How to login if you have lost the Windows password

[hackerman1]

How can you log in if you have lost the password of your Windows PC ?

Use your installation-disk to boot to WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment).
Click on the Command Prompt option.

Type the following commands and press enter after each one:

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

Reboot.
Click on Easy of Access Center (in the left corner) and select the Magnify option.
Press OK.
A Command prompt opens up.

Type: net user administrator /active:yes and press enter.
Reboot.
Logon on to the "Administrator" account, go to Control Panel → User Accounts, and add a new password.

Type Magnify.exe in Start Menu search box and press enter and open it.
A Command prompt opens up.

Type: net user administrator /active:no and press enter.
Restart the computer.

Boot to winRE again, and click on the Command Prompt option.
Type the following commands and press enter after each one:

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

Reboot.

Tip:
Create a bootable USB-memory with fx. WINDOWS-USB-DVD-DOWNLOAD-TOOL
Direct-download: Windows USB/DVD Download Tool - Download Release File

Create 2 bat-files.
Copy them to the USB-memory.

P1

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

P2

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

Next time you need to reset the password on a computer you can boot from the USB-memory,
and run those bat-files instead of typing the commands....


Note: this works on W7.
I don´t have W8, W8.1 or W10 installed, so i can not verify that this also works on those operating systems.

[HappyAndyK]

Related reads:

1] Windows Password Recovery tips.

2] Recover from lost Windows passwords using native tools.