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Solve : Old computer, old password from four years ago, we have a problem Houston!? |
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Answer» I am a 64 yr old retiree looking for input on how to fix my old Dell Vostro with Windows 7 installed. I put it away for a long time and now cant remember the password AND dont have any Win 7 disks. Suggestions? Please, no sarcasm needed. I am frustrated enough. Thank you for the work you do making these websites!Begin dictation. There are many computer technicians that know how to do this and perhaps you could locate one in your area that might to give you a hint. However, on this forum there is a policy in place to not help people with password problems. So I don't want to get in trouble with the administration of the forum by telling you how easy it is. But basically it involves putting your system up with another operating system that does not require a password the startup. Actually, you might want to install another operating system anyway. You could install Windows 10 off the USB stick and use it for several days before you have to get it activated. That would give you enough time to experiment with different ideas about how to get around the password problem. Or, you can copy any relevant data off of the computer and just GO ahead and use Windows 10 instead of Windows 7. I am 81 years old and find that using Windows 10 is not really all that hard. I can use Windows 7 if I want to, but I have become used to some of the peculiar things that Windows 10 does and find it is not so bad after all. You might be entitled to a free if you can find the license information you have for Windows 7. But that depends on some other things about your personal situation. If you have a candy That handicap that requires the use of the computer, I think Microsoft will let you upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 for free. I'm not sure that, maybe somebody else could. In my case, I have a LEGAL copies of both Windows 7 and Windows 10. End of dictation.If you want it to be as it was with Windows 7. You might be able to purchase the Recovery Media from Dell. Then wipe it clean and reinstall the OS and the bundleware that CAME with it from Dell. I have only had success with Windows XP and prior versions of Windows in gaining control over an installation with password lost. With Windows 7 and newer, its always been use a LINUX distro to boot the system up and be able to back up important data to an external storage device, and then wipe the hard drive clean and perform a clean install. If you have a computer that you can burn a Live Linux Distro to a DVD or make a Live Linux Bootable USB stick, you could then boot to Linux such as Linux Mint and then access the hard drive in the system to copy data that you might want to keep. Then when all important data is copied off of it wipe it clean and reinstall OS and drivers if not using the original recovery media from Dell.I'll try to give you a quick answer. In Windows 7, 8 and 10 there is a security weakness at the login screen. The weakness is with the accessibility features for people that have handicaps. What some have done this figured out a way to compromise these handicap features and find a way to get into the system without using a password. If you can get into the command prompt you can change the password using the net user command. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not supposed to tell people how to do this because it exposes a serious security weakness and all recent versions of Windows. However, it has been documented in some detail on YouTub and other sites. To prevent this, one must put a password into the BIOS, which is harder to circumvent. |
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