Offline Enable A Disabled Local Administrator Account on Windows

Did you mistakenly disable the local administrator account whiles logged in? If you are locked out of your computer, for example you forgot your password and can't log in using any user account,  you need to enable the administrator account offline. With PCUnlocker Live CD you can enable a disable local administrator account in Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. This tool can also reset Windows administrator password if you have forgotten it.

How to Enable A Disabled Local Administrator Account Offline in Windows?

All you need is to make a Live CD using another computer that you have full access to, then boot your locked machine from the CD and it allows you to enable a disabled Windows administrator account easily! Here are step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Create A PCUnlocker Live CD/USB Drive

1. Start the ISO2Disc program. Click the Browse button to locate your ISO image file, then click the Start Burn button to make a PCUnlocker Live CD or USB drive.
   
2. Click here to download and save the PCUnlocker self-extracting Zip file to a folder on your hard drive, then extract the ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso from it.
3. Insert a blank CD or USB flash drive into your computer. Download and install the freeware ISO2Disc.

Step 2: Boot Your Locked PC from CD/USB Drive

1. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to CDROM if you just created a bootable CD or DVD, or set 1st Boot Device to Removable Device if a bootable USB flash drive was created.
2. Connect the burned CD or USB drive to your locked computer. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
3. Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer will restart and then boot from PCUnlocker Live CD/USB drive. If you still can't get your computer to boot from the CD/USB drive, please refer to this boot up troubleshooting guide.

Step 3: Enable A Disabled Local Administrator Account

1. After the computer boots up from the CD or USB drive, it will start the PCUnlocker program which displays a list of local accounts that are stored in Windows SAM registry hive. Select the disabled local administrator account and click on Reset Password button.
2. Click Yes to confirm your operation. The program will enable the local administrator account and also remove its password if it is protected with a password.
3. Click Restart to reboot the computer and remove the CD or USB drive. You can then log into Windows local administrator account without a password.

Forgot Administrator Password on Windows Small Business Server (SBS)

Forgot Windows Small Business Server password? If you can't log on with other administrator-level account, you're unable to change or reset the password. So if you're confronted with this situation where you essentially have no control over your server. What do you do at this point?



In this tutorial we'll show you how to reset Windows SBS 2011 / 2008 / 2003 password when you lost or forgot the administrator password. Because we could not log into SBS as admin, so it's impossible to install any software on your computer to hack into the Security Account Manager (SAM). Fortunately, with the PCUnlocker boot CD you can circumvent Windows security restrictions and reset SBS administrator password directly.

How to Reset Forgotten Administrator Password on Windows Small Business Server (SBS)?

Before you can reset SBS password, you need to make a PCUnlocker boot CD using another computer with internet connection. Next boot Windows Small Business Server from the CD and it enables you to reset a lost local admin / domain admin password easily. Here are detailed instructions:

1. Download the PCUnlocker program from http://www.top-password.com. The download file is a zipped ISO image file. Double-click the zip file and the system will display all the contents in a new window. Just drag the pcunlocker.iso file from that window to your desktop or another location you can find easily.
2. Burn the ISO image to an empty CD (or USB flash drive) using the freeware ISO2Disc, BurnCDCC or ImgBurn program.
3. Connect the CD you've burned to your locked computer that you want to reset Windows SBS password on. Turn on the computer and change the boot order in BIOS. Make sure the CD/DVD drive is the first boot device.
4. After booting from the CD, you'll see the WinPE operating system start. Just about half a minute later, you'll see the PCUnlocker program. It displays all your Windows user accounts. If you need to reset domain user password, please click on the "Reset Active Directory Password" option.
5. Choose a user account and click on "Reset Password" button. The program will unlock / reset your forgotten user password immediately.
6. Click on Restart. Take out the CD from the computer. Now you can log back into your Windows Small Business Server (SBS) using a blank/empty password.

Recover Internet Explorer 11 Stored Password from Windows Vault

How to recover the stored passwords from Internet Explorer 11? In versions 7, 8 and 9 of Internet Explorer, passwords are protected using DPAPI and the login URL as entropy before being saved in the registry. Since Internet Explorer 10, it no longer stores encrypted passwords in the registry, and they're stored in the Windows Vault, which is the default storage vault for the credential manager information.



In this article we'll show you how to recover Internet Explorer 11 stored passwords from Windows Vault. With the Internet Explorer Password Recovery program you can retrieve all autocomplete passwords that are stored in the Credential Manager. This can be useful if a user forgot the password before reinstalling Windows.

How to Recover Internet Explorer 11 Stored Passwords?

1. Download and install the Internet Explorer Password Recovery program on your computer.
2. After you've installed it, start the program.
3. Click on the Start Recovery button, and then select the Recover IE Password option from the drop-down menu.
4. The program will decrypt your website passwords saved in Windows Vault, and display the login information (including website URL, username and password) immediately.

Besides recovering Internet Explorer 10/11 passwords, Internet Explorer Password Recovery program can also extract the saved passwords from Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, 9.

Lost Admin Rights on Windows 8/7/Vista/XP User Account

Lost admin rights / privileges on the only user account on your computer? If you can't access the administrator account, or your administrator account was demoted to a guest or limited account, you will be restricted from performing any administrative tasks.

In this tutorial we'll explain how to regain your PC's administrator rights with PCUnlocker. PCUnlocker is a bootable utility that could be used to promote a limited / standard user account to administrator, or unlock / reset your forgotten administrator password on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP.

 

Part 1: Create A PCUnlocker Live CD/USB Drive

1. Click here to download and save the PCUnlocker self-extracting Zip file to a folder on your hard drive, then extract the ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso from it.
2. Insert a blank CD or USB flash drive into your computer. Download and install the freeware ISO2Disc.
3. Start the ISO2Disc program. Click the Browse button to locate your ISO image file, then click the Start Burn button to burn the ISO image to your CD or USB flash drive.
   

Part 2: Boot Your Locked PC from CD/USB Drive

1. Connect the burned CD or USB drive to the computer that you're trying to gain admin rights on. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to CDROM if you just created a bootable CD or DVD, or set 1st Boot Device to Removable Device if a bootable USB flash drive was created.
   
3. Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer will restart and then boot from PCUnlocker Live CD/USB drive. If you still can't get your computer to boot from the CD/USB drive, please refer to this boot up troubleshooting guide.

Part 3: Gain Admin Rights on Windows Account

1. After the computer boots up from the CD or USB drive, it will start the PCUnlocker program which shows you a list of local accounts that are stored in Windows SAM registry hive. Select your user account and click on Reset Password button.
   
   
2. Click Yes to confirm your operation. The program will remove your user password, promote your account to an administrator if it's a standard or limited account, and enable / unlock it when necessary.
3. Click Restart to reboot the computer and remove the CD or USB drive. You can then log into your administrator-level user account without a password.

It's so easy to get admin rights back on your Windows account and regain full control of your computer. PCUnlocker has definitely saved me from so many headaches and I hope this will also help you in case you lost admin rights on Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP.