Windows Vista - Forgot Password

[Rayven2]

Hello everyone, so my cousin forget her password for her old Windows Vista Basic laptop. They don't have a recovery disk nor can I find one anywhere for download.

I also can't find a Vista Basic ISO file anywhere from Microsoft, I want to avoid downloading a ISO from a place like getintopc, etc but I will if it's my last resort.

What are my options? I would clean install since she doesn't have anything important on there and I have the product key, but I can't find a download anywhere. I also highly doubt a manufacturer would send me a recovery CD for a 8 year old laptop, nor do they want to wait that long.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Rayven2]

use this program to recover the password.

<redacted by moderator>

I've heard of this tool before, I was always skeptical of using it however. I'll try create it into a bootable USB and see how it works, thanks.

I created it into a .ISO file, then I tried to burn it to a USB using Rufus, it says it's not supported, as I mentioned, I'm skeptical about running this .exe.

 

[SteelCity1981]

I've ran this program a lot of times and it has always worked for me... try burning it onto a disc then.

 

[boju]

Can you get into safemode? Not sure if you still need a password there, don't remember.

If you can get there, look online for cmd command to enable 'administrator' account in Vista then use that account to reset password.

 

[itmoba]

There's bad news and then there's good news.

Bad news: The only way to get around the password is to reset it or crack it. Forum rules prohibit us from helping you or discussing cracking, so that's already not an option. Don't talk about websites like the one you mentioned, as that website promotes piracy, which is a definite violation of forum rules.

Good news: You can boot from a live-cd/dvd/usb distribution and copy important files you wish to recover assuming the HD isn't encrypted.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

From the Terms of Use:

Don't...

5. Ask for help pirating, cracking passwords, or bypassing copyright protection – this includes trying to bypass forgotten administrator passwords and BIOS passwords on your computer. We also will not help you try to get around any IP bans.

Closing this.