Administrator password Lockout -windows vista 32 bit

Hello, I am new to this forum, I have now been dealing with the unfortunate and embarrassing situation of forgetting my administrative password and I have been locked out of my Dell XPS A2010 Desktop for the last two months. I have windows Vista Home premium 32 bit, I have been trouble shooting endlessly, no reset disk, my internal optical drive is not working and so I purchased an external LG dvd writer hoping it might help. I have tried command prompt with no luck, repair via the operating system windows disc, i have tried quick fixes via the internet and my usb, I have done system restore and honestly I am at my wits end. I suffered a head injury on August 12th of this year and i cannot remember what my password was as i changed it some time before the injury. I am prepared to do a complete windows re-install but i will lose all things, i am sitting here ready for any suggestions, please if anyone can guide me on my way to an ability to at least gain access to my computer I would be forever grateful. Sincerely, Kata

Well a Google search for Recover Administrator Password in Vista got me a few hits


This one, will cost you $39 - it resets ALL passwords Windows password reset - easily reset windows passwords in minutes

Or: 7 Free Windows Password Recovery Tools

An easier way would be to have someone else log in, if they are registered as a user on that machine. If they are Admin-level then they could change your password for you.

I'm sure there are many other links also.

By administrative password, do you mean the password for the hidden Administrator account or the password to your account which has Administrator authority.

If the latter you could enable the hidden Administrator from a Command Prompt:

How to Open a Command Prompt at Startup in Vista

Start with step 3 here: User Account Password - Change from WinRE - Windows 7 Help Forum

Says it's for Windows 7 but will also work with Vista.

I did use this program. Its free if you don't want to recover your password just delete it but costs if you want the password recovered.

Windows Password Recovery Bootdisk cracks user and admin password at seconds !

And now I use this

Install Ophcrack to USB ? Windows Password Cracker | USB Pen Drive Linux