How to reset your password
Wed, 09/05/2007 - 22:30 — Ciprian
After you install Windows Vista on your PC or you change the password of your user account, it is a good idea to create a password reset disk. This disk will be of great help if you forget your password for some reason. In this tutorial we will show you how to create such a disk and how to reset your password when needed.
How to create the password reset disk
In the Start Menu search box type the word "user". One of the displayed results will be User Accounts. Click on it and the User Accounts Panel will open.
Click on Create a password reset disk.
The Forgotten Password Wizard will open. Insert a storage device where your password reset information will be stored.
NOTE: You can use a floppy disk or a USB memory stick. Other types of storage might work as well. Unfortunately, we did not have any other available for testing at the time when we wrote this article.
After you have insterted the storage device click on the Next button.
Select the drive you want to use for the password reset disk and press Next.
Type your current user account password and click on Next.
The password reset disk will be created.
Wait for a while and click on Finish after the disk has been successfully created.
How to reset your forgotten password
When you are in the login screen, if you type an incorrect password, you will receive the error message shown in the screenshot below.
Click on OK and now the Reset password link appears just beneath the Password field. Click on it, and the Password Reset Wizard will start.
Insert the password reset disk and click on Next.
Choose the drive letter where you inserted the reset password disk and press Next.
Now you have to type a new password and a password hint. When finished, click on Next.
The wizard will give you the confirmation that the password of your user account was successfully reset.
Click on Finish and then login using the new password. If you want to use the reset disk again, just in case you will forget your password in the future, you should format it and go through the creation wizard again.
NOTE: if you forgot your password and you don't have a password reset disk, you will need to use 3rd party tool such as Active Password Changer to crack your password and change it to something else.
Related articles:
How to retrieve your Windows Vista password
Manage User Accounts
Change Owner v1.0
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Comments
Password changer
Thanks for the very helpful tutorial. With my 62 year old memory;I expect it to come in handy!
Password Changer
Can this process be used in another laptop? My friend gave his laptop to his sister, but he forot his password so what i did i create a password reset disk in my own laptop, but im not sure if this will for on his laptop to reset password. Please advise. Thanks.
Doesn't work
I really don't think it will work. You can try if you want to...
I think it would be better to use the Active Password Changer.
password forget
Can this process be used in another laptop? My friend gave his laptop to his brother, but he forgot his password so what i did i create a password reset disk in my own laptop, but im not sure if this will for on his laptop to reset password. Please advise.
It will not work
No, it won't work. You can retrieve the password for your computer, your user only. Not for other computers & users.
To reset the password for your friend, check out this article:
How to retrieve your Windows Vista password.
Vista Passwords
How do you access vista when you have forgotten your password and don't have a password disc.
Thanks
No Password or Reset Disk
I'm with this guy! I need to know how to get past the Vista logon screen without a password. I bought the display model at Costco and, at some point, someone set up a user and password. No one at the store knows the user or the password, and now I'm stuck with a $900 paper weight. All the "solutions" I see on the web tell me to "change the password", but any idiot knows that you have to actually KNOW the existing password in order to get into Vista to CHANGE the password. I saw somewhere that you can remove the battery from the motherboard for a few seconds and clear out the BIOS settings. I'm not convinced that will work, but at this point, I'll try anything.
Active Password Changer
A note at the end of our article says:
If you forgot your password and you don't have a password reset disk, you will need to use 3rd party tool such as Active Password Changer to crack your password and change it to something else.
That thing you described, with the BIOS, will never work. That will only reset the BIOS settings, not the Windows Vista passwords.
BIOS password
If it is just a BIOS password then you can reset the BIOS - all you need to do is find the instructions for your particular motherboard and BIOS. Many MB manufacturers have online instructions for their MB's. If you are getting to the login screen for XP or Vista, then it is not a BIOS password and you need the 3rd party software - (see above instructions)
Password changer
Where do you get the active password changer?, computing is all a bit new to me I dont know the jargon