Lost Administrator Password in Windows 7 or Vista?
Posted on November 23, 2009 at 5:45 am
Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways you can lose access to your Windows logon account, one being simple forgetting the password. This happens ways more often than you would think!
But in reality, there are several ways you can end up losing access to an administrator account, including
- Setting a new password for an Administrator account and then forgetting the password.
- Deleting an Administrator account and not being able to log into another one.
- Changing an Administrator account to a standard user account and not being able to log into another Administrator account
- Windows 7 or Vista becoming corrupted and not accepting a correct password
I previously wrote an article on how to recover a lost Windows password using several third-party tools, but if that doesn’t work, you can try to gain access to the account using System Restore.
Note that in order for this to work, System Restore had to be enabled and there has to be a restore point that was created before you lost access.
To get started, pop in the Windows 7 or Vista DVD into your drive and restart the computer. Press a key when you get the Press any key to boot from CD or DVD.
If you don’t have a Windows 7 or Vista disc, you have to boot into the Advanced Boot Options screen and then choose Repair your computer.
Choose the Language, Time and current format, and keyboard. Then click Next. If you booted from the DVD, you’ll see the Repair your computer link at this step.
Now choose the operating system you want to repair. Then click Next.
Now click the System Restore link and find a restore point that you want to use.
Make sure to pick a restore point that is sufficiently past the date when you lost access to your Administrator account. Restart your computer and see if you can log in.
If you’ve managed to recover access to your Administrator account, you should think about creating a set of password recovery disks for Windows Vista or 7. So even if you forget the Administrator password, you can regain access using the disks. Enjoy!
» Filed Under Windows 7
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Last month , i lost my windows vista administrator password. I solved my problem with the help of windows password key. It not only supports Windows Vista , I have personally tested it with Windows 7 . It worked perfectly to reset any local user account to a blank password. Just an easy to use bootable CD/DVD . It can also be used on a USB Flash Drive. You can download it from: http://www.lostwindowspassword.com/.
Hi, the System Restore method did not work for me and I’m trying to avoid spending any money! Is there any free program that can help me recover my lost Windows 7 password? I tried to set a complex password and forgot it.
This one uses Linux so is not too user friendly. You usually will need to disconnect from the network for it to work. If you have no other choice, it’s another way to recover a Windows password?
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/
I lost my Administrator password for Windows 7 and now I can’t login anymore. I had turned off System Restore before losing my password, so now what can I do?
I’ve heard people say that you can crack a Windows administrator password using Linux, but I have no idea how to do this. Help!
There’s a way to reset windows password and it doesn’t involve reformatting and reinstalling Windows. The solution is called Windows Password Reset 7.0. It can reset almost all Windows passwords in seconds. EVEN support windows 7 password reset tool. you can log in again just in one second.
Hey, I also got locked out of my computer several days ago. I tried several free software. It took me two days and got quite messy. Unfortunately none of them work for me. Finally I made it work with password genius. The good news is that it works. The bad news is it is not free.
Check this out:
password-genius.com/how-to/how-to-recover-my-windows-login-password.html. It works for me. I was able to recover my Windows logon password.
I try this but it’s not working for my laptop i don’t know why ! I have a laptop with windows 7 and i try this but when i get to the point that i should choose the operating system i want to repair. Then i click Next there’s no system recovery options. there is a box telling me that i must choose the user and the password.. how come? the whole idea is that i lost my password! how come it asking me again about the password that i forgot!
I lost my administrator password in Windows and I see there are a lot of paid tools out there that say they can recover the lost passwords so I can regain access. I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions or if they had tried one? Thanks.
Can I use this tool to reset windows password in xp or windows 7?
My father has created a password for a windows 7 user account and I’m unable to open it or open the administrator account. I don’t know much about windows 7, is there any key to access the account? I don’t want to format because I have useful data on the hard drive.
Selecting ‘Repair your computer’ in Windows 7 Home Premium still requires the password to initiate a system restore.
How can I recover my Windows 7 user password? I forgot the password and I can’t get in. These methods seems to be for Windows XP.
