Can you help me crack my computer`s password

[foilfinder]

I have a computer I bought from a thrift store, running Vista , It loads fine until it gets to password. I also bought a lap top running Vista from the same place with the same problem and downloaded Ophcrack to crack its code and it worked perfect, I loaded the same CD on this other one and says it failed to find it.
So..What to do now..I know there are other CD`s I can download but the Ophcrack seem to be the one everyone goes to after the others fail, also some others seem to want to install other junk along with the download and don't want spyware or spam along with my download of the CD.
Is there another option before I give it up, any inexpensive solutions? I was thinking of maybe taking it to a computer store and giving it to a tech but that would probably run 50 bucks and don't want to put much into it till I know it is running properly, then once I know it is OK I`ll probably install windows 7 or later operating system. I know it`s an old computer and operating system but my computer needs are frugal and so long as it has support I feels I`m OK.
Thanks for your advice.

 

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[Red James Cash]

Click on Start and then Control Panel.

Click on the User Accounts and Family Safety link.

Note: If you're viewing the Classic View of Control Panel, you won't see this link. Simply double-click on the User Accounts icon and proceed to Step 4.

Click on the User Accounts link.

In the Make changes to your user account area of the User Accounts window, click the Change your password link.

In the first text box, enter your current password.

In the next two text boxes, enter the password you would like to start using.

Entering the password twice helps to make sure that you typed your new password correctly.

Click the Change password button to confirm your changes.

You can now close the User Accounts window.

Now that your Windows Vista password has been changed, you must use your new password to log on to Windows Vista from this point forward.

Create a Windows Vista password reset disk. While not a required part of changing your password, I highly recommend that you do this.

Note: You do not need to create a new password reset disk if you already have one. Your previously created password reset disk will work no matter how many times you change your Windows Vista password.



Click on Start and then Control Panel.

Click on the User Accounts and Family Safety link.

Note: If you're viewing the Classic View of Control Panel, you won't see this link. Simply double-click on the User Accounts icon and proceed to Step 4.

Click on the User Accounts link.

In the task pane on the left, click the Create a password reset disk link.

When the Forgotten Password Wizard window appears, click Next

Note: You will need some kind of portable media before being able to create a password reset disk. This means that you will need a flash drive or a floppy disk drive and blank floppy disk.

Important: You will not be able to use a blank CD or DVD as a password reset disk in Windows Vista.

In the I want to create a password key disk in the following drive: drop down box, choose the portable media drive to create a password reset disk on.

Click Next to continue.

With the disk or other media still in the drive, enter your current account password in the text box and click Next.

Windows Vista will now create the password reset disk on your chosen media.

When the progress indicator shows 100% complete, click Next and then click Finish in the next window.

You can now remove the flash drive or floppy disk from your computer.

Label the flash drive or disk "Windows Vista Password Reset" and store it in a safe place.

 

[foilfinder]

Thanks for the tutorial Red, that will come in handy for the future. I guess I shouldn't have said it loads fine, the bios loads and windows logo appears but then it goes to enter password screen and I cant get past that..All I get is a hint that says city1, I tried that and all the cities I could think of, I am guessing it means the city he lived but who knows what it could be.
Was also thinking if I buy a new operating system would it delete my old one and thereby I could create a new password, but I dont want to buy and load a new system and find myself in the same situation.

 

[huntsman53]

Call the manufacturer and order the factory software CD's and reload it! Once the reload is finished, you will have a Password free computer and can put in any Password you want. That is what I have done in the past with computers that were Password protected or loaded with all sorts of crap that I did not want or need.


Frank

 

[kyleeskastles]

Big thing i have been using for years to make a lil side income on computers is something called a hirens boot cd. No telling how many times i made a easy 20-30 bucks simply unlocking peoples computer. Look it up on youtube, here is a great tutorial as well, but you can find more there.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Very interesting, I'd never heard of Hiren's Boot CD

Thanks for the posting!

 

[Red James Cash]

Foilfinder i believe you can reset the password in the bios screen before windows starts loading start repeatedly hitting the,think is the F8 button on your keyboard,it will tell you anyway

Watch for a "entering setup" message in the first few seconds after turning on your computer. This message varies greatly from computer to computer and also includes the key or keys you need to press to enter BIOS.

Here are some common ways you might see this BIOS access message:


Press [key] to enter setup
Setup: [key]
Enter BIOS by pressing [key]
Press [key] to enter BIOS setup
Press [key] to access BIOS
Press [key] to access system configuration

Quickly press the key or keys instructed by the previous message to get into BIOS.

 

[foilfinder]

Thanks Red James,huntsman63 and kyleeskastles..Never heard of Hirens either..sounds promising. ..probably best to get the manufactures CD but then again I tend to buy computers cheap and have learned quit a bit about them so the Hirens also sound good for the future..Thanks for the tips.
I just checked it out and read Hirens contains many commercial products..does this mean by downloading this free sotware I am also downloading stuff that will slow down or be a burden on my clean operating sytem?..My thinking is that I dont want to end up with spyware or unwanted programs on my computers..Just wondering if that is the case with this product.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiren's_BootCD

 

[texasred777]

Foilfinder, if you have another OS disc, you can wipe the system and start over. Several friends have brought computers to me because of lock ups, viruses, etc. I have wiped and reloaded their computers. If you come across one that seems impossible, you can down load and burn a Darik's Boot and Nuke disc. It takes a while, but it will wipe just about anything from the hard drive. It wipes the hard drive, then loads it with just 0s and 1s, then wipes it, reloads again and wipes that. Supposedly the government uses this for most of their hard drive 'wipes'. When it's though, you have a clean hard drive to load what ever you want.

Yes, be very careful of the downloads. They can contain a bunch of 'stuff' that you don't need or want. That's what I like about that Darik's Boot and Nuke; that's all it does. As I said, if you have another operation system disc, after 'nuking' the hard drive, you can load whatever you have.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

pw=slicker

 

[Uncle Jeff]

I am a tech guy, and the only advice given above that will work for your problem is the Hiren's Boot CD. of course you will need one working PC to download and create the CD.. then go into your bios and change the boot order from Hard drive first to CD drive first.. but that should be covered in the video link above... good luck...

 

[kyleeskastles]

the extra commercial software options is only there if you want to use it, hirens is a full scale computer techs software tool. It will do a whole lot more then password crack different windows OS, but since that is all you need it for it works perfect in that regard

 

[foilfinder]

Thanks everyone, Think I`ll get the hirens..will come in handy with the extras.