Good afternoon Today I will tell you, how to make a USB flash drive to reset your password. It's no secret that your Windows login password can be easily forgotten or lost. What to do in such a situation? It is precisely for such cases that you need a flash drive to reset your Windows password. Below we will look at two options for creating such a USB flash drive, the first is simple, the second is more complex, but more effective than the first.
First way. Creating a flash drive for password reset using Windows OS tools.
I will say right away that this method has some disadvantages. It is suitable if you create a flash drive in advance, that is, in advance. I also want to note that this method involves resetting the local account password. This means that if you use a Microsoft account, then you can safely skip the first method and go to the second.
So let's get over it. This method is suitable for Windows 7, 8 and 10.
Let's go to Control Panel - User Accounts,
On the left we find the item “Create a password reset disk” and click on it. If you are using a non-local account, then this item will not be available.
The Forgotten Password Wizard will open. Now just follow what is written and in literally three steps the flash drive will be ready. At the end of the operation, a special file called userkey.psw will be written to your flash drive, which will help you reset your operating system password.
Now there's just a little bit left to do. All you have to do is plug the flash drive into your computer and enter the wrong password when logging into Windows (since you don’t know it, it won’t be correct). In this field, a password reset button will appear at the bottom, clicking on which will open the password recovery wizard, just follow the instructions. In principle, nothing complicated.
Second way. Using the Online NT Password & Registry Editor tool
I can say that this is quite a powerful tool for resetting passwords and more. I used this utility for a long time, and even now it has not lost its relevance. The main thing is to update on time.
The free Online NT Password & Registry Editor can reset local account passwords for Windows 2000, Me, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10. The image of this utility can be easily written to either a disk or a flash drive. Moreover, if you use a Microsoft account, then using Online NT Password & Registry Editor you can bypass the protection and gain full access to your PC.
Let's look at how to create a bootable USB flash drive to reset system passwords. Let's go to the official website of the developer Online NT Password & Registry Editor http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html, then go down until we see the Download section. We are interested in the latest release for USB, and we will need to download it. You can burn an ISO image for CDs.
We have downloaded the archive, now let’s unzip its contents onto a flash drive. The flash drive should preferably be empty. If it is bootable, then format it. I already wrote.
Next, launch the command line (Start - enter cmd in the search) and enter the command f:syslinux.exe -ma f:
Where f is the letter of the flash drive. You can find out the letter of your flash drive by going to “Computer”. If you get an error, enter the same command only without the –ma parameter.
If suddenly this method does not work, then you can download the Online NT Password & Registry Editor image for disk using the WinSetupFromUSB program and write it to a USB flash drive. I wrote about how to use this program.
So our flash drive is ready, so we can start. Connect the USB drive to the computer. Now we need to boot from the flash drive; to do this, when you turn on the computer, call up the Boot menu and select the required drive. Or you can set the BIOS to boot from a flash drive.
The initial screen will appear and you will be prompted to select options. As practice shows, you can simply press the Enter button. However, there are situations that make it necessary to use one of the listed commands.
Next we see a list of partitions on which Windows is installed. At this stage, you need to indicate the number of such a section. There are also various options here, but the average user may not need to use them.
Afterwards, select the user data and passwords option again. This is the section for editing user data and password,
Next, the program will display a list of users, where you can see who is the admin and who is just a guest. You can also see whether a particular user is blocked. Please note that on the left side of the list there is a RID column, which is unique to each user. You need to select the desired user by entering their RID and pressing Enter,
As in the previous version of the OS, in Windows 10, when logging in, two methods of user authorization are used - through an account with Microsoft and through a local account. Next, we will tell you how to reset the administrator password in both cases, if the latter has forgotten it, and how to create a disk, a special flash drive or other media whose capabilities allow you to restore account data.
Changing your local account password
To reset a Windows 10 user password, you will need an installation or boot disk. You need to go into command line mode:
You can get to the command line easier if, when logging in from the installation drive, when a window appears with the ability to select a language, press Shift and F10 at the same time. If this method does not work, you will have to proceed as described above.
After the window opens, enter sequentially (pressing Enter each time):
- diskpart,
- list volume.
These entries will display a list of HDD partitions. You need to select from them the disk with Windows 10 installed and remember the partition letter. Moreover, this will not necessarily be the letter C. The system partition can be designated, for example, by the letter D, which we will use to enter the following commands:
- move d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman1.exe;
- copy d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.