Check out this video on YouTube: [HowTo] Windows 7 Vista XP 2000 NT Password Reset/Recovery Tutorial
youtube.com/watch?v=J-z_lH0l44I
There is another technique for resetting a password on Windows Vista or Windows 7, provided file or disk encryption is not being used. It’s more complicated, and does require the installation DVD, but does not require a repair point whose password you already know. You also don’t need to download anything.
I’ve just put it up on my blog:
harryjohnston.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/resetting-a-password-in-windows-7-or-windows-vista/
Hope this is helpful.
I have yet to find a good way to recover an administrator password! I’ve tried many solutions, but nothing has worked. Any other ideas?
There are a lot of password recovery tools out there, but none of them work! I don’t think it’s really possibly to recover a password with Windows 7.
I have the same problem in windows 7 , is any good free program for Windows 7 that can remove administrator passwords?
try blank. here is the methods I know.
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.
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.
hey thanks…this really worked….recovering an administrator password is new for me, thanks for sharing, i appreciate it lot…
Can someone tell me a good blog about Windows 7 security? Thanks
Is there any other way to get the password? I have this same problem in Windows 7 and did not create a reset disk. Now what?
Hi! you can use free software or paid software to restore an Administrator password. Paid one will be more safe and stable. Hope it helps you. Good luck!
Anand said on : January 30th, 2010 at 5:56 am
I try this but it’s not working for my laptop i don’t know why ! I have a laptop with windows 7 and i try this but when i get to the point that i should choose the operating system i want to repair. Then i click Next there’s no system recovery options. there is a box telling me that i must choose the user and the password.. how come? the whole idea is that i lost my password! how come it asking me again about the password that i forgot!
I’m glad the password resets don’t work. If your machine gets stolen, the thief will have a hard time getting it to work.
I forgot my password when it was in the repair shop, and its the only account on my computer, any ideas? PS I don’t have any restore discs.
I tried but was unsuccessful, the notebook asked for password, thanks anyway.
I have been locked out of my computer for a while, and have tried everything i could do but failed. Can someone help me!
Hi.
I forgot my set up administration password. There is a method where you continuously press one of the F keys. I have tried this before and it worked without me losing anything.
Please help.
Well I put F8 and repair your computer and i got the key or input message but it didnt look like thtat, but i put next and it said enter your password
Hey, guys.
Does anybody know whether we can create a password recovery disk from another PC running Windows 7?
Thanks heaps.
I suggest a good windows password recovery tool – Windows Password Reset Kit.
Thank you, Halle Said:
Halle said on : March 23rd, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Your information worked perfectly. I had forgotten my Administrator Password and could not get into my system, even with system restore disc. Using your information made it very easy. I am an advanced user, but I highly recommend this fix for beginners, also!!!
Thank you so much!!! This worked!
FYI ~ I have Windows 7 and for me to get to the ‘press any key to boot from CD”, I had to press F12 and select CD/DVD, then I was able to continue with the instructions here.
Thanks again for these instructions!
In response to ‘I don’t know’ ~ The F8 won’t work as you know. I also tried that. If you have your Windows 7 disk, these instructions work best; they worked for me anyhow. See my above comment too. Best of luck!
1. Put in your Windows Vista/7 CD/DVD, 2. Boot installation setup menu, 3. at the very first screen DO NOT PUSH NEXT, Press Shift + F10 at the same time to get a command prompt. 4. Type “net user” into your command prompt, this should have given you a list of accounts on the system. 5. Type “net user Administrator *”. If typed correctly it should ask you for a new password and again to confirm the password.
Ok, here my deal, i entered a password on my computer, i only have 1 user, the Administrator that came default on my computer, i dont have any restore points or made any backup cds, all i have is the original CD that i got from ending my year in IKT year in highschool and thats it… so, do i have to install a new win7 so i can… well use it again?
heard my friend can use a linux from a CD on it so he can delete a file that “stores” the password so we can retrieve the password… but i think this will take some time as i need my own PC in a hurry now as something is about to happend
I cant remember my administrative password to windows 7. Where do I look for it! I have a new user I want to have administrative rights to my computer.