user's password you'd like to delete (erase, clear,
blank, remove, call it what you like).A default user is listed
between the brackets at the prompt. In the above example, you can
see that it's the Administrator user.If the default user is the
user you'd like to remove the password from, simply press ENTER.
Otherwise, enter the username and then press ENTER.8. Type 1 to
Clear (blank) user password and then press ENTERAt the bottom of
the screen you'll see the User Edit Menu with several options to
choose from.Type 1 for Clear (blank) user password and then press
ENTER.Offline NT Password & Registry Editor shows some
interesting information about the username you entered in the last
step - the full name, what groups the user belongs to, how many
failed login attempts have taken place, how many total logins have
been completed, and more.If you see a check in the "Passwd not
req." box, this means that a password is not a requirement for this
particular user. It does not mean that a password is not required
to access the account in Windows. In other words, it's saying that
it is possible to erase this user's password.
7. Enter the Username to Edit
8. Type 1 to Clear (blank) user password and then press ENTER9.
Type ! to quit the User Edit ToolAssuming there weren't any
problems, you should see a Password cleared! message after entering
1 in the previous step.Type ! to quit editing user and then press
ENTER.You must confirm these changes in a later step before they
are actually complete. If you quit Offline NT Password &
Registry Editor now then the password reset will not take place!10.
Type q to Quit Offline NT Password & Registry EditorEnter q and
then press ENTER to quit the Offline NT Password & Registry
Editor registry editing tool.Important: You're still not done! You
need to confirm your password reset change in the next step before
it will take effect.
9. Type ! to quit the User Edit Tool
10. Type q to Quit Offline NT Password & Registry Editor11.
Type y and then press ENTER to confirm Password Reset ChangesAt the
Step FOUR: Writing back changes menu, Offline NT Password &
Registry Editor asks if you want to write file(s) back.Type y and
then press ENTER.You should see an EDIT COMPLETE message appear on
screen. If you do, it means that Offline NT Password & Registry
Editor has written the password changes to your computer!12.
Confirm That You're Finished Using Offline NT Password &
Registry EditorOffline NT Password & Registry Editor gives you
an option here to rerun the program. If you've been following along
with this guide and everything seems to have worked properly then
there's little reason to repeat anything.Press ENTER to confirm the
default option of not rerunning the password reset.
11. Type y and then press ENTER to confirm Password Reset
Changes
12. Press ENTER to Confirm That You're Finished Using Offline NT
Password & Registry Editor13. Remove Hiren's BootCD and Restart
the ComputerThat's it! You've just completed the entire Offline NT
Password & Registry Editor password removal process.
13. Remove Hiren's BootCD and Restart the ComputerNote: If you
receive a "job control turned off" or a "can't access tty" error,
don't worry. As long as the EDIT COMPLETE confirmation message was
posted to the screen after you confirmed the password reset changes
then your password was successfully reset. You should still be able
to see the confirmation on the screen at this point.Remove Hiren's
BootCD from your CD/DVD drive and then manually reset your
computer.In the next step, you'll finally get to logon to Windows
without entering a password!Now that your password has been removed
using Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, no password is
required to log on to Windows.If you are the only user on your
computer, Windows will boot all the way to the desktop on the next
reboot and will skip the logon screen altogether.If you're on a
multi-user computer (as many families are), the logon screen will
still appear after starting Windows but when you click on the user
that had the password removed, you will not be prompted for a
password and will instead enter Windows automatically.Having a
secure password is important so please don't continue to use
Windows without one. As soon as you've gained access to your
computer again, configure a new password - one you can remember a
little easier!