Let us remind you that instead of entering punctuation marks at the end of each line, you need to press Enter. With these steps, we simply copied the cmd.exe file in the system32 system directory and changed the name to utilman.exe.
If, after executing the above commands, you see messages about the successful movement and copying of files, then enter the line wpeutil reboot, after which the computer will reboot. Next, you need to download Windows 10 in the usual way, for which you remove the installation disk from the DVD drive or the flash drive from the USB connector.
Once the download is complete:
- In the user authorization window, select the special icon. opportunities located at the bottom right.
- On the command line write:
- net user name password, where you need to enter the login to your account in Windows 10 as the name, and the combination of characters that you will use further as the password.
- Press Enter.
If the administrator's name is more than one word, enter it in quotes. If necessary, you can remember it by entering the command net users - a list of each user in the system will be displayed.
Creating a password reset disk
You can provide in advance the possibility of resetting the password for the administrator account in Windows 10, however, only local, before the user forgets it. For this, a special medium is created - it can even be a floppy disk:
- Insert the drive into the drive;
- Go to the user account component by opening “Start” and clicking on Control Panel;
- In the left column, follow the link that creates an administrator password reset disk;(5)
- A special wizard will open, following whose instructions you can create the tool you need.
It is important that the flash drive is not formatted during operation; no information is deleted from it. A new file userkey.psw will simply be created, which, if necessary, can be transferred to a disk or any other medium - it will work exactly the same.
Using the created drive in Windows 10 is also easy. For this:
- A flash drive or disk created for resetting the administrator password is inserted into the USB port or drive, respectively;
- Incorrect account information is entered in the form;
- Below the input form you will then see a link to reset your data.
A special application will open, and as a result of following the instructions, your account information will again become available to you.
Account recovery application
A simple free program Online NT Password & Registry Editor can also be used for this. To place it, you can use a regular flash drive, which can be easily used if necessary. An ISO image of burning to disk or files for transferring to USB can be downloaded from http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html.
Go to it and do the following:
Something terrible has happened: your Windows 10 password doesn’t work, and the system doesn’t want to let you in. This can happen for various reasons: they forgot the password, it was accidentally changed by children, it was deliberately changed by ill-wishers or a malicious program. In any case, we have the following: the password that was set is not suitable, and I really don’t want to reinstall the operating system completely. Below I’ll tell you how to reset your password on Windows 10, but before doing all the manipulations, make sure that:
- The Caps Lock key is not enabled (it replaces all entered letters with capital letters, and the password is case sensitive). If this is your situation, then press this key and try entering the password again.
- you enter the password on the correct keyboard layout (Russian, English, perhaps some other language);
- All characters are entered (there are no problems with the keyboard).
Are you sure, but the password still doesn’t work? Then we move on to decisive action. Before you start removing your password, you may want to familiarize yourself with how to remove a password in Windows if you have access to your account. " ".
Reset your Microsoft account password
Perhaps the easiest way to regain control of your account and log in. However, it only works if you logged into your computer using a Microsoft account (you created it during system installation/first login or used a previously created account). If you have not registered with Microsoft, you can go down to another section of the article, where we will discuss another option.
To reset your password, follow this link: https://account.live.com/resetpassword.aspx. You can do this on another computer or from your phone.
Choose the appropriate option, for example, you forgot it or you doubt that the computer will correctly recognize the entered characters (this is the 2nd option, which is shown in the screenshot above). Next, the site will ask you to specify any of two contacts—email or phone—that is associated with your Microsoft account.
Removing the password on Windows 10 using the installation tool
If you are logging in using a local account and there is no Microsoft account listed in any way, it will take a little longer to recover your password. You will also need a so-called LiveCD - a disk (or flash drive) with a set of programs and installation files. But a disk for installing Windows 7, 8 or 10 is also quite suitable. I think you have one of the images on a CD, all you have to do is place it in the drive. Yes, if you don’t have such a disk, then it’s time to make one. After all, installing Windows is simple and on this site you can find detailed instructions on how to do it.
To make detailed instructions, let's take as an example the situation where you have a Windows installation disk in your drive. Reboot the computer and boot from it. If you are not familiar with the concept of “how to set disk boot in the BIOS,” then I recommend reading the article “”. We need the Windows installation to start. As soon as this happens, in one of the first steps of installation (selecting a language or agreeing to the license agreement), press the key combination “Shift” + “F10” - this will bring up the command line. Perhaps this option will not help open the command line, then you can use another option - select “System Restore” on the left.
