Windows Vista Locked Out Of Administrator Account

Back in the days of Windows XP IT administrators could disable the local administrator account on domain joined computers but still be able to use the account if they. This Is Fully Made By Me . Edited And Recorded, Music Not By Me

Windows 7 OEM – Applying OEM System Locked Preinstallation Activation – The Unofficial Windows 1. Reinstallation Guide. Microsoft Code of Authencity – Windows XP OEM, Windows Vista OEM and Windows 7 OEMFor systems shipped with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 a Code of Authenticity (COA) with a 2. There was a change in print quality of the COA when Windows Vista was released which made the COA prone to fading. As a consequence for most Windows 7 systems the COA was Placed in the Battery Compartments of Laptops to Reduce the Problem of Fading. What is Original Equipment Manufacturer System Locked Preinstallation Activation?

Examples of Microsoft’s Major Partner Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) are: Alienware/Dell. Lenovo/IBMHP/Compaq. ASUSAcer. Samsung. Sony. Toshiba. MSIFujitsu. Microsoft Major Partner OEMs preinstalled Windows 7 on millions of machines.

In order to save production time these Major OEM licenses utilised a BIOS based activation mechanism and as a consequence the key on the COA is typically not used for Windows Installation. The system BIOS of Windows 7 OEM will contain a SLIC of version 2. Microsoft’s Minor OEMs are small scale OEMs that sell a low volume of machines.

These licenses known as Commercial OEMs do not apply OEM System Locked Preinstallation. Motherboards with Commercial OEM Licenses will not contain a SLIC. The conventional activation mechanism (using the key on the COA) would have required the OEM to input a unique 2. Microsoft for every single machine they made. Instead OEM System Locked Preinstallation is applied: Instead of using this unique 2. COA for installation an OEM System Locked Preinstallation (SLP) Key is input by Dell Branded Reinstallation Media.

In essence the System Locked Preinstallation (SLP) Key must match up to the System License Internal Code (SLIC) incorporated in the systems BIOS for System Locked Preinstallation (which is automatic offline Product Activation) to be applied. This means you can still use OEM SLP to activate Windows 7 OEM even if your COA has Faded. Windows 7 Pro OEM SLP can also be used for Downgrade Rights from Windows 1. Pro or Windows 8. Pro. SLIC Version: Version 2.

Forgetting your computer password is scary, but you still have options. Here are three easy methods to reset your Windows administrator password and get back into. Open Windows if you're locked out. Perform the following actions if you're locked out by the activation timer. If you aren't locked out, skip to the next step. Enable Administrator account OR Reset Admin account password Offline in Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista. In a previous article we explained how to enable the.

Eligible for Windows 7 OEM System Locked Preinstallation. Version 2. 0 – Eligible for Windows Vista OEM System Locked Preinstallation. Version 1. 0 – Eligible for Windows XP OEM System Locked Preinstallation. This means that one may Clean Install Windows 7 OEM on systems that have faded COAs: It also means one may exhibit Downgrade Rights to Windows 7 Pro without a Windows 7 Pro Product Key: A SLIC version of 2. Windows 7 OEM SLP.

To determine your SLIC launch RW- Everything and select Access . You are interested in 2 fields: In this case the OEM is Dell and the SLIC Version is 2. The example I used was from a Dell Latitude 7. Windows 8. 1 Pro.

It doesn’t have a Windows 7 Pro COA but is eligible to run Windows 7 Pro using OEM Downgrade Rights. An Inspiron 7. 34. Windows 8. 1 (Home) and hence doesn’t have any OEM downgrade rights. It has no SLIC tab and hence Windows 7 cannot be activated by use of OEM SLP.

Systems sold with Windows Vista OEM in the period of 6 months before the release of Windows 7 may have an SMBIOS of 2. SLIC version of 2. The latest BIOS update won’t change the SMBIOS which will remain at 2. SLIC version to 2. In testing the SLIC seems not to be Edition specific. To be licensed correctly you should match the Edition on the Windows Vista/Windows 7 COA.

System Locked Preinstallation Key and Product ID List. One can check the Product ID and Activation status in system (go to Start, Right Click Computer and Select Properties). If it contains OEM- 8. Windows 7) or OEM- 7. Windows Vista) then it is activated using OEM- SLP: The SLP keys and Product IDs are generic every single Dell system shipped with Windows 7 Pro OEM will have the Product Key 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 71- 0.

