Reset User Account Password

How to Reset a User Account Password in Vista​

   Information

If you forgot the password for a user account, this will show you how to reset or change the password to gain access to the user account again.

   Note

• The password used in Vista is case sensitive. You might double check to make sure that you do not have the Caps Lock key on by mistake when typing it in.
• If you do not have a password for the user account, then clicking or pressing Enter with a blank field will usually work.
• METHOD THREE below should only be used a last resort to reset a Administrator account when it is the only account created, but it should do the job for you. Your only other option is to reinstall Vista.
• If you are using BitLocker Drive Encryption, then this will most likely not work.
• If all of these methods fail, then you will need to reinstall Vista.

   Tip

For a CMOS or BIOS Password:
You can usually reset this password by unplugging the computer and removing the battery on the motherboard for just a bit and/or temporarily crossing the CMOS jumper pin on the motherboard, then change or turn off the password in the BIOS at the next start. See your motherboard's documentation for these locations on it. You can usually find documentation at the motherboard's manufacturer's website.

   Warning

To avoid not being able to log on, be sure to write down you user account's username and password and store it in a safe place for future reference if you need it. Another great option is to create a Password Reset Disk. See: See: How to Create a Password Reset Disk in Vista

METHOD ONE

Reset Password while logged in an Administrator Account

   Note

This is if you have a administrator account that you can logon with to change or reset the password for a Standard or another administrator account.

   Warning

If you use an Administrator account to remove the password for any other user account, the user account with the removed password will lose access to its encrypted files, e‑mail messages that are encrypted, and stored passwords for websites or network resources. If the user account doesn't have any of these things, or the user doesn't mind losing them, then using an Administrator account to remove the password is a fast and easy way to recover from a forgotten password.

1. Logon to the Administrator account.​

NOTE: If you forgot the Administrator account password, then logon to another Administrator account.​

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2. Reset or Change the forgotten password for the user account.​

NOTE: For how, see: How to Remove a Password from a User Account in Vista​

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METHOD TWO

Reset Password with your Password Reset Disk

NOTE: A password reset disk will allow you to reset the password for the user account it was created in. You had to of created one first though. See: How to Create a Password Reset Disk in Vista.

1. Start the computer up into the Logon Welcome Screen.​

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2. Click on the Click to Play button in the video below.​

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http://www.vistax64.com/download/flash/Reset_From_Password_Disk.swf​

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METHOD THREE

Reset Password with a Editor Tool

   Note

This should only be used on a Administrator account that you forgot the password for and do not have another Administrator account (METHOD ONE or TWO) or a Password Reset Disk (METHOD FOUR) to use to reset the password. This should only be a last resort to gaining access to an administrative account.

   Tip

Depending on what you use, you will need to have the CD/DVD or USB key drive listed first in the boot order in the BIOS settings to be able to "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD.".

   Warning

If you reset the password using the tool below, the user account will lose access to its encrypted files, encrypted e‑mail messages, and stored passwords for websites or network resources.

Offline NT Password and Registry Editor​

1. For how, see this site: Offline NT Password and Registry Editor​

NOTE: If you have no access to your computer, then you will need to create this boot CD/DVD or USB key drive on another computer so you can use it to boot into yours with and use.​

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2. Click the Bootdisk button at the top of that website. (See screenshot below)​

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3. Scroll down to the Download section and download the lastest version ZIP file (ex: cd######.zip) for the Bootable CD image under (CD release, see below on how to use).​

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4. Extract the cd######.iso file from the downloaded ZIP file, then burn the ISO file to a DVD or USB key drive.​

NOTE: You can use any ISO burner program you like, but the free ISO Recorder or ImgBurn programs are good ones to use. ​

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5. Follow the instructions from their website on how to use the boot CD/DVD or USB key drive. See: Offline NT Password & Registry Editor​

NOTE: Please direct your questions about this tool to the site providing the tool.​

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METHOD FOUR

Reset Password by Doing a System Restore at Boot

   Note

This is for the following scenarios. For more information, see: Microsoft Help and Support: KB940765
[TABLE=class:-grid,-width:-500][TR][TD]
Scenario
[/TD]
[TD]
Description
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Scenario 1:
[/TD]
[TD]
You recently set a new password for the protected administrator account. However, you do not remember the new password, but do remember the old one.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Scenario 2:
[/TD]
[TD]
You type the correct logon password. However, Windows Vista does not accept the password because the system is corrupted.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Scenario 3:
[/TD]
[TD]
You deleted a password protected administrator account. Now, you cannot log on to another administrator account.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Scenario 4:
[/TD]
[TD]
You changed a protected administrator account to a standard user account. Now, you cannot log on to another administrator account.
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

1. Do METHOD TWO here: How to Do a System Restore in Vista, or here: How to Do a System Restore in Windows 7.​

NOTE: You will be booting from your Vista installation DVD to perform a System Retore with the method at this link.​

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2. Next, do the additional steps below for the scenario that is related to your situation.​

• For Scenario 1
  • After you log on, change the password for the protected administrator account. See: How to Remove or Change a Password for a User Account in Vista
  • After you change the password, restart the computer. Make sure that you can log on by using the new password.
• For scenario 2
  • After you log on, make sure that each user account can log on by using the appropriate credentials.
  • Change the password for the user account that cannot log on. See: How to Remove or Change a Password for a User Account in Vista
• For Scenario 3
  • After you log on, use the User Accounts item in Control Panel to create a new protected administrator account. See: How to Create a New User Account in Vista
  • Log on by using the new protected administrator account. Then, delete the older protected administrator account that was restored. See: How to Delete a User Account in Vista
    NOTE: For security reasons, do not use the restored protected administrator account.
• For Scenario 4
  • After you log on, use the User Accounts item in Control Panel to create a new protected administrator account. See: How to Create a New User Account in Vista
  • Log on by using the new protected administrator account.
  • Change the old protected administrator account to a standard user account. See: How to Change a User Account Type in Vista

METHOD FIVE

Reset Password in Registry Editor at Boot

1. For how, see: Password Reset - Windows 7 Forums​

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Reset the Password of a User Account in Windows 7
• Reset your Windows Password
• How to Enable or Disable Secure Logon in Vista
• How to Make Vista Require a Username and Password at Logon
• How to Display Information About Previous Logons During User Logon in Vista
• How to Create a New User Account in Vista
• How to Change or Stop Password Expiration in Vista
• How to Remove or Change a Password for a User Account in Vista
• How to Remove the Password for Your or Another User Account in Windows 7
• How to Logon Automatically at Startup in Vista
• How to Create a Password Reset Disk in Vista
• How to Create a "Password Reset Wizard" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Create a Password for a User Account in Vista
• How to Start Vista in Safe Mode
• How to Add or Remove Change Password from the Vista Ctrl+Alt+Delete Screen
• How to Prevent or Allow a User to Change their Password in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable Password Expiration for a User in Windows 7
• How to Change the Maximum and Minimum Password Age in Windows 7
• How to Prevent or Allow a User to Change their Password in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Create, Change, and Use a Password Hint in Windows 7

 

[Flavius]

Dont know why its not working for you whereas i have already tried it today on my PC too.
Anways, never mind. I always appreciate suggestions.:D

I also don't know...but I can risk theory there is a subtle difference between DVD Vista in box from shop (or directly from MS) and DVD Vista from Dell although as far I know nobody noticed any difference.At present I have no time to test more DVD Vista neverless when I'll find more time I'll do that and let you know about results and we'll back to discussion here :D

 

[Flavius]

It's time to serious talk - without jokes
I asked my friend which had also Vista DVD Home Premium in box installed on PC and he has the same result as I showed in my previous post

I created 3 virtual machines

1.System installed by using DVD Vista from Dell (illegal version)
2.System installed by using DVD Vista downloaded directly from MS
3.System installed by using DVD Windows 7 downloaded directly from MS

