Recovering from a Forgotten Password
Few things in life are
as frustrating as a forgotten password. To avoid this headache, Windows 7
offers a couple of precautions that you can take now just in case you
forget your password.
The first precaution is called the password hint,
which is a word, phrase, or other mnemonic device that can help you
remember your password. To see the hint in the Welcome screen, type any
password and press Enter. When Windows 7 tells you the password is
incorrect, click OK. Windows 7 redisplays the Password text box with the
hint below it.
The second precaution you
can take is the password reset disk. This is a USB Flash drive that
enables you to reset the password on your account without knowing the
old password. To create a password reset disk, follow these steps:
1. | Log on as the user for whom you want to create the disk.
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2. | Select Start, Control Panel, User Accounts and Family Safety, User Accounts.
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3. | In the Tasks pane, click Create a Password Reset Disk. This launches the Forgotten Password Wizard.
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4. | Insert a USB Flash drive, and then click Next.
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5. | Choose your USB Flash drive and click Next.
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6. | Type your user account password and click Next. Windows 7 creates the reset disk.
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7. | Click Next.
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8. | Click Finish.
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The password reset disk contains a single file named Userkey.psw,
which is an encrypted backup version of your password. Be sure to save
this disk in a secure location and, just to be safe, don’t label the
disk. If you need to use this disk, follow these steps:
1. | Start Windows 7 normally.
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2. | When
you get to the Welcome screen, leave your password blank and press the
Enter key. Windows 7 will then tell you the password is incorrect.
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3. | Click OK.
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4. | Click the Reset Password link.
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5. | In the initial Password Reset Wizard dialog box, click Next.
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6. | Insert the password reset Flash drive.
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7. | Select the Flash drive and click Next.
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8. | Type a new password (twice), type a password hint, and click Next.
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9. | Click Finish.
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