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How to recover or reset a Windows user password. Instructions and all methods. What to do if you forgot your computer login password. How to hack and reset Windows login password. Using Offline NT Password and Registry editor

If the PC owner has forgotten the password, there is no need to take rash steps, because the Windows developers have foreseen this situation and equipped the operating system with special software that allows you to quickly reset the existing key and, if necessary, change it to a new one. To unlock access to a laptop computer, you can use:

  • OS graphical interface;
  • safe mode;
  • command line;
  • Windows boot disk.

Using the Windows GUI

If, upon logging in, it was discovered that the password entered was not suitable, this does not always mean that the user forgot it. The first thing to do is see what language is used by default on the laptop. For example, if the key was set in English, and the standard language is Russian, then you will need to change it by pressing Alt+Shift (Ctrl+Shift) on the keyboard or moving the cursor to the language bar icon and selecting the required layout.

If the language is OK, check to see if the CapsLock key is pressed, as case matters when entering a password. It would also be a good idea to click on the question mark located next to the input line. Usually, when installing a new key, users give themselves a hint that allows them to find out what the password is on the laptop (for example, their mother's maiden name).

If you do not find any problems with either the layout or the case, you can try to reset or change the password in the User Accounts menu. This method allows you to unblock access only to a guest account, that is, an account with Administrator rights cannot be hacked.

To reset your guest account password, you need to do the following:

There is nothing more you need to do. Now, when logging in from a guest account, you will not need to enter a key.

Resetting your password through safe mode

This method allows you to restore not only the guest account, but also the Administrator account. You need to do the following:


Restoring access to a laptop via the command line

You can also bypass laptop protection through the command line. To do this you need:


Using a boot disk

Another tool built into the OS that allows you to reset a password that the user has forgotten is to use a boot disk with Windows. In this case, only the operating system assembly that is installed on the problematic laptop will be suitable.

To hack a lost password, you need to do the following:

  1. Enter the BIOS and in the Boot section opposite 1st Boot Device install the CD/DVD. Save changes and exit BIOS.
  2. Insert the Windows disc into the drive and restart the laptop.
  3. In the installation window, click "System Restore".
  4. To bypass the input key, in the Boot Method selection window, click Command Prompt and then type regedit.
  5. Once in the Registry Editor, highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and then in the “File” tab, activate “Load Hive.”
  6. Next, open the SAM file and go to the section whose path is indicated in the image.
  7. Double-click on the F value. To reset the input password, in the table that opens, in line 38, change 11 to 10 and click Ok. If you change another value, you can disable the system, so there is no need to experiment.
  8. Having made the required changes, go to the “File” menu, click “Unload Hive”, and then agree to this operation by clicking “Yes”.

After this, restart the laptop and remove the boot disk from the DVD drive. If everything is done correctly, you will not need to enter a password when loading the OS, which means you managed to reset it.

You cannot find out the password set on your laptop yourself. However, it can be bypassed, and it is not at all difficult to do. Therefore, if you have forgotten your login key, use one of the recovery tools.


Many personal computer users have encountered the problem of being unable to log into the system due to the fact that they forgot the previously set password. Or a child set his password without your participation, and now, when you urgently need a computer, you are powerless in front of a soulless machine, you still won’t be able to persuade it. There is no need to run for a sledgehammer to further express your emotions. There are several ways to remove a password from a computer.

Let's start with a mechanical way to fix the problem. It will be required if it was protected with a password. However, if you still managed to run for a sledgehammer, then put it down and don’t touch it again, all you need is a screwdriver.

To reset your computer's general password, you need to reset the BIOS settings. To do this, when the power of the system unit is turned off, remove the protective cover from it and find a battery on the motherboard that has the shape of a large tablet.

It is responsible for saving the information contained in the BIOS. Using a screwdriver, carefully pry up this battery and remove it from the socket. Wait 20-30 minutes and insert it back. Turn on the computer, and as soon as the boot starts, go directly to the BIOS (different motherboards have different keys, mainly Delete or F2 before the system starts booting) and press the F10 key to save the settings.

An easier way to remove a password from a computer is to log in as an administrator. It only works in Windows XP and in newer operating systems this loophole has been closed.

This method is based on the fact that a regular user does not set a password when installing Windows, which is the administrator password. To perform this procedure, you need to press and hold the F8 key as soon as the operating system starts loading. A black screen will appear with several options for further action.

You need to use the arrows on your keyboard to select “Safe Mode”, then press “Enter”. Next you will be taken to the menu for selecting an installed user.

Please note that in addition to one or more users who were always present during boot, the “Administrator” user appeared.

This is the icon you need to click to get into the system. Then, through the control panel, go to the menu where user accounts are listed. Here you can create a new account with computer administrator rights. A further reboot of the system will allow you to log in to the newly created account.

In Windows XP, there is another method for removing the password from your computer. After downloading, you need to wait for a window to appear in which you will be asked to log in with your user name and password. After you press CTRL+ALT+DELx2 times simultaneously, in this case a window will appear with a form for the administrator to fill out, enter a name and password. Enter administrator in the top cell and leave the second empty. Once your computer has fully booted, you should change or simply delete the password for an account that is inaccessible to you. Use the “start” menu, log into the control panel and select the tab there indicating user accounts. Find the account that currently has the password and delete it. Restart your computer, and you will be able to log into Windows without any incidents.


But the omission with passwords was changed in Windows 7, where logging into an account without a password using the previously discussed methods is not possible. But there must be a solution to the problem of how to remove the password from a computer with Windows 7 installed. Of course, there is, but only if there is a recovery disk. You will need to launch it from under the BIOS, select the operating system and then go to the “system recovery” tab.

In the settings of the “recovery” window, we gain access to control from the command line, then enter “regedit” and press Enter.

Find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder, select it, and in the “File” tab, click “Load Hive.” Next, open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\888\Setup subsection and double-click CmdLine, the key field of which will need to be edited. In this parameter field you will need to enter cmd.exe and save. For the SetupType key, enter designation 2 and save all changes for partition 888. Now in the “File” tab, select “Unload Hive,” remove the disk and restart the computer. After the system boots again, enter the new net user login and password.
So it turns out that there is no perfectly protected operating system. There will still be people who can bypass any obstacles. But still, you better never forget your passwords!
I would like to note that the above methods are not always effective, but in 95% of cases they are applicable. If it happens that you cannot reset your password using these recommendations, then describe your problem in the comments and I will help you deal with the problem. Learn more about

Passwords help protect your account in operating systems from unauthorized users. However, it also happens that they are forgotten, and it is not possible to get into the system from an administrator account, and you don’t have the installation media with you. In this case, you will have to reset the password using slightly non-standard methods.

Removing the password from Windows 7 without installation media

If you are unable to download a password reset disk for Windows 7, you can use one of the methods suggested below. Both involve solving the problem using system utilities. To do this, you do not need to download a Windows 7 password reset disk or a full system image. However, it is recommended to strictly follow the instructions, since both methods involve working with the interface "Consoles".

There is no need to try to reset your Windows 7 password using third-party software, as this will lead to certain problems.

Method 1: Command Line

This is the most universal, simple and secure way to change your Windows 7 password without knowing the old one. If necessary, you can later simply remove the new password from the operating system. To perform this method, you will need to be able to log into the OS interface, even from a guest account. Usually this is always there by default.

The Guest account has some limitations compared to the Administrator account. By default, they apply to making any changes to the OS, for example, installing/uninstalling programs, editing some documents, downloading content from the network. Restrictions on use "Command line" no by default.

The instructions for this method are as follows:


Method 2: Recovery Menu

This method can be dangerous, as it involves disconnecting the computer from power while it is running. However, a single use should not cause much harm.

