It is very important to be an administrator of a computer or computer network. You are the person everyone turns to when they block access to their computer or need to add new software to their accounts.
But what if you get blocked? While this is a little confusing, it can happen to anyone. Everyone lost their keys at some point, so getting back to the car or home was a real pain.
You usually call a professional to sort things out. They can take you back to where you blocked yourself from if you are willing to pay for the service.
When it comes to locking out your administrator account, the same solution is possible. However, there is a way to get rid of the need to involve someone else – and the cost – and just do it yourself by resetting your password.
How to reset your computer password
The key to “hacking” your path back to your administrator account is to do so in a way that does little to no harm to your files and data on your computer. This process should also be as painless as possible and not cause too much headache.
I regret to say that nothing is an absolute guarantee in this world, and this is especially true when working with computer data. There is always the possibility of loss when you are trying to recover recovery by brute force. That being said, we have provided you with instructions on what you can do to reset the administrator password that has been locked with the least possible complications.
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Remember, this is for recovering the administrator account due to the fact that you forgot your password or were locked due to an incorrect password. These methods cannot be used if your computer has encountered a virus or has been compromised by a third party.
We’ll cover the re-login methods for Windows XP +, macOS X Snow Leopard, Leopard, and Tiger, and macOS X Lion and later.
Windows (10, 8.1, 7, Vista & XP)
Windows (10, 8.1, 7, Vista and XP)
Earlier, we touched on a similar topic specifically for Windows 7 and 8.1 With this new method, we’ll take a look at free utilities like Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) or MediaCat USB
In this tutorial, we will focus on TRK as it is one of the best admin password reset utilities. Although, if you are dealing with Linux and not Windows, MediaCat USB can help with this.
TRK can help you recover more than just the administrator password for your computer. It also helps with file recovery, evacuating a faulty or dying disk, and can scan for malware rootkits, as well as perform any other disaster recovery tasks you might need.
- to load TRK to CD / DVD or USB stick, as it must be running before Windows boots. Go to the official website and download the program.
- After booting, burn it to CD / DVD or move it to a USB stick. If you have a blank CD in your CD burner, TRK will detect this and ask if you want to continue burning the program to CD.
- Before loading TRK, make sure you go to BIOS (or UEFI) of your computer and configure it to boot from USB / CD / DVD. Otherwise, the computer will boot normally and bypass the TRK utility.
- Entering BIOS typically requires holding down a key such as F12 while restarting your computer. You will need to refer to the manual that came with your motherboard or computer to determine how it is configured.
- Chances are, if you have Windows 10, you are using UEFI. Some Windows 8 machines also support UEFI and you need to determine if your computer supports UEFI before proceeding.
- To enter UEFI, hold down the correct hotkey during restart, just like in BIOS. There are other methods, but they will require you to be logged into Windows. Since the intent of this article is that you don’t have access to Windows, these other methods won’t help you yet.
- After you download the program, you will be presented with the Fuel Dispenser 3.4 Splash Screen. Select Launch Trinity Rescue Kit 3.4 (default mode, with text menu) and press Enter.
- In the simple menu, navigate to Reset Windows Password and press Enter.
- Scroll down again until you highlight Reset Password on Built-in Administrator and press Enter again.
- Find the Windows NT / 2K / XP partition. At the bottom, write down the number next to the Windows folder. Enter this number at the prompt and press Enter.
- Type 1 in the user edit menu and press Enter. This will remove the password set for the administrator. You can press any key to continue.
- Use the arrow keys again to highlight the Main Menu and press Enter.
- One last time, use the arrow keys to highlight Turn Off Computer and press Enter. You can now eject your CD / DVD or USB so that boot can return to normal.
- Allow Windows to boot, then log in to an administrator account, leaving the password blank.
- Insert the disc and restart your computer.
- Hold down the Option key during the restart phase until the Launch Manager appears on the screen.
- Double click the install icon. Mac OS X icon to launch the installer.
- Once downloaded, select Utilities and click Restart. The installer will restart.
- Once the installer has loaded, select Utilities again, only this time click Reset Password.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to reset your administrator password.
- Restart your computer and hold down the ? + R keys after restarting. You will need to keep holding the keys until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- After the boot sequence is complete, the Recovery HD utility window should appear.
- Open a terminal window in a utility and type resetpassword, then press Enter.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to reset the administrator password.
For Mac OS X 10.4-10.6 (Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard)
For Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6 (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard)
The password reset methods on older versions of Mac OS X are slightly easier than on Windows – provided you still have the OS X DVD that came with your computer or an OS X update.
For Mac OS X 10.7+ (Lion and higher)
For Mac OS X 10.7+ (Lion and above)
Newer Mac OS X or macOS is even simpler than previous versions. There is no need for a disk anymore, as the operating system has everything you need to reset your password.
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