Here is an example of a Windows 10 installation disk:
If you are working with a Windows 10 disk, then here are the steps you need to follow to open the command line:
- First of all, click “Next”;
- then “System Restore”;
- now “Troubleshooting”;
- Click "Advanced options";
- Select “Command Line”;
If you have Windows 7, then after a few minutes of waiting (depending on the computer), in the window that opens you need to select “Troubleshooting”, then click on “Advanced options” and in the last step select “Command Prompt”.
So, you have opened the command line, now to perform the password reset operation in Windows 10, you need to know exactly which drive the operating system is located on. There are two ways to find out:
- We enter one by one the commands “diskpart” (a utility for working with computer hard drives), then “list volume” (we get information on disks). After entering each command, press “Enter”.
Thus, we understand which of the drives in the list the OS is installed on and remember the drive letter. For example, in my case it is drive D.
- Another option that will allow you to find out on which disk the system is installed. Launch Notepad by entering “notepad” into the command line and don’t forget to press “Enter” after entering the command.
After these steps, a notepad will open, select at the top left: “File” - “Open”. In the window that appears, we examine our computer to find which drive the “Windows” folder is located on, and remember the drive letter. This option is suitable for users who cannot figure out the first option.
Now that you know exactly the disk where the system is installed, let's get down to business. So, let's return to our command line, which we launched earlier. We know the drive letter. Yes, in most cases the OS is installed on drive C, I will further indicate the letter D, but in your case it is most likely drive C. You can replace the letter with your own if yours is different. To exit Disk Utility, type “exit” and then press “Enter.”
Now write the following command on the command line: “ movec:\windows\system32\utilman.exec:\windows\system32\utilman2.exe"(after entering the command, press "Enter" again). If everything is entered correctly, you will see a success message. Next we enter: “ copyc:\windows\system32\cmd.exec:\windows\system32\utilman.exe" I remind you that after each command you enter, you must press the “Enter” key on your keyboard.
When the above commands are used on your computer, you need to restart the computer in normal mode (close the command prompt and the installation window, after which the computer will begin to restart - for the Windows 7 installation disk), but before restarting the computer, do not forget to remove the disk from the drive . Close the command line and click “Continue” - if you have a Windows 10 installation disk (if you have a different disk, then just restart your computer). When your system is loaded, get to the login form and click on the “Accessibility” icon (located at the very bottom right). If we did everything correctly, the command line should start.
Attention: If for some reason you do not have screens similar to the screenshots above, for example, you booted from a LiveCD (it is better to use the Windows installation disk) and you are able to access files on the disks without logging in, your task is to first rename the utilman file .exe to utilman2.exe and then copy the cmd.exe file (the file is located in C:\Windows\System32), and then create a copy of the cmd.exe file in system32, changing the name to “utilman.exe”.
When the command line opens, enable the “Lord of all Windows” (Administrator) account. To do this, write the command “net user Administrator / active: yes” (for the Russian version - “Administrator” it will then be “net user Administrator / active: yes”) and press “Enter”.
After this, a new user is activated in the list of computer users - Administrator - this account will help us reset the password in Windows 10. After these steps, the “Administrator” account should appear at the bottom left, but it may be necessary to restart the computer or laptop to update the list of users . As soon as it is displayed, enter it without a password (click on it with the left mouse button).
On the left, click on “Administrator”:
After logging in (which may take longer than usual, since the account was not loaded before), right-click on the “Start” button and in the menu that appears, select “Computer Management” (there is another option - hold down the “Win” - “X” keys ).
The Windows tool will launch. You need to find the item “Local users” - “Users” on the left in the tree. Now find your user in the list of users, right-click on it and select “Set password”.
The system will issue a warning, which you need to read - click on “Continue”.
Note: after resetting the password in this way, it is recommended to return everything to its place: disable the “Administrator” account by entering the command “net user Administrator /active:no”. Then return the Accessibility icons. To do this, delete the utilman.exe file from the System32 folder, then rename utilman2.exe to utilman.exe. If renaming does not work in the Windows 10 GUI, then you need to use the command line. To execute the commands, you need to boot into system recovery mode (this was discussed earlier), open the command line and enter 2 commands:
- del C:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe
- move C:\Windows\System32\utilman2.exe C:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe
After that, you can forget about the password and you can use the computer.
How to remove a password using the Registry Editor
To do this, boot from the installation disk, press “Shift” + “F10” (you may also need to hold down the “Fn” button on your laptop) and then the command line will open. Now type the command “regedit”, press “Enter”. When the registry starts, click on “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” with the left mouse button, click on “File” and select “Load hive”.
After that, we find our section by name inside HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, select the “setup” section in it, and in the right part of the window change the “CmdLine” value to “cmd.exe” (you need to double-click on the “CmdLine” parameter and enter cmd.exe), and change “SetupType” to “2”. For the changes to take effect, click “File” - “Unload Hive” and confirm your intentions. After this, you can close the registry and command line, and restart your computer.
Now, when Windows boots, a familiar command line window will appear, in which, by entering the command “net user user password”, we will set any new password for a specific user to log into the system (“user” is the login name, “password” is the new password, which you want to install). Then we write “exit” and press “Enter” to exit the command line. There is no need to disable it, since the next time you boot, the registry settings will return to their original values.
Here is another option on how to remove the password (so you understand how to work in a given situation):
This happens: when you try to log in to Windows 10, a notification appears that the password is incorrect, and the system does not allow the user to access the desktop. Let's look at how to reset the password on Windows 10 without reinstalling the operating system. You should first make sure that:
- the Caps Lock key is activated or, conversely, inactive (check the button indicator on the keyboard);
- Switch the keyboard layout to the correct one and make sure that it does not automatically switch to the default input language installed on the system.
If you are convinced that you are entering the correct characters, but nothing helps, proceed to resetting the password.
The method is only relevant for users who work on a computer using a Microsoft account. If such an account does not exist or the password is not suitable for a local user, proceed to the next section.
1. To reset your password, follow this link: https://account.live.com/resetpassword.aspx in any browser.
We choose a more suitable option (it’s best to stop at the first one, so you can quickly begin the procedure of replacing the sequence of characters to protect your account).
The next step is to enter the phone or email associated with your account.
Resetting the password using bootable media with Windows 10 distribution
This option is provided for local account holders. We will use the official installation image recorded on a flash drive (although the LiveCD option with the appropriate set of options is also not bad).
1. If you have a disk/flash drive, connect the media and reboot, otherwise we are looking for an opportunity to create a bootable drive with the Windows 10 distribution itself.
2. Start the system from the installation disk via the BIOS Boot Menu.
3. Specify the language and accept the terms of use of the software.
4. In the window with the “Install” icon, press the “Shift + F10” keys to open the command line window.
It happens that the last operation does not lead to anything, if this happens, click “System Restore”.
- Click “Next”, then again click on the “System Restore” icon.
- Select the item responsible for detecting and eliminating faults.
- Click "Advanced options".
- In the menu, select the “Command Line” launch option.
5. Find out the letter identifier of the volume with the operating system.
Usually, this is the letter C\, but due to the presence of several hundred megabyte partitions on the disk, the label in this launch mode may appear differently.
We launch the disk utility diskpart by executing the command of the same name.
We execute “list volume” to visualize information about the partitions.
Based on the volume and name of the partition, we draw a conclusion about the letter label of the system volume.
Exit the diskpart program by executing “exit”.
6. Execute the command “ move c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman2.exe» to rename a service file that provides accessibility features on the lock screen.
7. Then enter the line “ copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe"replace the utility with the command line.
8. Execute “shutdown /r” or close all windows to restart the PC.
9. On the lock screen, launch the “Accessibility” utility to open the command line (this was done in steps 6-7).
10. Enter “net user Administrator / active: yes” into the command line to obtain administrator privileges in the system.
Activation of an account with unlimited rights in the operating system is necessary to call the Computer Management utility and work with the registry using it
11. After successful completion of operations, the “Administrator” icon will appear in the lower left corner. Click on this icon to log in to the system with the appropriate privileges, which does not require entering a password.
The first login from your newly activated account may take a little longer than usual, so be patient.
12. Using the context menu or the Win+X key combination, call up the menu of the same name and select the “Computer Management” item.
This will launch a Windows 10 snap-in designed to perform actions on the system that require special privileges (they have been obtained).
