Reset Lost SA Password on SQL Server 2012 / 2014

Lost or forgot SA password on MS SQL Server 2012 or 2014 instance? Looking for a way to recover or reset the password? With SQL Server Password Changer you can easily reset lost SA password on all versions of  SQL Server instance, including SQL Server 2014 and 2012.

How to Reset Lost SA Password on SQL Server 2012 / 2014?

Before getting started, you need to stop your SQL Server instance so we can then reset your lost SA password offline, by following these steps:

1. Click here to download and install SQL Server Password Changer on your local computer.
2. Start the program and click the Open File button. Select the master database file (master.mdf) for your SQL Server instance. Typically it is located in the folder:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA
3. The program will automatically decrypt the master database file and display all user accounts in your SQL Server database.
4. Select a user account whose password you want to change, click the Change Password button. Type a new password and click OK.
5. The old password will be replaced with your new password. Now start your SQL Server instance and you can then connect to your SQL Server database with your new password.

Besides resetting SQL Server 2012 / 2014 password, you can also use SQL Server Password Changer to change forgotten SA password on SQL Server 2008, 2005 and 2000.

Unlock Forgotten Windows 8 Local / Microsoft Account, PIN and Picture Password

Forgot your Windows 8 user password and can't log in with any sign-in option? Is there any Windows 8 password recovery software? Don't panic. This article will explain how to unlock forgotten Windows 8 local account, Microsoft account, PIN and Picture Password with ease.

1. Local Account

Local account password is stored in the SAM file using NT/LM hash. SAM is part of the Windows registry that is located in c:\windows\system32\config\. The SAM file is locked and cannot be accessed when the operating system is loaded. However, it is fully accessible if the computer is booted from a live recovery disk such as PCUnlocker.

PCUnlocker is a WinPE-based utility with simple graphical user interface. The program works offline and it creates its own boot environment. Once you boot into PCUnlocker Live CD, you can unlock / reset lost password of any user account on Windows 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

2. Microsoft Account

In Windows 8 / 8.1, you can link a local account to your Microsoft account or create a brand new Microsoft account. After forgetting the Microsoft account password, you can reset it online via the Microsoft Account Password Reset page. But what to do if your Microsoft account is compromised or hacked?
Just like the domain logons, Windows caches the Microsoft account password locally which makes it possible to login without Internet connection. If you're locked out of Windows 8, you can also reset the cached Microsoft account password with PCUnlocker, which allows you to log on to Windows 8 with a new password.

 

3. Picture Password and PIN

 

During Windows 8 installation, we must first create a local account or Microsoft account and then optionally set up a PIN or Picture Password. So if you've forgotten your PIN code or Picture Password, click Switch to password button on the picture logon screen and you can then use a local / Microsoft account to login.

Picture Password and PIN logon seem to be more secure than a local account. However, these two types of passwords are stored using reversible encryption, and you can decrypt and recover Windows 8 Picture Password and PIN easily as long as you can log into Windows with admin rights.

Unlock Windows 7 ASUS Laptop If Forgot the Admin Password?

Forgot the admin password on your Windows 7 Asus laptop and don't have a reset disk? If you've lost your Windows 7 password, you won't be able to log in. Here's how to unlock Windows 7 Asus laptop password with a CD.

1. Download and install Password Recovery Bundle on another computer with Internet access. Launch the program and click the Windows Password button, and you'll get the interface as follow.
   
2. Place a blank CD in the CD-ROM drive of the computer, then click the Refresh button and select the device you just plug in. Click the Start Burn button to begin the burning process. A bootable password reset disk will be ready in a few minutes.
3. Now go back to your Asus PC, and insert the Windows password reset disk you just made.
4. Turn on the computer. When the Asus splash screen is displayed, a boot menu prompt may be displayed for a few seconds near the bottom of the screen, indicating that a key (F2 or Del, for example) can be pressed to enter into BIOS Setup.
5. After entering into BIOS, select CD/DVD as the first boot device. However, if you need to bypass the password on a Windows 8 Asus PC with UEFI BIOS, you also need to Set Windows 8 PC to Boot with Legacy BIOS Mode Instead of UEFI Mode.
6. Once booting from the CD, it begins loading the Windows PE OS and you'll reach the main window of PCUnlocker program in minutes.
   
7. Choose the administrator account and click the Reset Password button. This will unlock and reset lost Asus password instantly.
8. Click the Restart button to reboot your Asus computer, you'll be able to login to Windows administrator account with a blank password.

Reset Forgotten Windows 8 Password without Disk

Forgot your Windows 8 administrator password and don't have a CD or USB drive at hand? In this tutorial we'll show you a simple way to reset Windows 8 password without disk. Let's proceed.

Of course, if you do have a PCUnlocker Live CD, you can reset your password the easy way with a few mouse clicks. The following trick works with local account only. If you're using a Microsoft Account to login to your computer, you can also use PCUnlocker to reset lost Microsoft Account password.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows 8 Password without Disk?

1. Turn on your computer. While the computer is coming up and you can see it saying "Starting Windows". Hold down the Power button for at least 5 seconds to force power off your computer.
2. When a sudden power loss is detected, the next time you turn on your computer and it will ask you if you want to launch startup repair or start normally. Choose the Launch Startup Repair (recommended) menu.
3. Startup Repair will boot up and take a little while. When it asks you if you want to restore your computer to an earlier point, click Cancel.
4. The Startup Repair Tool begins analyzing startup log files for clues as to the source of the problem and then launches a series of diagnostic tests to determine the cause of the startup failure. After a long time, you will get a dialog saying that Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically! Click on View problem details.
5. Now scroll down to the end of the Detail Report. Click on the last link to read Microsoft's offline privacy statement.
6. Notepad will come up with the privacy statement in it. Click on the File menu and then Open.
7. In the File Open dialog box, change the Files of type option to All Files. Browse to the Sticky Keys application – C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe. Rename this file as a backup file: I named it "sethc-copy".
8. Now find the cmd.exe file in the same folder. This is your Command Prompt. rename it to sethc.exe. Then close out of all the dialog boxes and Finish, so that the computer restarts.
9. Once you get to the Windows login screen, hit the Shift key 5 times and it will open the Command Prompt window instead of the Sticky Keys application.
10. Now to reset the password – just type the following command, replacing the username and password with the combination you want:
    reset user top-password.com 123456
11. Close the Command Prompt and you should be able to log on to Windows with your new password.

That's it! You've successfully reset Windows 8 password without a CD or USB drive.