There are a number of ways to break Windows 7 or 8 Admin passwords. The steps below show one of the methods. This method replaces the Sticky Key application with Windows CLI application. Sticky Keys is a feature which is enabled by default in Windows 7/8 machines. In the Windows logon screen, Sticky Key opens when you press the Shift key on your keyboard five times.
When the replacement is made, the CLI opens with elevated access rights (Administrator's rights) and therefore it allows for password re-set or creation of new users. Of course, it also allows you to set the new user as a local administrator of the computer.
What do we need:
- The Windows 7 or 8 computer which you want to break the password
- Ubuntu Live CD/USB Stick. The steps on how to create this media are given in the link below:
The steps:
- Switch on the computer with the Ubuntu CD/USB Stick inserted.
- From the BIOS, select the boot sequence so that you can boot from your CD/USB Stick.
- The computer boots in Ubuntu environment, and you will now have to look for the Sticky Keys application (sethc.exe)
- The file is typically in c:\windows\system32 folder. Create a copy of the file and rename it. You probably want to rename the copy as sethcbkp.exe.
- Delete sethc.exe.
- Now look for cmd.exe in the same folder. This is the command prompt application. You may now make a copy of cmd.exe and rename it as sethc.exe.
- You are done with the simple hack of replacing the Sticky Keys application with the command prompt application. Shut down your Ubuntu. The command line is sudo shutdown -h now
- Remove your Live CD/USB Stick.
- Start/Restart the computer.
- When the Windows logon screen appears, press the Shift key 5 times. This action will now open the Command Prompt. Notice that it has opened with the Administrator's rights.
- Enter the command below to reset the password;
- net user your_user_name new_password
- Type net user if you are not sure of the users available in the computer. This will list down the users.
- Once the new password has been set, you may now log on with the new password.
- If you want to create a new user (eg. username newuser and password newpass), then enter the command below
- net user /add newuser newpass
- Add the new user in the Local Admin group
- net localgroup administrators newuser /add
- You can now log on to the computer with the new user with Admin rights.
If you are an IT guy, you may want to prevent your users from changing the passwords. Follow the instructions available on Disability and Resources Educational Services page to enable/disable the Sticky Keys feature. You may want to ensure that there are no users with disabilities that would need the feature.
