How to Unlock Lost Windows 8 Password for Local Account or Windows Live ID

Forgot the password of your Windows 8 Local or Microsoft account (formerly Windows Live ID)? Can't login to Windows 8 with Live account password? There's a way to unlock Windows 8 password and it doesn't involve reformatting and reinstalling Windows. The solution is called PCUnlocker, which allows you to reset lost Windows 8 password for both local account and Windows Live ID. Using the following guide, you can unlock Windows 8 password on any laptop/desktop/netbook/tablet PC in 3 simple steps. Here's how:

Part 1: Create a Bootable CD or USB Drive

1. Download the self-extracting .zip archive of PCUnlocker using any computer you still have full access to. Unzip it and you'll get the pcunlocker.iso file, which contains a WinPE operating system along with the PCUnlocker software for you to unlock Windows 8 password.
2. Use the freeware ISO2Disc to burn the ISO image file to a blank CD or USB flash drive.
   

Part 2: Change BIOS Settings

1. Once you've completed the above steps, put in the CD into the optical drive or plug in the USB drive into the computer you want to unlock the password for.
2. Turn on the computer. When it is powered on, 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 so you can boot from the CD, or choose Removable Device if you want to boot off a USB flash drive.
4. Press F10 to save your changes.

Part 3: Unlock Windows 8 Password

1. Boot your locked computer from the CD or USB drive, and you'll see the main interface of the PCUnlocker application immediately.
2. The application automatically locates all user accounts inside the SAM registry file of your Windows 8 installation. If you use a Microsoft account to sign into your Windows 8 system, there should be a local account associated with your Microsoft account (Windows Live ID).
   
3. Select a local account from the list, and click the Reset Password button. It will reset your forgotten Windows 8 password instantly. To unlock a Microsoft account password, you need to choose the local account associated with your Windows Live ID.
4. Click the Restart button to reboot the computer and remove the CD or USB drive. You can then log back into Windows 8 system with a blank password.

That's it – you have successfully unlock your Windows 8 password!

5 Options to Reset Windows 8 Password

"With the increase of security on home computers Windows 8 now by default requires users to have a password for the administrator account. Unfortunately, I forget the password today. Need I to do the windows 8 password reset? How? I do not want to reinstall the windows 8 system."

Believe it or not, there'll be many people annoyed by a forgotten Windows 8 password once this new operating system comes out, just as the present Windows 7 users. So if you forgot Windows 8 password, what will do to remove or reset the password? In this article, I describe 5 ways for resetting Windows 8 password. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you use the right method for your situation.

Method 1: Windows Password Hint

When setting a Windows password on Windows 8, you are able to create a hint to help you remember the lost or forgotten Window password. Of course, the password hint will not appear until you input a wrong Windows password. With the help of hint, you can easily to remember the forgotten password.

 

Method 2: Use Password Reset Disk

You can easily create a password reset disk in Windows 8 if you can log on your computer. The password reset disk can help you reset Windows password when you forget Windows password. No need to worry about anything if you have a password reset disk. But in fact, many users forget to create a password reset disk before lost Windows password.

 

Method 3: Reset Windows Password by Another Available Admin Account

If you are able to log in your computer with built-in administrator account or other available admin account, Windows password reset can be very simple for you. After logging on computer, just click My Computer icon to select Manage to enter Computer Management screen, and then click Local Users and Groups folder and Users folder. All Windows accounts will be displayed for you. Right-click the account you want to edit and select Reset Password to reset your lost Windows password.

 

Method 4: Recover Windows Password with Ophcrack

Ophcrack is an open source Windows password recovery tool based on rainbow tables. The program contains the ability to import the hashes from a variety of formats, including dumping directly from the SAM files of Windows. It is claimed that these tables can crack 99.9% of alphanumeric passwords of up to 14 characters in usually a few minutes.

 

Method 5: Reset Windows Password by Third-party Software

With respect to get rid of forgotten Windows 8 password, you can still resort to Windows password recovery software to reset Windows 8 password.

1. Download the self-extracting Zip file of Reset Windows Password package.
2. Uncompress the package, there is a ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn it onto a CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
3. Boot your locked computer from the newly burned CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
4. Wait until the boot process is finished. When a window pops up with all your Windows accounts, select the target one to reset the password.
   

If you still don't know which method is appropriate for you, just take advantage of the Reset Windows Password utility. It's quite easy to use, even a computer newbie can use it to reset forgotten Windows 8 password in a few minutes. Good luck!