We have recently taken on a new client with several workstations. He has no server of any kind. One of the workstations has an administrator user with a password from two users ago and no one knows what the password is. I tried booting to Hirens off a brand new disc but the Password Changer would not load; it just hung while starting up. So I am wondering if there is a way to clear the password from a non-administrative user within Windows 7, or to enable the built-in Administrator account and clear the password for the other user, without having to have administrator rights to do so. Any thoughts are welcome. BTW I tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice. I believe that went out with XP because it didn’t work for me.<\/p>","upvoteCount":86,"answerCount":125,"datePublished":"2017-05-01T10:54:30.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"bryanjeffcoat3891","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/bryanjeffcoat3891"},"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
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ok, so grab a windows install disk, and boot from it<\/p>\n
accept the language options but where it says install now, look in the bottom left corner it will have a repair my computer button, click on that<\/p>\n
once that loads up, click on trouble shoot or advanced options, which ever is there, basically look around until you see CMD, once you find it, click on it to launch it.<\/p>\n
then type c: and hit enter<\/p>\n
cd into windows\\system32<\/p>\n
type rename sethc.exe sethc.old and hit enter (note this renames the sticky key program to sethc.old)<\/p>\n
type rename cmd.exe sethc.exe and hit enter (note this renames cmd to the sticky key program)<\/p>\n
reboot and let the computer boot from the hard drive, get to the point where it is asking for the password, then hit shift several times, a cmd windows will open<\/p>\n
type net user and hit enter to list the accounts on the local computer<\/p>\n
to change the password type net user username new-password<\/em> (this will change the password without you needing to know the old one)<\/p>\n
you can now log into that account, but be sure sometime soon to boot into the windows install disk again to undo the renaming.<\/p>","upvoteCount":64,"datePublished":"2017-05-01T13:50:19.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/reset-windows-7-password-without-admin-rights/577502/16","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"kevingunter2","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/kevingunter2"}},"suggestedAnswer":[{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Hello All,<\/p>\n
We have recently taken on a new client with several workstations. He has no server of any kind. One of the workstations has an administrator user with a password from two users ago and no one knows what the password is. I tried booting to Hirens off a brand new disc but the Password Changer would not load; it just hung while starting up. So I am wondering if there is a way to clear the password from a non-administrative user within Windows 7, or to enable the built-in Administrator account and clear the password for the other user, without having to have administrator rights to do so. Any thoughts are welcome. BTW I tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice. I believe that went out with XP because it didn’t work for me.<\/p>","upvoteCount":86,"datePublished":"2017-05-01T10:54:30.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/reset-windows-7-password-without-admin-rights/577502/1","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"bryanjeffcoat3891","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/bryanjeffcoat3891"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Use NTPasswd to reset the account password before the boot and then you should be all set.<\/p>\n
