Why not create a ‘just in case’ Windows 7 password reset disk? It might save your day if you should forget your account password.
To create a password reset disk for your Windows 7 account:
1. Make sure you have a portable media connected to your computer e.g., a USB flash drive or even one of the ‘portables of the past’, a floppy disk drive with a blank floppy disk. CD’s, DVD’s or external drives are not appropriate.
2. Click on the Start Orb and then Control Panel.
3. Click on the User Accounts and Family Safety link.
Note: If you’re viewing the ‘Large icons’ or ‘Small icons’ view of your Control Panel, click on the ‘User Accounts’ icon and proceed to Step 5.
4. Click on the User Accounts link.
5. In the task pane on the left, click the Create a password reset disk link.
6. When the ‘Forgotten Password Wizard’ window appears, click Next
7. In the drop down box ‘I want to create a password key disk in the following drive:’, select the portable media drive on which you want to create the password reset disk.
8. Click ‘Next’.
9. With the disk or other portable media in the drive, enter your current account password in the text box and click ‘Next’.
10. Windows 7 will now create the password reset disk on the media of your choice.
When the progress indicator reaches 100 percent complete, click ‘Next’ and then ‘Finish’ in the next window.
11. Remove the flash drive or floppy disk from your computer and label the disk or flash drive ‘Windows 7 Password Reset’ and store it in a safe place.
But what if you have forgotten your Windows 7 password and do not have a password reset disk?
As a last resort before reinstalling Windows you might want to consider a password recovery program. Of the many available, I recommend Ophcrack v3.3.1 for XP, Vista and Windows 7 (Google Ophcrack). In my opinion it’s the best free Windows password recovery tool available.
To recover your lost passwords with
Ophcrack simply visit their
Web site, download the free ISO image, burn it to a CD and boot from the CD. The
Ophcrack program starts, locates the Windows user account and recovers (cracks) the passwords - all automatically.
Note: Before using
Ophcrack make sure you can boot your computer from a CD.
Note also: Some antivirus programs identify Ophcrack software as malware, it’s not!
Here’s wishing you a ▼