The SLP key associated with this is 3. KD2- K9. CTF- M3. DJT- 4. J3. WC- 7. WD. This Product Key can only be used for OEM SLP and cannot be used for conventional activation. If Windows 7 has been activated by the 2. Digit Product Key on the COA the Product ID will contain OEM but not 8.

One should verify whether a SLIC exists in the system BIOS or not. Installation Media. Major OEM Installation Media e. Select skip: This will install Windows 7 without a Product Key allowing a 3.

One can check the Product ID and Activation status in system (go to Start, Right Click Computer and Select Properties). They should see that Windows 7 is not activated. OEM Cert Collection. To activate using OEM SLP download the OEM cert collection: http: //en. Windows 7 should be activated using OEM SLP: Legacy Guide.

In the past I used to recommend the use of the ABR program to apply OEM SLP. However one had to use ABR to backup their cert files from their old installation (requires pre- planning thats not always possible) or alternatively download the SLP certs and the ABR program separately then copy the SLP certs to the correct folder making the process look more complex than it ought to be. Contents. What is the Activation Backup and Recovery Program? OEM system locked preinstallation keys cannot be used in the traditional manner. The backup procedure obtains the OEM cert file and OEM SLP key in text form however because the cert file files are in mass circulation e.

If the cert file and OEM SLP key is used on an illegal system you will be given 9 days to input a valid product key. This tool is useful if there is a product activation issue and Dell/HP OEM SLP needs to be reapplied without reinstallation or if one has a Retail Installation DVD. Download Links and System Locked Preinstallation Keys. Most major OEMs are supported with this collection: Alienware/Dell. Lenovo/IBMHP/Compaq. ASUSAcer. Samsung.

Sony. Toshiba. MSIFujitsu. These were obtained from here which covers a few more less common major OEMs. Restore. Download ABRbeta (Windows 7) and the Activation Files.

The following steps may look a bit more complicated than they actually are. Essentially all you are doing is extracting two folders. One has two programs activation.

The cert and product key files must be copied to this extracted folder so the activation. Next snap downloads to the left. Extract ABRbeta. exe (Windows 7) or ABR. Windows Vista) by double clicking it. Accept the warnings to run it. Again select the default location of downloads and select extract. You will now have a folder called ABR, open it to the left and open the ABR activation files to the right.

Activation- Restore. Select your version of Windows.

I will use Professional as an example. Move the backup- cert. Xr. ML and backup- key. ABR folder. Once these files are copied across run activation- restore. It will input the Major OEM SLP key from the backup- key.

Xr. ML to activate Windows Vista or Windows 7. Note: You may be prompted to continue press . Windows 7 should be activated in the exact same manner as the OEM factory install.

The rest of this guide is just additional information. The ABR backup will not work for a system without such a product ID. Download ABRbeta (Windows 7) or ABR (Windows Vista). Extract ABRbeta. exe (Windows 7) or ABR.

Windows Vista) by double clicking it. Accept the warnings to run it. Select the default location to extract. This will extract to an ABR folder, open it. Launch the activation. These can be used later to restore your OEM product activation. If you have the cert file for any OEM thats not Dell or HP you may add the files to a zip file and save this to One.

Drive and share it in the comments section. It can help other users with Vista or 7 from your OEM which wish to clean install and whose hard drive or installation has failed and have no recovery media. Ineligible System Example Test. This is just a demonstration to show that the Activation Backup Recovery program or Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD won’t work on ineligible systems.

A Dell Latitude D8. Vista Business COA in this test. It has a genuine Windows 7 Upgrade license and was later activated using it. This system was only sold by Dell with Windows XP and Windows Vista, hence the latest BIOS revision only has markers for Windows XP and Windows Vista. If one tries installing with a Dell Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD or using the ABR files for Windows 7 which mimic the activation mechanism of the Reinstallation DVD on this system, Windows 7 will not activate.

Instead you will get a 9 days until automatic activation as shown below. When you click to activate now you will be unable to activate with the Dell SLP key and will be prompted to enter another product key. After 9 days you will get: Dell OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs. Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here): Windows Vista Home Basic xxxxx- OEM- 7.

Windows Vista Home Premium xxxxx- OEM- 7. Windows Vista Business xxxxx- OEM- 7. Windows Vista Ultimate xxxxx- OEM- 7. Windows 7 Starter 0. OEM - 8. 99. 27. 07- 0.

Windows 7 Home Basic 0. OEM- 8. 99. 27. 52- 5.

