Forgot your Windows 7 password? Hey, that happens. We are supposed to make passwords very complicated so that they are hard to guess, but sometimes we make them so complicated that we forget them ourselves.
You are not alone, trust us. Fortunately, there are several ways to find that all-important Windows 7 login password that you have somehow forgotten.
Ashley Deleon ©Lifewire
We are going to work with the ideas one by one, starting with the easiest:
Use your Windows 7 password reset disk
Right now it’s time to use the Windows 7 password reset disk that you created. Congratulations for being proactive!
Chances are, though, most of you don’t have a Windows 7 password reset disk, either because you didn’t know the feature existed or because you never thought you’d actually forget your Windows 7 password.
Either way, once you come up with one of the other ideas below, be sure to go back to that link above and make one right away. This is you learning your lesson right now.
Have an administrator change your Windows 7 password for you
If other people have accounts on your computer, one of them may be set to administrator level access. Since users with administrator privileges can manage passwords for all Windows 7 users, this person will be able to change their Windows 7 password from their account.
Clearly, if you’re the only person with an account on your computer, which is probably the situation for many of you, then this trick isn’t going to do you any good.
Try to guess the Windows 7 password you forgot
Hey, don’t roll your eyes! You’d be surprised how often this works. Before we get into some high-tech password recovery methods, we recommend that you make an educated guess as to what your Windows 7 password might be.
Since most passwords, even the most complicated ones, are often inspired by the places, people, and things in our personal and professional lives, you may be able to jog your memory with a little effort.
Could your Windows 7 password have had something to do with:
- A favorite food?
- Your home or office address?
- A frequently dialed phone number?
- Something from your childhood?
- A favorite number or a set of numbers?
- Your name?
- The name of a friend, relative or pet?
- The birthday of a loved one?
- A location or name of the school?
- A combination of any of the above?
If you need more help remembering your Windows 7 password, see How to correctly guess your own password.
Reset Windows 7 password with this trick
Believe it or not, there is a way to reset your Windows 7 password with just the tools and software you already have at your disposal. This is a little trick that anyone can do. The worst thing you’ll ever have to do is boot from a disk or flash drive and use the command prompt multiple times.
See How to Reset a Windows 7 Password for a full tutorial.
Considering the fact that you probably don’t have a password reset disk or a second admin on your computer, and you probably already have a headache trying to remember your password settings, this trick will do the trick for you. most users.
Hack your Windows 7 account with a password recovery program
If you’ve tried to guess, there are no other users on your computer, the last trick didn’t work for some reason, and you’re sure you don’t have a Windows 7 password reset disk lying around, then it’s time to try something a little. more complicated.
Windows password recovery programs are software tools designed to recover or reset or remove Windows 7 password. Sometimes they can be difficult to use, but if you really have forgotten your Windows 7 password then you can also follow some simple instructions , there’s an excellent chance that one of these programs will get you back to Windows.
Still can’t find your Windows 7 password?
If you’ve tried all of the above and the Windows 7 password you lost really is gone forever, you’ll need to perform a clean install of Windows 7, a process that will erase everything on your computer.
It’s a drastic, and obviously destructive, step, but if you want to get your computer back, you’ll want to consider this option if all else has failed.
What to do after resetting your password
Forgetting your Windows 7 password and having to go through multiple steps to reset it is definitely not fun. Therefore, we recommend that you take advantage of all possible methods to avoid having to reset your Windows 7 password in the future.
In addition to the password reset disk method mentioned above, you can save your new Windows 7 password in a password manager. As long as you use one with mobile access, you can refer to the password manager app whenever you need to remember your Windows 7 password.
Something you can do instead is set your Windows 7 to automatically log you in every time your computer starts. This is definitely not ideal if security is a concern, because then anyone can get into your computer, but it saves you from having to remember your password.