The bottom line is this:


This way you will have access to "Command line" without having any access to the system. In the interface "Consoles" you will have to do the following:


The methods discussed above help you reset your password on Windows 7 without using a disk with an OS image. However, it is recommended to create a system recovery image on a flash drive (installation disk) and perform a reset through it.

People often contact me with the following questions: “what to do if you forgot your Windows password,” “how to unlock your password,” “how to reset your Windows password,” etc. Today I will tell you how to get out of a situation if one of the computer users forgot my login password. And also what to do if the computer administrator forgot the password.

If one of the computer users has forgotten the password, the administrator can reset it and create it again without any problems. But what to do if the administrator himself forgot the password? Let's consider all cases in order.

Situation one: At least two accounts are created on one of the computers on the network: this is a user account and your administrator account.

If the user has forgotten the password, then you log in to the system using your account. Then on the desktop, right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Manage”: " Click here on the folder Users and all existing accounts on the computer will be displayed in the right window. Right-click on your forgetful user name and select “Set Password”:
A warning window will appear - click “Continue”:
You can then set a new password for the user. If you leave the fields here empty and click “OK”, the password will be empty: After this, you can restart the computer and the user will log in with the new password.

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Situation two: You don’t remember your administrator password, or you are the only user of the computer (but again, you don’t remember the password).

In this case, we need to login via built into Windows account Administrator. Most ordinary users are not even aware of its existence. This account is the default not password protected.

You can log in as an Administrator either through classic login window , either in Bsafe mode .

Classic window called in the following way: after turning on the computer, while on the welcome page, press the key combination twice Ctrl+Alt+Del. In the classic login window, manually enter the name Administrator (in some cases Administrator) - click “OK”.

To enter the Safe Mode : After turning on the computer, press and hold the key F8 on keyboard. Then select “Safe Mode” and press Enter. In addition to your account (or entries), the next window will display your account Administrator– log into the system under it.

Personally, I prefer to enter through classic login window: It's more convenient and faster. In addition, on some computers, the keyboard and mouse refuse to work in Safe Mode, so even if you get into this mode, you can’t do anything there.

Regardless of how you logged into your account Administrator, then we do the same thing as I already described above. Namely: find the “My Computer” icon on the desktop and right-click on it and select “Manage”.

Next, expand the “Utilities” section and select “ Local users and groups" Click here on the folder Users and all existing accounts on the computer will be displayed in the right window.

Right-click on your account name and select “Set Password.” A warning window will appear - click “Continue”. You can then set a new password for the user. If you leave the fields here empty and click “OK”, the password will be empty. After this, you can restart your computer and log in with a new password.

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Situation three: But what should we do if the built-in Administrator account is under a password and it is unknown to us? Should I reinstall Windows? Of course not! We can solve this problem if we use a bootable emergency recovery disk ERD Commander.

You can download the archive with the image of this disk intended for restoring Windows XP. After this, burn the image to a CD or DVD (for example, via Alcohol 120%). Then insert the recorded disc into the computer drive and configure it in BIOS.

During loading you will see the following on the screen:
Then, when launched, ERD Commander will try to detect and configure network cards - skip this operation by clicking the “Skip Network Configuration” button: Next you need to connect to your operating system. To do this, select the Windows system folder and click “OK”:
We wait for the download to finish (from a CD, naturally, it is slower than from a hard drive). After a while we will see a desktop on the screen that is almost no different from the usual Windows XP desktop:
Go to “ Start" - Choose a section " System Tools” – “Locksmith”:Utility Locksmith(Password Change Wizard) allows you to change passwords for administrator and user accounts.

In the welcome window that appears, click “ Next”.

In the next window in the field “ Account” select the account for which you forgot the password. In field " New Password” (New password) and “ Confirm Password” (Confirm Password) Enter the new password.
Click the “ Next" In the last window, click the “ Finish” and restart your computer. Don't forget to set the BIOS to boot from the hard drive. That's all! Now you can log in to your account with a new password.

ATTENTION: If none of the proposed methods helped you, then read my new article. There I described in detail how you can remove a user password in Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and XP.

