If you have been using a computer for any amount of time you have no doubt forgotten a Windows 7 password or two and have had to have it reset or recovered from you administrator at the office.  With the increase of security on home computers Windows 7 now by default requires you to have a Windows password for the administrator account.  If you forget or lose this at home there is no help desk to call unless you have a relative that does computer work, which is what most of my “extended family” does when something happens.  In this case you are on you own, unless you want to pay a premium price to one of the “geek squad” out there to take care of it for you.  Instead of bothering your second cousin on your sister in laws side of the family or paying out the nose from some “expert” that couldn’t work anywhere but a big box store for technology, I will walk you through how to reset your Windows 7 password for free.

Free Windows 7 Password Reset & Recovery Tool

This utility is free but requires you to be able to make a bootable disk or USB. I’ll go through the utility and post instructions with a video.

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

This one has been around for awhile as it will work on versions of Windows all the way back to NT.  It currently supports Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 for reset and also has a registry editor with utilities for other things.  It works by booting from a CD that you create on another system or create before you forget your login!

In testing I had some issues in changing a lost Windows 7 password, but I was able to clear the users Windows password every time.  I would recommend clearing the password instead of trying to change it on Windows 7 at least.  That way on reboot Windows 7 will just login as that user and you can then set a new password through the windows user interface by selecting CTRL-ALT-DEL and then change password.

If your not comfortable working in a command line interface and would rather use a point and click program that will walk you through everything I recommend using Password Resetter.  My walk through will work perfectly but you have to be comfortable using a text interface and text commands.  For a small price you can use an easier windows interface.

I created a video where I reset the Windows 7 password using this tool but it is a little hard to see because I was using a virtual machine.  Ill do a quick walk through on how to use it.

1. Create a bootable CD from http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
2. Boot from the Bootable CD
3. First we select the disk where the windows system partition resides.  In the case of this demo it is the number 2 dislk, you can see the disks listed in the output.  I’m going to enter 2 and hit Enter
   
   
4. The next choice is to select the PATH to the windows system directory and registry.  The program will find what it thinks is the correct path and put it in for default.  Unless you know for sure this isn’t correct just hit Enter to accept the found path.
   
   
5. Next you will choose what part of the registry you want to work with, in this case we are going to go with “Password Reset” which is the SAM.  For this we select 1 and hit Enter
   
   
6. Now you will select “Edit User Data and Passwords” by typing 1 and Enter
   
   
7. Finally!  We now see a list of the users on this machine and whether they are an ADMIN or not.  Type in the user name you want to reset, in this case it is WS Training and hit Enter
   
   
   
8. You will now see all the information about this account that is in the SAM.  You have a few options here like including:
   Clear User Password – Always works for me
   Edit User Password – I have had iffy success with this
   Promote User – Makes them an administrator account
   Unlock & Enable User Account – In case you have locked out or disabled the account
   
   In this instance I am going to choose 1 for “Clear User Password” and hit Enter
   
   
9. You should see the message Password Cleared! and then it will ask if there is another user to reset.  If your done with recovery at this point then enter ! and hit Enter to quit.
   
   
10. Now you have to work your way out of the program just the way you came in.  Hit q to quit out and hit Enter
    
    
11. The program now lists the files that have changed and if it should make the changes permanent.  It is important to note that at this point you have been working with a copy of the account data and once you complete this step it will be saved to disk permanently.  Click Y and Enter
    
    
12. You should see a ***Edit Complete*** message to show that the password reset has been saved and then you can choose to run the program again or exit by hitting Enter.
    
    

Now you can restart your machine and let it boot into the OS.  You should be able to go straight to your desktop for the user that you removed the security for!  Congratulations on recovering your Windows 7 password and not having to reinstall your OS and lose your data.  You can now set your password again by hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL and choosing Change Password.  In your old password just leave it blank, and fill in your new password in the two text spots, then click OK.

Here is a video that walks your through the same steps above about you can see it live.

Windows 7 Password Reset & Recovery Video

Thanks for watching, I may cover other Windows 7 password recovery utilities as I need them but I have been able to use this one without a hitch for a long time.  If you have other favorites post them in the comments and Ill take a look at them!