And of course I tried this trick by using the same DVD from which every system has been created,although if is it the same version of system it shouldn't be difference.Result is always the same.It's impossible to use net user command from Vista DVD/Windows 7 on any account on hard disk.All DVD read only accounts from own levels (there are only Administrator and Guest accounts) not from hard disk.Another examples on Windows 7



Even if I type as a fool below command (in that system the admin account is John as well)



of course I'll receive the same results as before.It's impossible to do what you tell - the results are always the same as I showed above and in my previous post.I don't know what kind of thing you used to reset admin password but surly it wasn't normal Vista DVD.Just you cheat people here .Everybody which has full Vista DVD and has time I ask to verify above @dinesh's trick...surly one of us lost mind...

 

[carolmb]

My son has an user account with password on his computer. I have an administrator account with password on his computer. I cannot remember my password. I am able to logon to his account with his password. What do I need to do to reset my password so I can logon to my account. Do I need to do "method 3" in the tutorial? Is there something else I can try? I have not tried anything yet. Thanks for your help.

I finally did this. I used method 3. I had trouble with the 32 bit or 64 bit ISO Recorder download and ended up using one from http://www.imgburn.com/. After that everything worked like a charm. Thanks for the great advice. I hope that I never have to go through that again.
Carol

 

[Brink]

Carol, I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. I added ImgBurn to the step as well for another option to use.

 

[david1]

Thanks, I shall try this. ............ But what files do i burn to the cd after I extact them?

Thanks,
Please reply A.S.A.P.

~david~

 

[Brink]

Hello David,

If you are referring to METHOD THREE, then you would but the ISO file to DVD using something like the free progam ImgBurn.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[40ling06]

Howdy mr.Brink. i recently changed my admin password and i cant seem to remember the password. I only have the guest user open now. Is there a way for me to get into the my account again?

 

[Brink]

Hello 40ling06, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You should be able to using Method Three in the tutorial.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[nate42nd]

Thanks for the tutorial. My sister has not been able to use her computer for a month. She forgot the password. I had to use the .iso in method 3 and it works fine. Thanks again.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Nate. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted out for her.

 

[FaSMaN]

Hi I had a problem on my pc where I changed the Administrator password ,and forgot it about a week later,now after alot of digging and looking for guides I couldnt find one that fitted my needs

So I started looking around on how the login process works in vista, and remembered way back with xp there use to be a flaw that if you replace logon.scr with explorer.scr it will open exporer,instead of the logon screen saver , pitty vista doesnt have this feature, so heres what I did to get around it...

Vista does have eas of access (Utilman.exe)

1 Start your vista install cd (you can use a live linux cd aswell but for this guide Ill use install cd as every one has one)

2 Select repair or recover

3 Select your hard drive

4 Start command prompt

5 type: (press enter after each line)

c:
cd windows\system32
copy Utilman.exe Utilman.ex_
copy cmd.com Utilman.exe

7 restart your computer

8 Now if you click on the eas of access button it will open cmd.com aka command prompt

Now how to add a new user

In cmd.com

1 type: (you cant do this any more from the install cd,tested on SP1 hence the long process),replace backdoor with what ever your happy with

net user backdoor /add
ner user backdoor /active:yes

2 Restart

This will add another account with limited access to your computer and possibly a way to get to the rest of your files to make backups or get ready for a reformat, you can even access parts of control panel(not user accounts) from command prompt by using the control command followed by the .cpl file, example "control main.cpl" For your mouse setup ...

Edit: if you want Admin Rights simply open command prompt like what you did before and add "net localgroup administrators /add backdoor", and bobs your uncle full new admin account ,thst you can use to remove/change your other accont

Hope this helps some of you

 

[bellsy]

PLEASE HELP !!

I have a TOSHIBA laptop, with vista business and have obviously forgotten my password.