Windows 7 Home Premium 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 87- 0. Windows 7 Professional 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 71- 0. Windows 7 Ultimate 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 62- 0.

SLP keys are: Windows Vista Home Basic 3. YMR2- WMV4. 9- 4.

WD8. X- M9. WM7- CH4. CGWindows Vista Home Premium 4. GPTT- 6. RYC4- F4. GJK- KG7. 7H- B9.

HD2. Windows Vista Business 3. Y7- 4. 9YMQ- VRCTY- 3. V3. RH- WRMG7. Windows Vista Ultimate 2. QBP3- 2. 89. MF- 9.

X- 3. 7XGX- 2. 4W6. PWindows 7 Starter 3. Q3. Y- BBT8. 4- MGJ3. H- FT7. VD- FG7. 2JWindows 7 Home Basic 3. T8. 8- RT7. C6- R3. TQ- RV8. M9- WWTCYWindows 7 Home Premium 6. RBBT- F8. VPQ- QCPVQ- KHRB8- RMV8.

Windows 7 Professional 3. KD2- K9. CTF- M3. DJT- 4. J3. WC- 7. WDWindows 7 Ultimate 3. DG- 6. YJR8- X9. 2GV- V7. DCV- P4. K2. 7Alienware OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs. Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here): Windows 7 Home Premium 0.

OEM- 8. 99. 26. 87- 0. Windows 7 Professional 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 71- 0. Windows 7 Ultimate 0. OEM- 8. 99. 26. 62- 0. Windows 7 Ultimate 0.

OEM- 8. 99. 26. 62- 0.

Reset Windows 7 / 8 administrator password – 4sysops. No worries if you forgot the admin password. Here are 1. 2 ways to reset the Windows administrator password on Windows 8. Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP. Rest assured, one way will work for you. Michael Pietroforte is the founder and editor of 4sysops. He is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) with more than 3.

IT management and system administration. Latest posts by Michael Pietroforte (see all)In this article, I describe 1. Windows 8, Windows 8.

Windows 7, Vista, or Windows XP. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you use the right procedure for your situation. If you forgot the admin password and have no other account with administrator rights, things can get tricky. The methods and free tools explained here can reset the Windows password for all Windows versions—that is, for Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2.

Windows Server 2. Windows Server 2. R2. In this article I only talk about the Windows client editions, but the methods also work for the corresponding server versions. The methods described here are not for resetting lost domain administrator passwords. As system administrator, you are usually confronted with this problem if users have admin rights on their machines. Even if you don't have to reset a password now, you should get acquainted with this issue. Rest assured that sooner or later a user will bug you with this problem.

I must admit that I managed to forget my password more than once. Note that I published this article a few years ago, but since then I updated it several times and added a few new methods. Not much of the original article is left except the numerous comments below. As you can see, forgetting the Windows password is a common problem. Use your password reset disk to recover the Windows password ^Vista and Windows 7 allow you to create a password reset disk, which enables you to reset your password without much hassle. The problem with this option is that you have to create the reset disk before the password is lost. Thus if you don't have a password reset disk, this option is not for you.

You can find a description of how to create a password reset disk here. Restore Windows 7 or Windows 8 to a previous state ^If you configured a new password recently and can still remember the password you used before, then you can restore Windows to a point in time before you changed the password. The Restore function of Windows 7 and Windows Vista will make sure that you don't lose personal data. However, programs that have been installed since the corresponding restore point have to be installed again. All you need for this procedure is a Windows 7 or Windows Vista setup DVD.

A detailed description of this method can be found here. If you are uncertain what System Restore is doing with your computer, read this first. This approach doesn't work with Windows XP. Boot up Windows XP in Safe Mode and log on with the built- in administrator account ^When you installed Windows XP, you had to set a password for the Administrator account. If you still know this password, you can boot up in Safe Mode (by pressing F8 when your computer starts) and log on with the Administrator account. Read this Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information about Safe Mode. Note that whenever you reset the password for a user using another account, this user will no longer be able to access files that have been encrypted with EFS (Encrypted File System).

Stored credentials in the Windows Vault and Internet Explorer will also no longer be available. This method doesn't work in Vista and Windows 7 because the administrator account is disabled by default in Safe Mode with these Windows versions. Below you will learn how to enable the built- in admin account in Windows 7 and Vista. Reset Windows 7 administrator password with the Sticky Keys trick ^The Sticky Keys trick to restore a forgotten administrator password is a reliable way to reset a Windows 7 administrator password , and does not require third- party software. All you have to do is boot up from a Windows 7 or Windows Vista setup DVD, launch the Windows Recovery Environment (RE), and then replace the sethc.