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The original post is located at: Windows 7 Password Reset & Recovery – Free Option

If your reading this then chances are 100% your computer is hooked up to the Internet and more then likely has an IP address assigned to it. There are two ways that a TCP/IP address is assigned to a computer either Dynamically or manually with a Static method. These are outlined below:

Dynamic: This address is assigned automagically through the wonders of Windows DHCP. This is the default setting that Windows tries to configure and the best method of connecting to an already configured network. When you have selected to enable WIndows DHCP your computer contacts a DHCP server on the network and asks for an IP address. If your at home the DHCP server will either be from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or if you have your own router it more then likely have a built in DHCP server. This is the easiest configuration you can get as everything will be done behind the scenes without intervention.

Static: If you don't have a DHCP server running or for another reason want to give your PC a specific address you will have to configure Windows  IP manually. Though it sounds scary it is quite easy to do once you know where you are going. Here is a short walk through:

1. Go to the Start Orb and click Control Panel. In the control panel click Network and Internet:
   
2. Now click on Network and Sharing Center:
   
3. In the Network and Sharing Center look along the left pane and click Manage Network Connections:
   
4. This will bring up a window with your Network Connections this will vary by computer and what is installed. In our example picture I have two network adapters installed, wired and wireless, of which the wired is disables so it is not receiving a IP address. My wireless network is active though and needs an IP address to function. Note that this procedure would not vary no matter what adapted your choose. In this case you need to right click on the adapter you want to configure. Choose Properties:
   

   If you are not logged in as an administrator you will get a UAC prompt, click Continue

5. You now will see the Network Adapter properties window that will have all the protocols and services attached to that network adapter. 99% of you as I am writing this article are still on IPv4 networks, compared to IPv6. If no one has told you different select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list of protocols and click Properties:
   
6. On the properties page you will set the button to Use the following IP address and then configure the following according to your network:
   • IP Address
   • Subnet Mask
   • Default Gateway
   • Preferred DNS
   • Alternate DNS

   
   

7. In almost all the cases all you have to do is hit Ok and you will be ready to go.

If you had clicked the Advanced buttons you would have options to setup multiple IP's, Gateways, DNS and WINS settings. These are advanced concepts that are beyond the scope of this article, and if those are required you are probably beyond the scope of this article also

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The original post is located at: Enable Windows DHCP & Configure Static TCP / IP

It looks like one of the biggest gripes that people had against Vista was the fact it was very resource intensive.  I am a firm believer that this was a misconception on the part of many based on the way that Vista handled memory differently then XP did.  As unfair as it may be though perception is the reality and I believe Microsoft has seen that even if it is unfair.  As of this writing for the Beta build 7000 the requirements are:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 16 GB of available disk space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive
• Internet access (to download the Beta and get updates)

Those are very similar to what was recommended for Vista and we know what kind of outcry went out in the world over performance even if it was slightly off mark.  So I wanted to see out of the box what the memory footprint was for each OS, nothing too scientific, just right after install I went into Task Manager and grabbed a shot of what the memory was at.  First up is Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, again right after basic install:

As you can see it is sitting ~471MB, which is at 43% of available memory.  Not too bad...

Lets see what Windows 7 Ultimate install is at right after startup :

Windows 7 is at ~295MB so that is at 25% of available memory which is a pretty significant difference from Vista without any tweaking.  It looks like at least so far into this Beta build 7000 they have indeed listened to the Vista criticism and responded. While I don't think the Vista build was ever that sluggish on my laptop, I won't complain about a slimmer operating system.

Go ahead and switch that Vista system over, if you have lost your password I am confident my article on Windows 7 Password Reset will work with Windows Vista also!

You should go ahead and give it a try!

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The original post is located at: Windows 7 System Requirements

For those of you looking past Vista already you will have taken one step closer this week to realizing that dream with the release of the Windows 7 Beta to the public.  Though it doesn't look all that different from Vista there is quite a bit of improvement and some new features that should hopefully convert the Vista haters back to the Microsoft fold.  Before we begin lets start with the requirements needed to run Windows 7 Beta:

• Processor: 1Ghz 32-bit or 64-bit
• Memory: 1GB of System Memory
• Hard Drive: 16GB of available disk space
• Video Card: Support of DirectX 9 (Aero compatibility requires 128MB)
• Drive: DVD-R/W
• Internet: Required for updates

Pretty light requirements so this should run well on most systems.  I am seeing reports on Twitter that while running it is taking much less memory than Vista did, though I haven't been able to take benchmarks yet myself.  Now that you know you have the right amount of hardware you need to go ahead and download the Windows 7 Beta software.  You can download the version you want from the link below:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx (Note: You will need to sign in with a Windows Live account)

Once you choose the version you want and fill out their contact form you will also receive a serial number, make sure you note that down for later.  After you download the Windows 7 ISO if you aren't going to be testing using a virtual machine you will need to burn it to a DVD.  I wont go into to how to burn an ISO, because frankly if you don't know how you probably shouldn't be messing around with this beta.