If you suddenly forgot the password for your Windows account, then you have no choice but to look for a way to reset it or install a new operating system, which in my opinion is complete madness in this case :) Nowadays you can find many different reset methods on the Internet passwords for Windows operating systems using the built-in boot tools of Windows itself, as well as using third-party special programs. Some methods are suitable for some versions of Windows, some for others, and some methods are too complicated for beginners. Previously, in one of the articles, I showed one way to reset a password using a bootable console program built on Linux, however, all actions there must be performed in the form of commands on a black screen and for beginners this may be difficult.
In this article, I will show you the simplest option for resetting an account password in any version of Windows (I even tried it on Windows 10) using the Reset Windows Password boot program. The reset process takes just 4 steps!

I would like to warn you right away that if you used a Microsoft account to log in to your computer, and not a standard local one, then none of the programs will be able to reset its password, since the Microsoft account password can only be changed on the company’s website. Therefore, this method, like all similar ones, only works if you have forgotten the password for a standard local Windows account!

The program is bootable, that is, it cannot simply be installed on a computer as is usually done. The program will launch from a disk or flash drive when the computer boots. Those. The program will need to be written to a disk or flash drive first!

Creating a bootable disk/flash drive with the Reset Windows Password program and launching it

After the program is downloaded, you need to write it to a disk or flash drive. Instructions for burning the program as an ISO file on a CD/DVD disc are located, and for writing the program as an ISO file on a flash drive -.

Since modern laptops can often be found without a disk drive for reading disks, I think that the method of writing a program to a flash drive will suit most, especially since, perhaps, every computer owner has one.

After you burn the program to a disk or flash drive, you need to run it. To do this, you should restart your computer and configure your BIOS so that the computer boots not from the hard drive as usual, but from a recorded flash drive or CD/DVD disc.

In a separate article, I gave instructions on setting up the BIOS to boot your computer from a disk or flash drive, read it if you have difficulty loading the program:

Each computer may have its own way of configuring booting from a specific device, so it is impossible to give clear recommendations... But the article at the link above should help most.

When the program starts to launch, you will see a window similar to loading regular Windows 7:

Working with the program

When the Reset Windows Password boot program starts, the first window will ask you to configure the program.

First of all, select the Russian language (1), then in the “Operation mode” section select the item “SAM - working with regular accounts” (2) and at the end under the inscription “What do you want to do?” select “Reset or change user password” (3). When everything is configured, click “Next” (4) at the bottom of the window.

The program will perform a password reset (i.e. erasing it, resetting it to zero), and not replacing the old password with a new one!

In the next window we can select the path to the “SAM” and “SYSTEM” folders to reset the password.

If you use standard Windows, where nothing has been changed globally, then the paths do not need to be changed and they will already be set correctly:

C:\Windows\System32\Config\SAM
C:\Windows\System32\Config\SYSTEM

At step No. 3, select in the window the Windows account for which we want to reset the password (1) and click “Next” (2).

At the last 4th stage, click the “Reset / Change” button:

You will be prompted to create a rollback file. Using this file, you can restore the ability of the system to work if it “breaks” after running the program.

In general, the program does not go where it is not needed and does not make any serious changes in Windows, so it is easier not to create a rollback file by clicking “No” in this window.

A notification will appear indicating that the account has been changed (the password has been reset) and you can close the program and check the changes. Just click “OK” (1) in the notification window and then “Exit” (2) in the program itself.

Now remove the disk/flash drive with the program from the computer and reboot it. Windows should boot immediately without asking for a password!

As you can see, this method for resetting Windows account passwords is very simple and difficulties may arise, perhaps, only at the stage of loading the program from a flash drive or disk. But among all the methods for resetting a password, I did not find a single one that allows you to reset the password without booting from a special boot disk. Therefore, you still can’t do without it, and it’s easier to figure out how to reset your password than to reinstall Windows :))

Have a nice day and good mood! See you in the next articles;)