Cannot attempt anything but method 3 due to lack of resources. I burned the disc fine and boot in DVD/CD mode but one the screen comes up and it is booted, the screen fills up with words and does nothing from that point.

the last few lines of the screen say :
PCI: no IRQ knoen go inyrttupy pin A of device 0000:08:06:0. Please try using pci=biosirq
checking if image is initramfs.. it is
fuse init (API version 7.9)
io scheduler noop registered
io scheduler deadline registered (default)

it says alot more but im unsure if its relevant information for you all to read.

i tryed booting the disc on my other DELL laptop, no suprise that it worked.

PLEASE HELP

 

[nonpasaran]

hi brink

i have two questions

İf i have only one account as administrator can i use the "STEP ONE:
Logon to the Computer" and "2. Boot into Safe Mode." steps in "How to Fix the Error "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded." tutorial?

if i can do that i can use built-in Administrator account for reset my pasword.is it posible?

and second questions;

in winre can i use command prompt options for activate built-in Administrator account for to using reset my forbidden password?

 

[Brink]

Hello Nonpasaran,

You could use the built-in Administrator, but it would have needed to been enabled before though. Since your account is still technically active, Safe Mode will not boot into the built-in Administrator account.

I do not think that you will be able to boot into the command prompt to enable the built-in Administrator account either, but you can try.

You can use METHOD THREE in this tutorial to reset you password though. If you are locked out of your computer, then you can create the boot DVD from another computer to use on yours.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[nonpasaran]

thanks shawn I was just curious I dont forget my password:D

but there is a thing I couldnt understand (My english not so good sory)

in this tutorial How to Fix the Error "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded."
you say:
2. Boot into Safe Mode.
NOTE: You may not need to enable the built-in Administrator account. If this was the only normal administrator account you had, then Safe Mode should automatically boot into the built-in Administrator account.
A) If Safe Mode did not boot into the built-in Administrator account, then enable the Built-in Administrator account. If it did , then go to step 2C.

B) Logoff in Safe Mode, and then logon to the built-in Administrator account to logon with that account in Safe Mode.

so what does it mean?
if your account can not loaded, you cant login to your account and if you forgot password you can not login to your account too.So what is difference?
the point i want to learn is ;
if ı have just one normal administrator account(not built-in Administrator account) in my pc " How to Fix the Error "The User Profile Service failed the logon" tutorial will not work for me?
if your answer yes ıt will not work for you so what is the solution for this scenario?

And last thing
in tutorial " How to Change the User Account Password if Unable to Login to Windows" there is some steps:
C:
CD Windows\system32
ren cmd.exe cmd.old
ren magnify.exe cmd.exe
ren cmd.old magnify.exe
will i press enter after each line? like this;

C:
enter
CD Windows\system32
enter
ren cmd.exe cmd.old
enter
ren magnify.exe cmd.exe
enter
ren cmd.old magnify.exe
enter

 

[Brink]

If your only administrator account has been rendered disabled by the User Profile error, then Safe Mode may start in the built-in Adminsitrator account by default. If not, then you would just enable the built-in Adminsitrator account and then log on to it while in Safe Mode instead. If it does not work for you, then you can do what is in the yellow TIP box in that tutorial. This does not apply though when you forgot the password, since you need it to enable the built-in Adminsitrator account.

Yep, you would press enter after each command.

 

[nonpasaran]

thans shawn i got it:D

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Nonpasaran. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

 

[aeroplan]

Hi shawn...and other guys,

I also forgot my password but problem is there's only 1 user acct so probably method3 is for me....do i hv to download (save) the image on my pc or directly on the cd? i only hv cdr here..pls help on hw to get started from there...thanks

 

[Brink]

Hello Aeroplan, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You will need to download the ISO (image) file to the computer first, then burn (extract) it to the CD/DVD when one of the programs (ex: ImgBurn) listed in the tutorial. It will then be ready to be used on your computer to reset the password.

If you do not have access on your computer, you can create the CD/DVD on another computer and still be able to use it on yours.

Hope this helps,
Shawn