You can also use this method for Windows XP, but you have to use a Windows 8 or Windows  7 DVD. This is the corresponding guide for Windows 8 users. Reset Windows 8 administrator password ^The Sticky Keys trick also works with Windows 8 and Windows 8. This guide is for Windows 8. Change Windows password on servers with the Utility Manager tick ^I wrote a new guide that uses the Utility Manager trick to change a Windows password. The text is for resetting a forgotten domain admin password.

However, the trick also works for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8. Windows Server 2. R2, and Windows Server 2. R2. If you have problems with Sticky Keys trick, you might want to try Utility Manager trick which works in a similar way. Reset Windows 8. 1 password with the free ntpasswd tool ^The downside of this option is that you have to create a password reset CD first.

Then you can boot up with this CD and manipulate the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. Please note that resetting the password with third- party tools can also cause data loss as described in option 4. Also note that this tool comes without any warranty. However, I've been using it quite a few times and never had any problem with it. The latest version also supports Windows Vista and Windows 7. The advantage of this method is that it is quick if you already have the password CD in your tool box. Thus it is useful for admins who have to perform this procedure often.

In all other cases I recommend option 4. Follow the new step- by- step guide for Windows 8.

Offline enable the built- in administrator account in Windows 7 and Vista ^This method is useful if no other user account on this machine has administrator privileges. You also need a Windows setup DVD (Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8). With this DVD you can boot up Windows RE and edit the Registry to offline enable the built- in administrator account. Also read my article about the offline Registry editor if you don't know how to edit the Registry in offline mode. After you enable the built- in Administrator, you can log on with this account without requiring a password and then reset the Windows password of any user account. Use the free Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) to recover the admin password ^The Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) is a troubleshooting solution that belongs in every admin's tool box.

Please read my review of the Trinity Rescue Kit for more information. This great tool allows you to reset the password of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

It works similar to ntpasswd. After you have booted up with the TRK CD, you have to enter the command winpass - u user. Sometimes setting a new password doesn't work; in this case, just set an empty password. Use the free Kon- Boot tool to remove Windows passwords ^I reviewed the free Kon- Boot tool a few days ago, and I can't really recommend it because it crashed two Windows 7 installations during my test.

I mention this free password reset tool here for the sake of completeness and because it is quite famous. Its main advantage is that it is very quick. You only have to boot up from the Kon- Boot CD and the tool will do the rest for you. It changes the contents of the Windows kernel on the fly while booting allowing you to log on without password. Thus the tool doesn't change the SAM database. If you reboot again without using Kon- Boot you need the old passwords.

Update: The tool not free anymore. Use the free NTPWEdit tool to reset the Windows password ^Especially if your computer doesn't have a CD or DVD drive, you have to create a bootable Windows USB flash drive and then you can use the free Windows password reset tool NTPWEdit. Don't forget to add NTPWEdit to the USB stick before you boot up. Use Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset to reset the administrator password ^MSDa. RT is a toolset from Microsoft that allows you to repair a Windows installation.

This tool is only available for Microsoft volume customers, Tech. Net Plus subscribers, and MSDN subscribers.

You can easily recover an admin password with its Locksmith tool. Please check out my review about MSDa. RT for more information. Get a commercial password reset tool ^Many commercial tools are available that allow you to reset the Windows administrator password. Technically, they do the same as the free tools.

Some of them might be easier to use or come with better instructions than the free tools. But before you spend money, I recommend trying the other options I described in this article. I don't want to recommend a particular tool here.

However, I would prefer a tool where the vendor offers support in case you run into problems. Be careful—there are many black sheep exploiting desperate people by selling overpriced tools. Reinstall Windows ^This might sound like a joke, but in some cases this is the best method. For instance, if you don't want to lose your EFS- encrypted files or stored credentials by resetting your password, but you desperately need the computer, you can just install Windows a second time. You will have access to all the files of the previous installation. Just make sure that you don't overwrite the original Windows installation during the Windows setup.

This allows you to boot up the original Windows installation at a later time. I am sure you will remember your forgotten Windows password sooner or later. As to my own experience, the old password will pop up in your mind right after you finish the installation and go to configure your new administrator password. Please let me know in a comment below if you've heard of another option for resetting the Windows password. Take part in our competition and win $1.