WARNING!

This is a BETA you should not be installing this on a production machine or any other machine you care about the data.  Even if you do get it up and running as your primary machine remember this version expires on AUGUST 9th 2009 and you WILL NOT be able to upgrade to the RTM version from the beta so the machine will require a clean install when it is released. Whatever you choose to do BACKUP everything and don’t cry to me if you lose data... really... I won't be able to help you...

Note: If you are reinstalling because of a lost password you can use my article on Windows 7 Password Reset to recover your password.

Installing Windows 7 Beta

1) Go ahead and boot from your ISO and after a few seconds you should see the following screen:

Choose your settings from the drop down menu and click on Next to move forward.

2) Much like the Windows Vista & Server 2008 install at this point you have the big option of Install Now which you should click now to start the install.

3) You will see setup start then you will be presented with the licensing agreement you will need to accept by placing a check next to I accept the license terms

4) On the next screen you get the following options:

Upgrade: Upgrade to a newer version of Windows and keep your files, settings, and programs

Custom(advanced): Install a new copy of Windows

For this demo I am going to do a clean install so I am going to choose Custom, because per my warning above you shouldn't be installing this on your primary machine.

5) Now we come to the disk options, as you can see I have an unformatted 16GB hard drive available for use.  In this screen shot I have already clicked the Disk(advanced) button so that is why you see options that you might not see right away.  I am not going to do anything here but use the 16GB, but if you wanted you could create a system and data drive or if you had multiple drives choose where you want to install the Windows 7 OS.  Again I am not going to go into this in too much depth because if you are going to play with this Beta you should now how to manage your disk drives.  Choose the drive you want to use and select Next.

6) At this point your install will start and you can monitor its progress

As you can see after it finished it does a restart, when it comes back up it will finish the install

7) Once it completes the installation you will be asked for the following:

Name: I am going to use Dave but feel free to use your own

Computer Name: Again, feel free to use something different from mine

Once you enter your value click on Next

Next comes to the security portion of the install.  You will be asked for the following:

Password: Like I would tell you guys!

Retype your password: Good try but I'm not giving it up!

Password Hint: Put in a hint that will point you to your password

After you input your information click Next

9) Hopefully you saved your license key from when you downloaded the beta software because now is the time to use it!  Go ahead and place your key where provided, then choose if you want it to activate when you are online next.

When you are done click on Next.

10) The next thing you need to configure is how you want to deal with updates.  There are several options:

Use recommended settings: Handle everything the Microsoft way and send info home when things go bad

Install important updates only: Only install security updates and other important updates

Ask me later: Go it alone in the cold cruel world... leave you open to possible exploits as you won't get security patches as vulnerabilities are discovered

For this demo I am going to choose Use recommended settings, go ahead and choose yours

11) Ok, on to setting the time and time zone.  Choose your time zone from the drop down menu, then set the correct time and click Next.

12) The next option is to set the type of network you are connected to.  Since I am working off my home network, I am going to choose Home Network. The options you have are:

Home Network: You can participate in a homegroup and see other computers on the network

Work Network: You can not participate in a homegroup, but you can see other computers on the network

Public Network: You can not participate in a homegroup or access other computers on the network.  This is a setting you would use at your public Wifi spot at the coffee shop to keep the local hackers out of your computer.

Select your network type to continue.

13) Since I selected Home Network I am now being given an option to start a homegroup.  In this case I do not need that so I am going to select Skip. (Never fear, if you need homegroup info I will be covering that in an upcoming article.)

14) You will now see Windows 7 finalizing your installation

That's it!  Congratulations and enjoy your Windows 7 Beta experience!

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The original post is located at: Install Windows 7 Beta