I was cleaning up my house today and found an old Windows 7 laptop in the closet. Tried to open it, but it's locked with a password. I know that a password reset USB drive can help me unlock it. But the problem is I don't have one right now. So, is there any way I can reset the password on Windows 7 without a reset disk? Thanks in advance!
You can reset the Windows 7 password via Command Prompt, but only if you have a second administrator account.
By accessing the other administrator account, you can change or remove the password of other accounts. However, if you don't have another admin account or it also has an unknown password, you'll have to get a USB drive and a reliable tool like EaseUS Partition Master Professional to create a bootable USB password reset disk to resolve the problem.
You can follow the simple guide here to reset your Windows 7 password with a USB drive:
Step 1. Insert a USB drive into an accessible computer and click "Toolkit" > "Password Reset" in EaseUS Partition Master.
Step 2. Confirm the message and click "Create."
Step 3. Choose your USB disk and click "Create" to begin the process.
Step 4. After that, insert the USB into the locked Windows 7 PC and restart. Then, your PC will be asked to boot from USB.
Step 5. Run EaseUS Partition Master again and execute "Password Reset." Choose your locked account and click on "Reset & Unlock."
Further reading: How to Reset Windows 7 Password with USB Drive - 3 Ways
Now, follow the guide below to learn how to reset the password by inputting command lines in Command Prompt if there's a second administrator account on your laptop.
Step 1. Turn on your laptop and enter the other accessible admin account.
Step 2. Click "Start" and go to "All programs" > "Accessories" > "Command Prompt."
Step 3. Run the Command Prompt as administrator. Then, type in the following command lines and hit "Enter" each time:
Anyway, the most common and practical way to reset Windows passwords is using a bootable reset disk and professional password reset software. You can prepare a USB drive and download EaseUS Partition Master for unexpected issues in the future.
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