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How to erase Windows login password if you

forget it
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When you start your Windows computer, you probably have to enter your login password before
Windows would let you see your desktop and do stuff. Have you ever wondered how secure the
built-in password protection of Windows is? The answer may surprise you! This article shows
how to use the tools freely available on the Internet to create a bootable CD that can be used to
erase the Windows password. If you forget your Windows login password, you can use this
information to erase your own password and restore access to your Windows files and folders.
Be aware, however, that anyone who has the physical access to your computer can do that, too!
If you have private files that you really don't want anyone to see, the Windows password is not
enough to protect them. (More about this later.)

Summary of the steps:

1. Read the instructions first!

2. Download a CD image file
3. Burn the CD image file to a recordable CD-R disc
4. Boot your computer from the CD-R disc
5. Make the correct selections to clear your Windows password
6. Restart the computer as usual and login to Windows without
password!
7. Secure your files for real

Read the instructions first!

Yes, read this whole page before you start doing anything and see if you feel up to the task. If
anything is unclear, ask a friend, or a colleague who has more experience with the computers
than you, or seek help from a qualified professional. Don't take this lightly: if you do something
wrong, you may end up with an inoperable computer or destroyed files. Better ask for help now
than when it's too late!

Let's check a few things before going any further. Does your computer run Windows or is it a
Mac? If it's a Mac, stop here and go look for a password-resetting tool specifically designed for
the Mac computers. This information won't help you if you have a Mac, don't even try it.

OK, so your computer runs Windows. Which version? Is it XP, or Vista, or Windows 7? Or is it
an much older version such as Windows 95, 98, or Windows Millennium? If it's the latter, stop
here and go look for another tool, this information won't help you reset a password to an old
Windows computer, don't even try it.

So, you have Windows 7, Vista, XP, or Windows 2000. Is it 32-bit or 64-bit? The method
discussed here works for either one, but if you can't tell, it's probably a good indication that you
better ask someone more experienced with Windows than you are for help.
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Another question: have you used Windows Encrypted File System (EFS) to encrypt files on your
computer? If you don't know, it probably means that you have not used it, which is OK.
However, if you did use it, be aware that any file that you've encrypted with EFS will be lost
after you've erased the Windows password. If you have such EFS-encrypted files and you don't
want to lose them, stop here and consult with a qualified computer professional. (This does not
apply to the files encrypted with other encryption software, such as ourUSBCrypt: the Windows
login password has no effect on such files.)
If you are OK so far, go on.

Download the CD image file

To prepare for the password-erasing procedure, you need another computer to connect to the
Internet, download the necessary file, and burn the CD image to a CD-R disc. (Obviously, since
you are reading this page, you are already using such a computer.) Click on the link below to
download a zip file, save it to the hard drive (remember where you've saved it and its name!).
Note: this link points to a file located on a third-party server. If the download does not start, it
means a problem with that server. In such a case, please wait a minute or two, and try again. If
the problem with the link persists, please let us know.
Download the password-erasing CD image
This should download a Zip file that contains the software created by Petter Nordahl-Hagen.

Burn the CD image file to a recordable CD-R disc

The Zip file that you have just downloaded contains an ISO file that you need to extract out of
the Zip file. (If you don't know how to do it, ask someone.) Then use disc-burning software to
burn the ISO image to a blank CD-R disc. Note that you should not burn the ISO file itself to a
disc, you need to burn the image inside of the ISO file to a disc. Usually the CD-burning
software can figure it out. If not, again, ask someone for help.
To verify that you have burned the CD-R correctly, open it with Windows Explorer. If you see
BOOT.CFG, BOOT.MSG, and other files there, it means the disc has been created correctly. If
however, you only see one ISO file there, that's not right, such a disc will not work!

Boot your computer from the CD-R disc

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Now that you've prepared the CD-R disc, go to the computer for which you have forgotten the
password. Insert the CD-R in the CD or DVD drive and turn the computer on (or restart it if it's
already on). If you see no difference in how the computer starts (that is, you see a Windows logo
displayed and then it prompts you for a password to log in) it means that your computer is
configured to boot from the the hard drive directly. What you need to do is change its BIOS
settings to make it try to boot from the CD first. The exact procedure depends on your computer
model and the version of BIOS that it has. Locate the manual that came with your computer and
find the instructions there or search the vendor's web site for the information. If you don't know
how to change the BIOS settings, again, ask someone how knows for help. Keep in mind that
when you get ot the BIOS settings screen, your mouse most probably won't work here, you
would need to use the keyboard to make the changes.

