I also note that I have a third option - an installation flash drive or a Windows distribution disk can also be used to reset the password on the already installed system, which I wrote in the article is an easy way to reset the Windows password (must come up for all the latest OS password, Starting with Windows 7).
Official way to make a USB flash drive for password reset
The first way to create a USB drive that can be used if you have forgotten the password to login in Windows are provided by the built-in tools of the operating system, but has significant limitations that make it quite rarely used.
First of all, it will only suit if right now you can go to Windows, and the flash drive is creating for the future, if you suddenly need to reset the forgotten password (if it is not about you - you can immediately go to the next option). The second limitation is only suitable for resetting the local account password (i.e., if you use Microsoft account in Windows 8 or Windows 10, this method does not work).
The order of the flash drive itself is as follows (it works the same in Windows 7, 8, 10):
- Go to the Windows Control Panel (at the top of the right, select "Icons", not categories), select "User Accounts".
- Click on the "Creating a Password Reset Detection" in the list on the left. If you do not have a local account, then there will be no such item.
- Follow the instructions of the masters of the forgotten passwords (very simple, literally three steps).
As a result, the userKey.psW file will be recorded on your USB, containing the information necessary for reset (and this file, if desired, can be transferred to any other flash drive, everything will work).
To use a USB flash drive, connect it to a computer and enter the wrong password when logging in. If this is a local Windows account, you will see that a reset point will appear below the input fields. Click on it and follow the instructions of the wizard.
Online NT Password & Registry Editor - a powerful Windows password reset tool and not only
I first successfully used the utility online NT Password & Registry Editor and since then she has not lost relevance, not forgetting regularly updated.
This free program can be placed on the boot flash drive or disk and used to reset the local account password (and not only) Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 (as well as previous versions of the OS from Microsoft). If you have one of the latest versions and at the same time is not a local, but an online Microsoft account to log in, using Online NT Password & Registry Editor, you can still get access to the computer by bypassing (also show).
ATTENTION: Password reset on systems where EFS file encryption will result in these files will not be available for reading.
And now the guide to create a boot flash drive to reset the password and instructions for its use.
- Go to the official ISO image download page and ONLINE NT Password & Registry Editor's boot flash drives http://pogostick.net/jpnh/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html, scroll through it closer to the middle and download the latest release for USB (there is also ISO to record on the disk).
- Unpack the contents of the archive on the USB flash drive, preferably on the blank and necessarily not on the currently loading at the moment.
- Run the command prompt on behalf of the administrator (in Windows 8.1 and 10 through the right click on the Start button, in Windows 7, finding the command line in standard programs, then through the right click).
- In the command prompt, enter E: \ syslinux.exe -ma e: (where e is the letter of your flash drive). If you see an error message, perform the same command by removing the -ma parameter from it.
Note: If for some reason this method did not work, you can download the ISO image of this utility and write it on the USB flash drive using WinsetupFromusB (SYSLINUX loader is used).
So, the USB drive is ready, connect it to the computer, where you need to reset the password or access the system in another way (if you use the Microsoft account), set the download from the flash drive to the BIOS and start active actions.
After downloading, you will be prompted to select options on the first screen (in most cases, you can simply press ENTER, without choosing anything. If problems occur in this case, use one of the options by entering the specified parameters, for example, Boot Irqpoll (after that - Pressing ENTER) if errors associated with IRQ occur.
The second screen will show a list of sections in which installed Windows were discovered. You need to specify the number of this section (there are other options, in the details of which I will not go here, the one who uses them and does not know without me why they will not need to be ordinary users).
After the program is confirmed in the presence of the necessary registry files in the selected Windows and the possibility of recording the hard disk, you will be offered several options from which we are interested in Password Reset (Password Reset), which is chosen by entering 1 (units).
Next, select 1 - Edit User Data and Passwords (edit user data and passwords).
From the next screen begins the most interesting. You will see the user table, whether they are administrators, and these accounts are also blocked or involved. The left part of the list shows the RID numbers of each user. Select the input of the corresponding number and pressing ENTER.
The next step allows us to choose several actions when entering the corresponding figure:
- Reset the password of the selected user
- Unlock and use the user (just this opportunity allows Windows 8 and 10 with Account Microsoft access to a computer - just at the previous stage, select the hidden administrator account and turn it on with this item).
- Make the administrator selected user.
If you choose anything, then by clicking Enter you will return to the choice of users. So, to reset the Windows password, select 1 and press ENTER.
You will see the information that the password has been reset and again the same menu that you have seen in the previous step. To exit, press ENTER, with the next selection - Q, and finally, to save the changes made, enter Y to request.
On this, Windows Password Reset Using the ONLINE NT Password & Registry Editor, you can remove it from the computer and press Ctrl + Alt + Del to reboot (and download the hard disk to the BIOS).