13. Expand the first branch of the vertical menu on the left.
14. Open “Users” in the “Local Users” directory.
15. Using the context menu of your account, call the command to specify a password.
16. Take note of the contents of the next information window and click “Continue”.
17. Enter a new combination of characters to protect your local account and confirm it.
This concludes the instructions on the topic: How to reset the administrator password, but it is strongly recommended to restore the system to its original form.
18. Disable the administrator account by executing “net user Administrator /active:no” on the command line (launched via Win→X).
19. We return the launch of the “Special Features” utility.
Open the system32 directory in the Windows folder and erase the utilman.exe file, then delete the two with the name utilman2.exe. If it was not possible to perform actions through Explorer (the operating system denied access), the same can be done through the command line. We launch it and execute the following commands in the same sequence:
del C:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe
move C:\Windows\System32\utilman2.exe C:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe
If unsuccessful, you must start again in recovery mode (steps 1-4).
Now you can work, and if necessary, quickly recover your lost password or gain access to another computer (only the password will have to be deleted or changed).
The same thing, but through the registry
1. Launch from the installation drive.
2. Call the Windows Recovery Environment using the combination “Shift” + F10.”
3. Run “regedit”.
4. Go to the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” branch.
5. Call the “Load hive” command via the context menu or the “File” item.
6. Open a document called System, located along the path System32\config in the folder with the operating system.
7. Enter the Latin name of the bush and press “Enter”.
8. Go to the new HKLM branch and select Setup.
9. In the right frame, replace the key value from “CmdLine” with the string parameter “cmd.exe”.
10. Double-click on “SetupType” and enter its value as “2”.
11. Reboot.
12. After loading the lock screen, a familiar command line window will appear, where you need to execute a command like: “net user user password”, where instead of “user” we enter the account name, followed by a space – the new password.
13. Execute “exit” and reboot the computer.
The advantage of the method is that all parameters are restored automatically the next time the operating system is booted.
In Windows 8, 7 and 10, you can protect your account. This way no stranger will enter there. But what if you forgot your password? Or did you purchase a computer that already has an account? In Win, you cannot recover your account using email. The code will not be sent via SMS. But there is no need to format the disk. Resetting Windows 7 password via USB flash drive is the solution to the problem.
If you forgot your Windows password, no problem.
- The UltraISO program is suitable for this. You can use another utility if you wish.
- Find it online and download it. The application is paid. But there is a trial version.
- Insert the drive.
- Launch the program.
- "File - Open". Select ISO file.
- Go to the “Boot” menu and click on “Burn Hard Disk Image”.
- In the "DiskDrive" section, select USB storage device.
- Next, you can format it if you haven’t done so before. The flash drive must be in
- "FAT32".
- Click on “Record”. The system will warn you that all data from the drive will be deleted. Confirm the action.
- Wait while the files are copied.
Replacing files
To remove a Windows 10, 8 or 7 password, enter recovery mode, and through it, enter the command line.
- In BIOS, set the external drive as boot priority.
- Once launched, the installation wizard will open.
- Choose language.
- Click on "System Restore". Do not click on "Install".
- A list of OSes will appear. Mark the one for which you cannot remember the code.
- In recovery options, click on “Command Prompt”. Now you see white font on a black background.
- Create a backup copy of “Utilman.exe” - enter “copy [System drive]:\Windows\system32\sethc.exe [System drive]:\File”. The file will be copied to the "File" folder.
- Now replace it with “copy [System-drive]:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe [System-drive]:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe”.
- The system will ask you to confirm the action. Write "Y" if you agree.
- Once the file has copied, click Reboot and remove the drive.
- In the BIOS, return to the previous settings. Now you can start the OS.
Reset
- When you log into your account, open “Accessibility” (the button at the bottom left).
- But the command line will start.
- To reset your Windows password, enter “net user [Username] [New Code].” If there is a space in the name or cipher, enclose it in quotation marks.
- If you want to remove the code, put two quotes without any characters between them.
- Restart your computer again and calmly log into your account.
- Return the "Utilman.exe" file. Boot from the flash drive again, open recovery mode and command prompt. Write in it “move [System drive]:\File\Utilman.exe [System drive]:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe”
If you cannot log into your Win account, this does not mean that you have lost all user data. In Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, resetting a password from a flash drive is a very simple task. Although this has its downsides. It turns out that anyone can log into the account. Protect your personal information in several ways - not just with the code in your account.