The boot settings are usually located on the Boot menu of the BIOS screen, similar to this:
Move the CD-ROM entry to the top of the boot list. When done, don't forget to save the changes:
The computer will restart and hopefully this time instead of the Windows logo you will see a
black-and-white screen filled with information, probably scrolling up rather fast. If that's what's
happening, it means you did it right, the computer has booted from your CD-R and is getting
ready for the procedure. Wait a few seconds until the scrolling stops. Now pay attention and be
very careful what you do, it's very important!

Make the correct selections

At this point you are probably seeing a screen similar to the following:
Pay attention to the bottom part of the screen, that's where the text explaining what's expected
from you is. As the example above shows, what you need to do now is select the partition of the
hard drive that has Windows installed. In most situations it's not as scary as it sounds. If you
have Windows XP or Windows 2000, then the first partition is where Windows usually is.
However, if you have Windows 7 or Vista (which is the case for the example screen above), then
the first partition could be a small (100MB) boot partition, and Windows partition most probably
is the second one. If you select a wrong partition here, the software will check for the presence of
Windows on it later on and if not found, it will return you back to this screen and you will have
an opportunity to select another partition. Enter the number of the Windows partition here
(which is 2 in this example) and press the Enter key to continue:
Here, it asks you to enter the path to the registry directory. Most probably, Windows is installed
in its default location, so you don't need to change anything here. Just press Enter to continue:
If you see a screen that has --More-- at the bottom, it means that you have probably selected the
correct Windows partition in the previous step. Press the q key to dismiss the screen. If you don't
see such a screen, it probably means that you have selected a wrong partition. In such a case
press q to go to the previous screen and try another partition.
Type 1 and press Enter to continue.
Type 1 and press Enter here, too.
You are almost there! Now, enter the name of your user account that you want to reset the
password for. In this example, the account name is AdminUser, your user name will likely be
different. Check the list of the users at the bottom of your screen to see how your user name
appears there, that's how you are supposed to enter it.

Type your user name and press Enter to continue.

Type 1 and press Enter to continue.
If you see the message Password cleared! near the bottom of the screen, that's good, but you are
not finished yet: the program still needs to save the changes back to the Windows partition. To
do that, type !and press Enter to continue:
Here, type q and press Enter to continue. You will be asked to confirm that you want the
program to write the file(s) back:
Type y and press Enter to continue.
This screen asks if you want to repeat the procedure (New run?). Type n and press Enter to
decline, unless you see an error message and want to try again.
Now you are done! Remove the CD-R disc from the tray, and restart the computer. It should start
as usual now, displaying the Windows logo, and finally showing the Windows login screen. Just
click on your login icon (if it asks for a password, leave it blank) and you should enter Windows
without the password! Now you can use Windows Control Panel to create a new password for
your account. Take care to remember it this time, or you would have to go through this
procedure again.

Secure your files for real

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withUSBCrypt software for Windows 10,8,7,Vista, and XP. 
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As you can see, it's quite easy to erase the Windows login password and get to your Windows
desktop and files. This is a good thing if it's you who forgot your own password who is erasing
the password. However, what if you lose your laptop or someone breaks into your office and
steals your computer? If you have any important files that no one should see (such as your client
database, your accounting or tax records, or maybe even the family photos you took during your
last vacation), you need to secure them more strongly than with just the Windows password.

To secure your files for real, you need software that uses strong encryption to protect your files.
"Strong" encryption means that even if someone has an unrestricted physical access to your
computer, even if someone can examine every bit of information stored on your computer, even
if someone is the brightest person in the world, s/he would not be able to decrypt your files
without knowing your password. Search the Internet, you will find plenty of software products
offering the encryption (be aware, though, that not every software that claims to be able to
encrypt your files offers the "strong" encryption). Try them all, then come back here and check
out our strong encryption product USBCrypt: it will keep your sensitive files much more secure
than Windows itself.
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