How to Reset Lost Active Directory Administrator Password

PCUnlocker is a rescue bootdisk that can help you reset forgotten Active Directory administrator password instantly. Unlike John the Ripper and other password cracking tools, PCUnlocker changes the password in no time instead of taking a very long time to recover it. After the password has been changed, we can login to domain administrator account with a new password.

Part 1: Create a PCUnlocker Live CD/USB Drive

PCUnlocker needs to be booted from a CD or USB stick to work. Before resetting Active Directory password, you need to use a spare PC to make a PCUnlocker Live CD/USB drive.

1. Download and save the PCUnlocker self-extracting ZIP file to your desktop. Once downloaded, extract the ISO file (pcunlocker.iso) from the ZIP file.
2. Download and install ISO2Disc, a free ISO burning software.
3. Launch the ISO2Disc program. Click the Browse button to locate the pcunlocker.iso file, then click the Start Burn button to create a bootable CD or USB drive.
   
   If you're going to use a USB drive to reset password for a UEFI-based computer, make sure you choose the GPT partition style which is required for UEFI boot.
   

Part 2: Reset Active Directory Administrator Password

1. Boot your domain controller from your newly created CD or USB drive.
2. Upon boot, Windows PE will load, the PCUnlocker program will start and locate the Windows SAM registry file and Active Directory database (ntds.dit).
   
3. You will be presented with the following two options:
    
   Reset Local Admin/User Password
   
   This option allows you to reset Windows local account password that is stored in the SAM registry file. After the local administrator password is reset, you can then log into Safe Mode or Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) without entering a password!
    
   Reset Active Directory Password
   
   Simply select the Active Directory database file (ntds.dit), the program will list the Active Directory user accounts available on your domain controller. Select the administrator account and click Reset Password button, the password will be changed to Password123.
   Note: While resetting the local or domain password, the program will also unlock/enable your selected account in the background if it is locked out or disabled.
   
4. Click the Restart button to reboot the computer and remove the CD or USB drive, you can then log into domain controller successfully.

Additionally, PCUnlocker allows you to load any IDE/SCSI/SATA/RAID driver on the fly and mount a VHD/VHDX virtual hard disk, by clicking the Options button.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows Azure VM Password

Did you forgot your Windows password of your Virtual Machine in Windows Azure? How can I bypass or reset the password? The virtual hard disks are .vhd files stored as page blobs in a storage account in Azure. PCUnlocker allows you to mount the .vhd or .vhdx files and then reset your forgotten Windows Azure VM password offline. Here are detailed instructions:

Part 1: Create A PCUnlocker Live CD/USB

1. Click here to download and save the PCUnlocker self-extracting Zip file to any computer that you have access to, then extract the ISO image file (pcunlocker.iso) from it.
2. Download and install the ISO2Disc utility, launch the program.
3. Click the Browse button to locate the PCUnlocker ISO image file, then click the Start Burn button to make a PCUnlocker Live CD or USB drive.
   

Part 2: Boot from PCUnlocker Live CD/USB

1. Insert your burned CD (or USB drive) into the physical computer that your VHD file is stored on.
2. Turn on the computer and check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
3. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to CDROM if you've created a Live CD, or set 1st Boot Device to Removable Device if a USB drive was created.
   
4. Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer should boot from PCUnlocker Live CD/USB.

Part 3: Reset Windows Azure VM Password

1. If everything goes as expected, the computer will load the WinPE OS from the Live CD/USB drive, and eventually take you to the PCUnlocker program.
2. Click on the Options button, and then select Mount Virtual Drive from the drop-down menu. When the file open dialog appears, locate your VHD file and click Open.
   
3. After mounting the VHD file, click on the Browse button to choose the SAM registry file for the Windows system installed on your virtual drive. The program will list all your Windows accounts.
   
   
4. Choose the administrator account and click on Reset Password button. It will unlock / remove your forgotten password immediately.
5. Click Restart and remove the CD or USB drive, your computer will dismount the virtual hard disk and restart. Now you've successfully reset lost Windows Azure VM password!

Microsoft Surface Pro 3: Lost Windows 8.1 Administrator Password

 Can't log in with your administrator account because you can't remember the password? How to recover or reset Surface Pro password if you don't have a reset disk? Surface Pro 3 uses the latest UEFI firmware instead of legacy BIOS. To reset the lost password, we need to use an UEFI bootable utility - PCUnlocker, which supports both UEFI booting and password resetting for local/Microsoft account. Here's how to reset lost Windows 8.1 admin password on Surface Pro 3.

How to Reset Windows 8.1 Admin Password on Surface Pro 3?

To get PCUnlocker to work, you need to use a spare PC to download the Enterprise edition of PCUnlocker which comes as a self-extracting ZIP file. Unzip the downloaded file and you'll get a CD image called pcunlocker.iso.

Burn the ISO image to your USB flash drive using the freeware ISO2Disc. Remember to choose the GPT partition style, because MBR-based bootdisk is unable to boot with UEFI mode.



Once you've create a PCUnlocker Live USB drive, insert it into the USB port of your Surface Pro 3 tablet. Make sure your tablet is powered off at this point. Press and hold the volume-down button (on the left side of your tablet), then press and release the Power button (on the top). When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down button. Surface will boot from your USB drive.

After loading the Windows 8 PE from the USB drive, you'll be taken to the PCUnlocker program. It shows you a list of local accounts that is extracted from your Windows 8.1 SAM registry hive. If you use an email account for signing into your tablet, you can see your email address in the "Description" column of the associated local account.



Select the administrator account and click on Reset Password button. It will bypass / reset your forgotten login password in no time. If you've chosen the local account associated with your email address, the program will assign a new password for your Microsoft account login (Note: this new password can be used to log on your tablet locally).

Now you've successfully bypassed Surface Pro 3 password. Restart the computer and disconnect the USB drive, you can then log on your Surface without a password!