Forgot my windows 7 home premium login password

I have a HP laptop with Windows 7 home premium and stupid me forgot the password and didnt make a disk to recover it... there is only 1 user account on it (im on my desktop) can someone please tell me how to recover it?

* i tried to do this but when i hit F8 and select Safe mode with command prompt it does not give me a chance to enter anything in*

A reset disk is required AFAIK which means that you should
made a USB reset password, first time.

Restart your PC. Press F8 to enter Windows® Boot Menu and then choose
Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

Then enter the following:
  
      net user root /ADD

Then neter the following:

      net localgroup administrators root /ADD

Then finally, enter the following:

      net localgroup users root /DELETE

The reason we are deleting the root from
localgroup Users, is because the new account
would be in both the Administrator group and
the (restricted) Users group.

It will look like this in group details:
Users,Administrators.  

That's it, now you have a new Administrator called "root".

Answer
Answer
i assure u im going to when i get it back
I think you will because the cure is painful. Here we go. You can reset any password by going through the steps outlined below. The process is involved and requires some careful typing. Ask a computer-savvy friend to assist you if you lack experience in this area.
 1. Set your BIOS to use the DVD drive as the primary boot device.
 2. Boot with a Windows Repair CD.
 3. Press a key when the message indicating "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD …" appears.
 4. Select a language, a time and currency, and a keyboard or input method, and then click Next. You are now in Repair Mode.
 5. Select an Operating System, then click Next.
 6. Select the Command Prompt.
 7. Identify the correct drive letter for your Windows installation. It could be a drive other than C: but it won't be X:. You do it by typing the commands
    dir C:\Win* {Enter}
    dir D:\Win* {Enter}
    dir E:\Win* {Enter}
    etc.
    until you find the Windows folder.
    I will call that drive "Q:".
 8. Type these commands:
    cd /d Q:\windows\System32 {Enter}
    move  sethc.exe  \  {Enter}
    copy  cmd.exe  sethc.exe  {Enter}
 9. Reboot normally.
10. When challenged for a password, tap the Shift key five times. You will see a small black screen.
11. Type these commands:
    net user  {Enter}
    (To see a list of all accounts that exist on your machine)
    net user Administrator {Enter}
    (To see if the Administrator account is active)
12. Type these commands:
    net user "xxx" ppp  {Enter}
    (Replace xxx with the account for which you wish to set a new password, and ppp with the new password)
    net user Administrator /active:yes {Enter}
    (To activate the Administrator account if desired)
13. Log on under this account, using the new password.
14. Reboot the machine into Repair Mode as per Steps 1..6 above.
15. Type these commands:
    cd /d Q:\windows\System32 {Enter}
    copy \sethc.exe {Enter}
16. Reboot into Windows.
Instead using a Windows Repair CD in Step 2, you can use your Windows 7 Installation DVD. The steps are similar to the ones above.

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Answer
The subject of Phillip Holmes' post was somewhat misleading. He offers a precaution that you should take so that you can recover from a forgotten password. His recipe is no cure against such events. Here are the usual methods to resolve this issue:
  • Reboot the machine with your Windows Repair CD, then use System Restore to set Windows back by a few days (works only if the problem occurred recently).
  • Log on under an alternative admin account, then reset the password to your usual account (works only if you set up an alternative admin account).
  • Log on as Administrator in Safe Mode, then reset the password to your usual account (works only if you enabled the Administrator account and know its password).
  • Insert your USB flash disk with the password keyfile (works only if you created such a keyfile).
If none of these standard precautions work for you then the cure will be painful. Post again if this is the case.

You can see the "inbuilt graphical methods" when you click Start, then Help, then look for help on "account".

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Last updated May 1, 2024 Views 96,381 Applies to: