How to Reset Windows 7 Password with or without USB Disk

USB flash drive is usually used to create password reset disk, burn Windows installation disc, Windows recovery drive, which could reset Windows 7 password. So USB disk usually appears in Windows password reset. In this passage, we will talk about Windows 7 password reset with or without USB disk.

• Reset Windows 7 Password with USB Disk
• Reset Windows 7 Password without USB Disk

Part 1: How to Reset Windows 7 Password with USB Disk

• When you have USB disk with password reset disk, how to reset Windows 7 password?
• When you have USB disk with installation disc, how to remove Windows 7 password?

Option 1: Reset Windows 7 Password with USB Password Reset Disk

Password reset disk is common boot disk for Windows password reset, applying to Windows 8.1/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows server 2012/2008/2003/2000. And it is created in Control Panel or with Windows password recovery tool, such as Windows Password Genius.

If it is created in Control Panel, just insert USB disk into your locked computer after you login Windows 7 failed. Click "Reset Password" on Windows 7 logon screen, and Windows forgotten password reset wizard appears. Follow it and go on to set a new password for current user account.

If it is created with Windows password recovery tool, such as Windows Password Genius, you have to insert USB disk into locked Windows 7 computer. And set computer boot from USB disk. When Windows Password Genius program runs in WinPE environment, select Windows 7 system and user account to “Reset Password”. This password recovery tool would remove forgotten Windows 7 user password. 

Option 2: Reset Windows 7 Password with USB installation disk

Installation disc is used to reinstall Windows 7 or repair Windows 7, in order to remove forgotten Windows 7 password. So make sure important data has been back up previously.

 

1. Boot from Windows 7 DVD or USB Device.
   Insert Windows 7 USB installation disk into computer. And hold on pressing Del key.
2. Wait for Windows 7 Installation Files to Load
3. Wait for Windows 7 Setup to Finish Loading
4. Choose Language and Other Preferences
5. Click the Install Now Button.
6. Wait for Windows 7 Setup to Begin
7. Accept the Windows 7 License Terms
8. Choose the Type of Windows 7 Installation to Complete
9. Show the Windows 7 Advanced Drive Options
10. Delete the Partition Windows is installed on
11. Confirm the Partition Deletion
12. Delete Other Operating System Related Partitions
13. Confirm Additional Partition Deletions
14. Choose a Physical Location to Install Windows 7 On

After it completes successfully, you will get Windows 7 clean install. Previous Windows 7 password has been removed. Now there has been no password for Windows 7 default administrator. So now you could login into Windows 7 computer without password.

Part 2: How to Reset Windows 7 Password without USB Disk

When you don’t have USB disk, CD disk is also available for Windows 7 password reset. Or create password reset disk with new bootable USB drive to reset Windows 7 password.

Option 1: Reset Windows 7 Password with system repair disc

1. Plug the system repair disc in the CD/DVD drive of your locked Windows 7 computer. Restart the computer.
2. A few seconds later, the screen displays Press any key to boot from CD or DVD. Press any key to boot the disc. If your PC still boots from the hard drive, you need to change the boot order in BIOS.
3. Choose the Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows option. Click Next.
4. On the next screen, you'll see various system recovery tools that can be used to repair your computer. Click on Command Prompt.
5. In the Command Prompt window, type these commands one by one in order to replace the sethc.exe (Sticky Keys application) with the Command Prompt (cmd.exe).
   c:
   cd windows
   cd system32
   ren sethc.exe sethc.exe.bak
   copy cmd.exe sethc.exe
6. Close the Command Prompt. Remove the system repair disc and restart your PC.
7. Once you get to the Windows 7 login screen, hit the Shift key 5 times and it will open the Command Prompt window instead of the Sticky Keys application.
8. Now to reset the password - just type the following command, replacing the username and password with the combination you want:
   reset user isunshare 123456
9. Close the Command Prompt and you should be able to log into your PC using the new password.
10. After getting into Windows 7, remember to rename the sethc.exe.bak back to sethc.exe.
11. That's it – you have successfully reset your forgotten Windows 7 password.

Option 2: Create password reset disk with new bootable USB drive 

When there is no USB disk to reset Windows password, Windows Password Genius provides you another chance to create password reset disk, which could recover Windows 7 forgotten password and add new user account in locked Windows 7 computer.

1. Prepare devices what are needed to create password reset disk with USB drive.
   Windows Password Genius, bootable USB flash drive, available computer.
2. Install Windows Password Genius on available computer and insert bootable USB drive into computer. 
   
3. Choose inserted USB drive and click "Begin burning" to burn password reset disk into USB drive. Exit it after successfully password reset disk creation.
4. Plug USB password reset disk into your locked Win 7 computer, and boot computer from USB disk, you could remove Windows 7 password on Windows Password Genius program interface. After that, exit USB drive and reboot Win 7 computer.

Related Articles:

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• How to reset admin password on PC Windows 7
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Tips or Tricks for Windows Server 2012 Usage

Windows Server 2012 is new Windows server operational system, which is designed based on Windows 8. So it is different from previous server operating system. If you operate Windows server 2012 like before, that would be difficult. Therefore, now this passage gives some tips and tricks to use Windows server 2012 effectively.

Tip 1: How to find Windows Server 2012 traditional “Start” Menu

Windows server 2012 also removes “Start” menu from taskbar. Maybe there are so many server computer users unhappy about it, but this is truth. Now let’s see how we can find traditional “Start” menu.

Actually, “Start” menu has not disappeared. It is just removed to the left bottom side of traditional desktop. But users couldn’t see it only if move mouse there. Click it, and experience new functions setting in Start menu, including Server Manager, Task Management, Computer etc common applications. Double-click the application picture, and it opens. If click it, we can delete or remove it. If we want to turn back to desktop, just click “Desktop”.

Or move the mouse to the right bottom side of window, and you would see “Start” menu like in Windows 8, click it and Start screen appears.

Tip 2: How to find software or tools in Windows server 2012

In Windows server 2012 start screen, what we can see is not what we think of. There are so many tools and software that we don’t know where they are. In fact, it is simple. We just need to right click in the blank section of Windows start screen. And then there would be a option “All Apps” pop up in the bottom side. Click it and we could see the tools page.

In the tools page, we can see effective tools in Windows server 2012. If we use one application usually, we can right click it and add it to desktop, taskbar or login with administrator etc.

Tip 3: How to shut down Windows server 2012 computer fast

Windows server 2012 shutdown problem also troubles computer users because of no “Start” menu on traditional desktop. So sometimes we could only shut down server computer with Task Manager. It is helpless. Now this passage summarizes four ways to shut down Windows server 2012.

1. Press Windows + I or move mouse to the right bottom side of desktop, Menu and Toolbars. Click “Power” and "Shut down" Windows server 2012.

2. Press Alt + F4 on traditional desktop to open application close window. In traditional desktop, Alt + F4 is used to close Metro applications.

3. Press “Ctrl + Alt + Del”, Windows shutdown options would appear in the right bottom corner of desktop.

4. Press Windows + R to run command “shutdown.exe -s -t 00”.

Run command prompt with administrator, type in “powercfg/H on”. “Power” option is open. Click “Must type password when wake up” in the left side, and tick the “Fast Boot”. And you could start and shut down Windows server computer fast.

Refer to: How to enable fast boot and shut down Windows server 2012

Tip 4: How to adjust performance to optimize programs

Open Server Manager – Local Server, click computer name and System Properties window pops up. Select Advanced – Performance, and choose “Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only” in Data Execution Prevention. Select “Adjust to optimize performance” – “Programs”. And then click “Change Button” in virtual memory, don’t tick “Automatic management of all drives paging file size”. Choose system drive, select “No page file” and click “Settings” button so as to delete virtual memory files in system volume.

Tip 5: How to disable Enhanced IE security settings

Open Server Manager – Local Server – Enhanced IE security settings, and then change “Enabled” to “Disabled”.

Tip 6: How to not boot Server Manager when Windows logon

Open Server Manager, and click Manage– Server Management Properties, and choose “Don't automatically start server manager when logon”.

Tip 7: How to set input method switch shortcut

If you are Chinese people, please pay attention to that English and Chinese input method switch shortcut is not the same as previous Windows operational system. Now open Control Panel – Language – Change Language Hotkey, set their switch shortcut as “Ctrl +Shift”.

Related articles:

• Change Windows Server 2012 from Host to Domain Controller 
• Upgrade Server 2008 and Migrate Domain Service to Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Activation Key Recovery Finder

Upgrade to Which Windows System after without Windows XP

With the Microsoft announcement about stopping support Windows XP since April 8 in 2014, Windows XP users have to make hard decisions. Go on running Windows XP, turn to use Linux or upgrade to Windows new operational system? According to the survey, there are still many people choose to use Windows XP in later few years. The problems Windows XP users need to mention have introduced in where to go if without support for Windows XP.

For computer users who have been accustomed to using Windows XP in previous few years, suddenly turn to run Linux instead of Windows XP is hard to adapt. Believe more and more people would choose to upgrade Windows XP to new operational system, such as Windows 7 and Windows 8, except those persons who are obsessed with Windows XP.

Now, all PC computers and laptops can be upgraded to Windows 7/8. So now let's discuss the problems necessary to be thought about during choosing which Windows system instead of Windows XP.

First, consider computer hardware configurations.

Does Windows XP computer hardware configuration satisfy the conditions to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8?

That's no doubt that Windows 7 and newer Windows systems need more advanced hardware configuration compared to Windows XP. If you want to upgrade Windows operational system to Windows 7, computer hardware configuration has to be mainstream configuration gotten after 2006.

Detailed configurations:

• CPU: 1GHz or above; double kernel CPU;
• Memory: 1G or above (2G and above better)
• Disk: 16 G and above, suggest leave 100G and above and disk utilization had better not be higher than 75%.
• Graphic Card: WDDM driver available for DirectX 9
• Driver: Many OEM has not prepared drivers for new operating system in old device. Old device would affect use and stability of new Windows operating systems.

Windows 8/8.1 is not designed to run in Windows XP old computer. So if you prepare to upgrade to Windows 8, suggest run Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to check whether old computer has achieve the lowest demand.

Second, consider choosing Windows system according to ease-of-use

After making sure computer hardware configuration, we should consider selecting which operating system according to its ease-of-use. On similarity, Windows 7 is more similar to Windows XP on interface. It would be easy to know Windows 7 well more quickly than Windows 8. But it would take more time and disk to install nearly about 100 patches.

And Windows 8/8.1, there have been so many changes on interface. Computer users have to spend more time to be familiar with it. Compared with Windows 7, Windows 8 doesn’t need to install many patches and Windows system boots more quickly. 

Third, choose 32-bit or 64-bit Windows operating system

 

Now 64-bit operational system has become the trend, because most of 32-bit programs could run successfully in 64-bit operating systems, but 64-bit programs are hardly to run in 32-bit Windows systems. At the same time, 64-bit Windows system would occupy more memory and disk. So according to computer memory and disk, choose appropriate Windows operational system. Try hard to choose 64-bit operating system.

At last, let's see how new Windows operational system would influence our computers after Windows 7 or Windows 8 installation.

Whether operating system would influence the programs running in previous Windows system?

This is the problem we always worry about after Windows system upgrade. CD-ROM or USB flash drive is needed to fully install Windows 7/8/8.1 in Windows XP old computer. Therefore, all the users' files and programs previously installed on this computer could not be moved automatically. Computer users have to reinstall all programs new version manually applying to Windows 7/8, and copy user files to new operating system.

Tips: How to move files from old operational system to new one

Related articles:

• Three Major Differences between Windows 8 and Windows 7 – Security/Design/Version
• Operational System Differences – Linux/Windows/Chrome/Mac OS X 
• 10 New Features in Windows 8.1
• Configure Windows 7 Security Settings and Deployment

Where Should Go If No Available Support for Windows XP

Since Microsoft announced they would quit providing security patches and system repair for Windows XP, and appealed to upgrading to Windows7 or Windows 8, different kinds of speculations appear. Where would Windows XP users go?

There are three choices available for them.

1. Upgrade to new version of Windows system just as the thought of Microsoft.
2. Change to use Linux operational system.
3. Keep Windows XP run in computer.

I think insist on using Windows XP is the last step when there is no support from Microsoft. But it is surprising that, according to the research in last December, still 29% PC users and laptop users are using Windows XP. And Windows XP accounts for 32% of the whole Windows systems. This is a very large proportion.

Why there are still so many people choose to insist on using Windows XP? Possibly because:

1. The newest version of Windows system, Windows 8 is not credible enough.

Even though Windows 8 integrates all features of PC and tablet, and brings new experience to Windows system users, it still ignores the real demand of laptop users, because laptops are not taken with tough screen. Besides, for Chinese computer users, auto input method framework is not suitable. And it’s hard for them to delete Microsoft auto input method and switch between Chinese and English.

2. Windows XP is still able to work for computer user.

When considering Windows XP is still a nice Windows operating system, and lots of cost are needed to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, it will not a surprise to see many computer users keep using Windows XP.

Because of without Microsoft security support, there are still other software providers willing to support Windows XP running.

For example, most of anti-virus corporations will support Windows XP users in later few years. And especially for Chinese Windows users, Microsoft said it would provide system security support.

But if you insist on running Windows XP, it is necessary to follow some suggestions.

First, your Windows system has to be the latest version of Windows XP, SP3. And all the update pack is from Microsoft until Microsoft stop updating. Try your best to upgrade to the latest version to reduce risk.

Second, make sure your computer has been protected by security software.

You can consider free anti-virus software from Microsoft or third-party security bundle.

However, as long as you are running Windows XP, the risk is not going.

1. Though there are so much third-party anti-virus software works for Windows XP, hackers would go on to find Windows new loophole. And now there has not been free security support from Microsoft, keep Windows safe becomes more and more difficult.

2. DEP for Windows XP has existed in name only because more and more malicious programs have broken DEP. So when Windows XP goes through the same virus as Windows 8, Windows XP will be more dangerous than Windows 8.

Besides, both OEM and Microsoft hope Windows users could turn to choose Windows 8. From the perspective of Windows system security or computer security, Windows XP replaced is sooner or later in this era of information security. But that is no doubt that Windows XP would still exist in later few years.

Related articles:

• How to make Windows computer faster or perform better
• Comprehensive Analysis of Windows System Activation Methods
• Upgrade to Which Windows System after without Windows XP