How to Crack a Windows 7 Password

Find or create a Windows 7 installation disc., Insert the Windows 7 installation disc and reboot the computer., Press the key to enter the computer's BIOS or BOOT menu., Select your disc drive from the BOOT menu., Boot from the Windows 7...

17 Steps 4 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Find or create a Windows 7 installation disc.

    In order to crack user passwords, you'll need to boot from a Windows 7 installation disc.

    There are a couple of ways that you can go about getting one:
    Any Windows 7 installation disc will work, so you may be able to borrow or find one.

    You can download a Windows 7 ISO and burn it to a disc to create your own installation disc.

    You can download the ISO legally from Microsoft here, if you have a product key.

    You can also download the ISO from various torrent sites.

    Burn the ISO to a blank DVD by right-clicking on it and selecting "Burn to Disc" (Windows 7 later).

    See How to Create a Recovery Disc in Windows 7 for more details.
  2. Step 2: Insert the Windows 7 installation disc and reboot the computer.

    You'll be booting from the installation disc instead of loading Windows 7 as usual. , This key varies depending on your computer's manufacturer.

    The key will be displayed on the screen that appears as the computer first boots up.

    You'll need to press this key before Windows loads.

    Loading the BOOT menu directly instead of the BIOS menu will be quicker, but not all computers support this.

    Common keys include F2, F10, F11, or Del. , If you loaded directly to the boot menu, select the drive that contains the Windows 7 installation disc.

    If you loaded to the BIOS menu, navigate to the BOOT section using the keyboard and then change the boot order so that the drive containing the Windows 7 installation disc is listed first. , If you were in the BIOS, save your changes and exit to reboot the computer and boot from the installation disc.

    Press any key when prompted to start Windows Setup. , In the first screen that appears, you'll be asked to set your language and input options.

    You can usually leave everything at the default settings. , Instead of clicking "Install now" to start the Windows 7 installation, click the "Repair your computer" button in the bottom-left corner of the window. , These are all of the operating systems installed on the computer.

    Most computers will only have one operating system listed here. , This will launch the Command Prompt. , The following four commands will allow you to access the Command Prompt from the Windows Login screen.

    This will let you reset the passwords once Windows has loaded.

    Enter each of these commands, in order, pressing ↵ Enter after each one:
    C:\   cd windows\system32   ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak   copy cmd.exe utilman.exe , Allow Windows 7 to load as it normally would. , This would normally load the Accessibility Manager, but the commands you entered earlier renamed the programs so that the Command Prompt loads instead. , All of the users on the computer will be displayed. , You can use the net user command to change any user's password to whatever you'd like.

    Type the following command and press ↵ Enter, replacing username with the user you want to crack.

    If the username has a space in it, surround it in quotes.

    Enter the new password twice when prompted. net user username * For example, to change the user John Everyman's password, you would type net user "John Everyman" * and press ↵ Enter. , After changing the password in the Command Prompt, you can immediately use the new password to log in on the Windows Login screen.

    Just select the user that you changed the password for and then enter the new password. , Now that you've changed the password and successfully logged in, you'll want to revert utilman.exe to its original state in case someone needs the Accessibility Center.

    Open the Command Prompt from the Start menu and perform the following commands in order:
    C:\   cd windows\system32   del utilman.exe   ren utilman.exe.bak utilman.exe
  3. Step 3: Press the key to enter the computer's BIOS or BOOT menu.

  4. Step 4: Select your disc drive from the BOOT menu.

  5. Step 5: Boot from the Windows 7 installation disc and start Windows Setup.

  6. Step 6: Set your language and input options.

  7. Step 7: Click the "Repair your computer" link on the "Install now" screen.

  8. Step 8: Select "Windows 7" from the list of operating systems.

  9. Step 9: Click the "Command Prompt" link on the next window.

  10. Step 10: Enter the following commands

  11. Step 11: in order.

  12. Step 12: Remove the installation disc and reboot the computer.

  13. Step 13: Press .⊞ Win+U on the Windows Login screen to open the Command Prompt.

  14. Step 14: Type .net user and press ↵ Enter to display the list of user names.

  15. Step 15: Change the password for the account you want to access.

  16. Step 16: Use your newly-created password to log in.

  17. Step 17: Revert your Command Prompt changes.

Detailed Guide

In order to crack user passwords, you'll need to boot from a Windows 7 installation disc.

There are a couple of ways that you can go about getting one:
Any Windows 7 installation disc will work, so you may be able to borrow or find one.

You can download a Windows 7 ISO and burn it to a disc to create your own installation disc.

You can download the ISO legally from Microsoft here, if you have a product key.

You can also download the ISO from various torrent sites.

Burn the ISO to a blank DVD by right-clicking on it and selecting "Burn to Disc" (Windows 7 later).

See How to Create a Recovery Disc in Windows 7 for more details.

You'll be booting from the installation disc instead of loading Windows 7 as usual. , This key varies depending on your computer's manufacturer.

The key will be displayed on the screen that appears as the computer first boots up.

You'll need to press this key before Windows loads.

Loading the BOOT menu directly instead of the BIOS menu will be quicker, but not all computers support this.

Common keys include F2, F10, F11, or Del. , If you loaded directly to the boot menu, select the drive that contains the Windows 7 installation disc.

If you loaded to the BIOS menu, navigate to the BOOT section using the keyboard and then change the boot order so that the drive containing the Windows 7 installation disc is listed first. , If you were in the BIOS, save your changes and exit to reboot the computer and boot from the installation disc.

Press any key when prompted to start Windows Setup. , In the first screen that appears, you'll be asked to set your language and input options.

You can usually leave everything at the default settings. , Instead of clicking "Install now" to start the Windows 7 installation, click the "Repair your computer" button in the bottom-left corner of the window. , These are all of the operating systems installed on the computer.

Most computers will only have one operating system listed here. , This will launch the Command Prompt. , The following four commands will allow you to access the Command Prompt from the Windows Login screen.

This will let you reset the passwords once Windows has loaded.

Enter each of these commands, in order, pressing ↵ Enter after each one:
C:\   cd windows\system32   ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak   copy cmd.exe utilman.exe , Allow Windows 7 to load as it normally would. , This would normally load the Accessibility Manager, but the commands you entered earlier renamed the programs so that the Command Prompt loads instead. , All of the users on the computer will be displayed. , You can use the net user command to change any user's password to whatever you'd like.

Type the following command and press ↵ Enter, replacing username with the user you want to crack.

If the username has a space in it, surround it in quotes.

Enter the new password twice when prompted. net user username * For example, to change the user John Everyman's password, you would type net user "John Everyman" * and press ↵ Enter. , After changing the password in the Command Prompt, you can immediately use the new password to log in on the Windows Login screen.

Just select the user that you changed the password for and then enter the new password. , Now that you've changed the password and successfully logged in, you'll want to revert utilman.exe to its original state in case someone needs the Accessibility Center.

Open the Command Prompt from the Start menu and perform the following commands in order:
C:\   cd windows\system32   del utilman.exe   ren utilman.exe.bak utilman.exe

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M

Madison Russell

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