Lost password from windows vista

riclad

I,m trying to load up windows vista ,an old hp pc.
I Tried various iso,s password recovery utilitys from a usb drive 2gig.
i went to bios ,set boot order usb drive,=1, hard drive =2.
it wont boot from the usb drive.
Is there any good utilitys password recovery that will fit on a cd disc 700meg.
i do,nt have a vista install disc.
I Tried using safe mode trick, it still asks for a password.
i,m downloading ophcrack live iso now.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ophcrack/

Johnboy1951

Most any Linux distro on CD/DVD/USB stick booted on the PC, using a utility called
chntpw
will do what you want ... it will change the password to blank and allow you to do what you want after you boot into Windows.

Change passwords in Windows SAM files
This is a utility to reset the password of any user that has a valid
(local) account on your Windows NT/2k/XP/Vista etc system. You do not
need to know the old password to set a new one. It works offline, that
is, you have to shutdown your computer and boot off a floppydisk or CD
or another system. Will detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled
out user accounts! There is also a registry editor and other registry
utilities that works under linux/unix, and can be used for other things
than password editing.

bennyineire

I've been using this for years, another linux distro, this will also change the password to blank.

https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

riclad

Thanks very much ,ill try that tomorow
i can,t get it to boot from my usb drive.
i booted up from a linux live cd, i can see all the files on the pc.
i,ll buy more blank cds, and try it .
i tried ntpassword utilityi copied all the files to drive f usb drive , it says error ,mbr cannot write,

when i try this command , X:syslinux.exe -ma X:
i put in F or f instead of x, f is the usb drive name .

So i,ll follow the instructions on this website below

https://whatisgon.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/chntpw-tutorial-resetting-windows-passwords-editing-registry-linux/
i have a pc with window s 7 and one with vista on it, that has the password problem.

ednwireland

bennyineire wrote: »

I've been using this for years, another linux distro, this will also change the password to blank.

https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

this - use it regularly

ZENER

Hirens boot disk is also quite useful now that it's been updated and it includes the tools mentioned above.

Ken

FanadMan

ZENER wrote: »

Hirens boot disk is also quite useful now that it's been updated and it includes the tools mentioned above.

Ken

Hirens has been updated????


I was given a slap on the wrist in here years ago for suggesting using Hirens as it was using bootlegged Windows










.............. now rushes to search for the new version

riclad

I,ll try my linux cdrom boot disk,
i,ll post back later if it work s .
I don,t know why i cant boot from usb on this pc.
even if i go to bios and set boot order .
my bios is set boot from usb =1, cdrom =2. sata hd =3

riclad

i have a live cd puppy linux loaded on the pc,
https://whatisgon.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/chntpw-tutorial-resetting-windows-passwords-editing-registry-linux/


i,m using the guide above.
i have the linux file manager open,
i am in the directory c WINDOWS/system32/config

i can see all the files .


if i try this command cd /mnt/WINDOWS/system32/config



i think i ,ll have to use this https://www.top-password.com/knowledge/reset-windows-10-password-with-hirens-bootcd.html



it says mount is denied because volume is exclusively opened
the volume maybe already mounted or other software may be using it
use the fuser command to identify it


how do i unmount drive c windows sda 1 from linux ?

is there any other linux utility i could use to reset the vista password

Ten Pin

when i try this command, X:syslinux.exe -ma X:

There are more options for that command

Namely...

-sfma

Not sure whether the exact syntax is...

-s -f -m -a

Or

-sfma

...if one doesn't work try the other.

riclad

I ,ll use the hirens boot cd, password reset utility, later
it seems to be easier , not as complex to use for someone who is not a linux expert .
i will just boot from hirens cd, and follow the instructions to change the password

Johnboy1951

Did you not try

chntpw

when running Puppy? (I am assuming it is available there)

It is simple to use.

padyjoe

I had this problem on Win7, had set up a password 2 weeks ago and not used my pc after that.
I was able to delete the password using the sticky key trick to bring up the command prompt.
My happiness disappeared soon after finding it out this has an effect on the in browser stored passwords(recovered the usernames, links but passwords are empty). It upsets the WUA(and my saved password using that encryption). I'm lucky to have to access to my emails linked to different online accounts. I have start resetting passwords and find a pen plus a piece of paper

riclad

I used hirens boot cd, i followed the script here,
https://www.top-password.com/knowledge/reset-windows-10-password-with-hirens-bootcd.html

it took me about 5 minutes ,
I set the administrator password to blank
account no 2 to blank password

.i removed cd.press cntrl alt del.
Pc restarted ,no password screen ,
it loads straight into desktop with all programs avaidable to use.

Its alot more easy to do than using linux or chntpw program,
but i,m not a linux expert,
i just use mint linux. if i,m trying to recover data from an old pc,
or the hard drive is not loading windows for some reason.

i can now put in a new password or just leave it blank .
I Had to set both passwords to blank .
not the word blank,
i mean no password.eg
delete old password using command from the from hirens menu .

bennyineire

Like I said earlier and was backed up by another poster use
https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

Easy peasy lemon zezzy

riclad

I tried it ,got various error messages, maybe it was cos i,m using live cd puppy linux.
In 5 minutes with hirens, boot cd.
password changer window,s 7,vista app ,it worked.
easy to use,I followed detailed instructions on a youtube video/ hirens cd change password .
Also hirens boot cd has lots of useful utilitys on it.
i did not find ntpasswd easy at all but maybe thats cos i,m not an linux expert .
I mostly use live cd linux for fixing pc,s if the hard drive is not working or not loading up windows ,or to recover data from an old hardrive