Windows - How To Recover A Lost Password with Ubuntu

You no longer remember the password of your Windows session? Need to unlock a password-protected PC? The following tutorial describes a simple, yet effective method of changing your current Windows password that will help you regain access to your session. 

This tip is valid for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Windows 8 users. 

How To Reset Your Password in Ubuntu

Download and Burn Ubuntu onto a CD/DVD

The first step is to download and burn the Ubuntu disk image onto a CD or DVD. 

Boot from CD/DVD Drive

Insert the Ubuntu installation CD/DVD and start your computer. During startup, press Delete,F1 or F2 to access the BIOS. Once the BIOS setup utility opens, go to the Boot tab > Boot Device Priority. 

Drag the CD/DVD drive to the top of the list, and tap on F10 to save your settings. Press on Y (Yes) to confirm, and press Enter. 

Install chntpw

Once Ubuntu starts up, select your language settings, and click Try Ubuntu. Go to System >Administration > Synaptic Package Manager to open the package manager. Next, go toSettings > Repositories. Go to the Ubuntu Software tab > Downloadable from the Internetand tick the Community-maintained Open Source software - (universe) checkbox. Close theSettings menu. 

Click on the Reload button to update the packages. You will see a field called Quick Searchdisplayed at the top right. Type chntpw into the search box, and press Enter. The package will then be displayed. Click on the little star displayed on the left side of the package name, and selectMark to Install > Apply. 

Identify the System Drive

The next step is to locate the drive on which Windows is installed. 

Go to My Computer and search for the drive containing the Windows folder. Note the references of the selected drive. 

Delete Your Current Password

Go to Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Enter the following commands: 

cd /media

, followed by the Enter key. 

ls

, followed by the Enter key. 

A list of your hard disk drives will be displayed. Locate the system drive, and type cd xxxx . PressEnter. (Replace xxxx by the reference of the system drive). 

Next, type cd WINDOWS/system32/config and press Enter to move to the file that contains your passwords. 

Type sudo chntpw SAM -i, followed by Enter. Type 1 and then press Enter. 

A table with the names of all Windows users will be displayed. Move the RID column to retrieve the code for the desired user account. 

Type 0x followed by RID code of the user before and confirm with Enter. 

Type 1 and press Enter to erase the password for selected user. Once the operation has been carried out, press Enter to exit. 

Type Q to save all changes, followed by Enter to validate. 

Close all windows and restart your computer. Don't forget to remove the Ubuntu installation disk. 

You can now access your Windows session without any password requirement.

How to Change Your Local IP Address

Your Public IP address is what identifies your computer when you to connect to the internet. It is assigned by your ISP and depending on the type of service you have subscribed to, your public IP may remain the same (Static IP) or is periodically updated (Dynamic IP). Basically if you want to change your public IP then the only way is to get in touch with your ISP or use a proxy service such as Tuxler or Hotspot Shield to hide/spoof your IP address. 

Each computer also have the local IP address. The local IP which is also referred as Private IP address is used to identify computers on the local network (behind the same router) and it is managed by the operating system. If required, the local IP of a machine can be changed via the router settings (refer to the manual provided with the router or check on the manufacturer's website) or you can change it via the Windows Control Panel.

Refresh your IP

There exists a simple command in Windows to refresh your current IP, which can be useful to fix IP address conflicts when two computers present on the same DHCP network share the same IP. But it should be noted that this procedure generates a "random IP" (within the allowed range). 

Click on Start > Run > type cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt. Next, type ipconfig
 to view the current address. Type  ipconfig / release , followed by ipconfig / renew
. 

Change your local IP

Open the Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings > Network Connections. A list of known connection will be displayed (Ethernet or Wi-Fi). Right-click on the desired connection and select Properties from the contextual menu. Under This connection uses the following items select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) and then click onProperties: 

Select the Use the following IP address option instead of Obtain an IP automatically (default) and register the IP address (within the pool of acceptable IP addresses and which is not already in use by another computer), Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and DNS Server addresses:

Click on Apply > Ok.

Install Windows or Ubuntu from usb drive using Rufus

Rufus is one of the best and easiest programs for creating a bootable usb .

It can create a  windows 7/8 or even xp or ubuntu bootable usb drive very fast and very easy because of its defalt settings . Its execellent, fast and very practical .

You will need a usb drive (at least 4 gb ) and a windows or ubuntu iso file .

First download the rufus program from here , or you can download this archive:rufus_v1.4.3 .

There is no need to install it , just double click it and select yes or no for update search .

Now select your device volume label.

After that click the drive image to select the windows or ubuntu .iso file.

   

You dont need to make any changes, if its a windows .iso it will automatically select the NTFS file system and if it is a ubuntu it will switch to FAT32 .

Click start , a mesage will appear  saying that all of you usb data will be deleted and the usb formatted .

If you have any files on your usb now it is the last time you can backup them.

Click ok .

       

The program is very fast. It will require only about 4 minutes to finish, depending on the speed of your usb drive.

Click close .

ALL DONE .