How To Reset A Windows XPor Vista Password (With Pictures)

How to Reset a Windows XP or Vista Password (with Pictures)
10/15/2014
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Method 1 of 2: Resetting a Vista Password

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wikiHow to Reset a Windows XP or

Vista Password
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Resetting a Vista Password
Cracking an XP or Vista Password
Are you locked out of your computer due to a forgotten password? While Windows doesn't exactly
make it easy for users to recover lost passwords, there are ways to retrieve or reset them through
the command prompt or with third-party tools. See Step 1 below to get back access to your
computer.
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Find an installation or recovery disc. In order to perform this method, you will need
to enter the Recovery Console, which can only be accessed with a Windows Vista
installation or recovery disc. Insert it into your computer and boot from the CD/DVD drive.
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Click Next at the Install Windows screen. If your computer booted directly to
Windows without you seeing the installation screen, your computer booted from the
hard drive. You will need to restart and be sure that you booted from the CD/DVD drive.
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Click "Repair your computer". This is located in the bottom-left corner of the Install
Windows screen. After clicking, wait a few moments while the Setup program locates
your Windows installation.
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Highlight "Windows Vista" and click Next. Make a note of which drive Windows
Select Command Prompt. In the System Recovery Options, select command
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is installed on. This is typically the C: drive, but it may be on the D: drive.
Prompt to load the Windows command prompt.
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Inject the command prompt into your Windows login screen. You will be
copying the Command Prompt to overwrite the Accessibility Tools. Essentially, this
will give you the ability to load the command prompt from the login screen without having to
start Windows. Enter the following two commands in order, pressing Enter after each one. If
Vista is installed on the D: drive, change all the "c:" to "d:":
copy c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\
copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe
c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
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Select Yes when asked if you want to overwrite.
Reboot your computer. Remove your installation or recovery disc and reboot your
computer. Allow Windows to reboot as it normally would.
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Click the Accessibility button. This is located in the bottom left corner of the
Run the password reset command. In Command Prompt, you will be able to reset
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Windows login screen. Instead of opening the Accessibility options, the Command
Prompt will open.[1]
the passwords for any of the user accounts. Enter the following command and press
Enter:
net user <username> <newpassword>
Example: net user Administrator newpassword1
If your username has a space in it, put quotes around it (e.g. "User Name").
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Close the Command Prompt and log in. As soon as you run the command,
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Create a password recovery disk. Once you are back into Windows, you can
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your new password will be ready to go. You can use it to log in immediately.
create a password recovery disk so that you can avoid problems like this in the
future. Using the disk will allow you to quickly retrieve your lost password. See this guide for
detailed steps on creating and using the disk.
Method 2 of 2: Cracking an XP or Vista Password
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Download OPHCrack. This is an open-source, free utility that can crack your
Windows passwords using some advanced algorithms. The program has been made
available for free by the developers and all of the code is public and peer-reviewed.
OPHCrack comes in ISO format, which means it will need to be burned to a CD/DVD in
order to work.
Only download OPHCrack from its official SourceForge page. This is the version
directly from the developers. Do not download any version of OPHCrack that
comes in EXE format. Make sure to download the correct version for your version
of Windows.
Some antivirus programs will flag OPHCrack as a virus. This is because some of
the tools it contains are classified as "evil software", since they are expressly
designed for hacking. Using OPHCrack from the SourceForge page will not result
in any viruses.
If you can't access your computer because you are locked out, you will need to do
this on another computer.
Burn the OPHCrack ISO file. Burn the ISO file to a blank disc. This will allow you to
boot from the disc and load the OPHCrack software without loading Windows. This
guide has detailed instructions for burning ISO files to disc.
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Boot your computer from your burned OPHCrack disc. Insert the disk into the
Load the Graphic Mode. In the initial menu, select "Ophcrack Graphic mode -
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computer that you need to crack and boot from the disc. This guide will show you how
to configure your computer to boot from a disc. When configured correctly, OPHCrack will
start automatically when your computer starts up.
automatic" and press Enter. After loading files, OPHCrack will load into the graphical
menu.
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Wait for the passwords to be retrieved. Once OPHCrack starts, it will
automatically begin attempting to retrieve all of your passwords. This could take some
time, especially if the passwords are complex.
In the User column, you will see all of the active Windows User accounts.
Recovered passwords will be displayed in the NT Pwd field. If the field says
"empty", then that user does not have a password.
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Write down your password and reboot your computer. Once OPHCrack has
Create a password recovery disk. Once you are back into Windows, you can
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retrieved your password, write it down, remove the disc, and reboot your computer.
you can now log into Windows as you normally would, using the recovered password.[2]
create a password recovery disk so that you can avoid problems like this in the future.
Using the disk will allow you to quickly retrieve your lost password. See this guide for
detailed steps on creating and using the disk.
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Warnings
Running OPHCrack on a machine that you don't own or have permission to work on is
considered hacking and is illegal.
Sources and Citations

1. http://www.askvg.com/how-to-launch-command-prompt-or-other-programs-using-easeof-access-button-at-login-screen-in-windows-vista-and-7/
2. http://sourceforge.net/p/ophcrack/wiki/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions/
Article Info
Categories: XP Instructions | Vista Instructions
Recent edits by: Ausosoft.com, Shina, TJean
In other languages:
Espaol: Cmo restablecer una contrasea de Windows XP o Vista, Italiano: Come
Reimpostare la Password in Windows XP o Windows Vista, Portugus: Como Resetar
Senha no Windows XP ou Vista, Deutsch: Das Passwort von Windows XP oder Vista
zurcksetzen, Nederlands: Het wachtwoord van Windows XP of Vista
resetten, : Windows XP Windows Vista, :
WindowsVista, Franais: Comment redfinir le mot de passe de Windows XP
ou Vista, Bahasa Indonesia: Mereset Password Windows XP atau Vista
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How to Reset a Windows XP or Vista Password (with Pictures)

Method 1 of 2: Resetting a Vista Password

Article Edit Discuss

wikiHow to Reset a Windows XP or

Edited 16 hours ago

Resetting a Vista Password

Cracking an XP or Vista Password

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