Regain Lost Windows Password With Linux

by admin on 07/11/09 at 2:42 pm

Regain Lost Windows Password With Linux

Check out this FREE method for retrieving forgotten Windows passwords. I works on Windows XP and Vista (not yet tested on Windows 7).

Ingredients: one Linux live CD (that auto mounts Windows partitions – e.g. Ubuntu, Backtrack, Fedora, openSUSE).

Save the .iso and burn it to a disc.

Boot from the CD and follow these instructions (assuming your are using backtrack, but should be similar for other Linux distributions):

  1. Open a Linux terminal and enter the following commands:
  2. cd /mnt
  3. ls (make a note of the folders listed here. You might need them in the next step.)
  4. cd sda1/Windows/System32/ (If this doesn’t work you might have the wrong hard drive: try replacing ’sda1? with sda2, hda1, or hda2)
  5. mv utilman.exe utilman.old && cp cmd.exe utilman.exe
  6. reboot (and remove the CD)
  7. Once rebooted, at Vista or XP log in screen, press the Windows key + U to run CMD with system privileges. Replace the username below with one of your choice – it must not already exist!
  8. c:\>net user username mypassword /add
  9. c:\>net localgroup administrators username /add
  10. Log in with the new admin account!

One Response to “Regain Lost Windows Password With Linux”

  1. davi

    Dec 10th, 2009

    If you don’t want to reformat your system, I think you have to make a rest disk or use some tool to do all the job for you. Such as Windows Password Recovery Tool 3.0. Burn a boot CD with the program, and insert it into the problem computer and your password will be reset to “Blank”.

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