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FlynnArcher's avatar
FlynnArcher
Iron Contributor
Feb 04, 2026

Forgot Windows 7 password – how to access files without reinstalling?

Hi everyone, I have an old PC running Windows 7 and I completely forgot the password for the administrator account. This is the only account on the system, and I can't log in at all. I really don't w...
Mikaeliop's avatar
Mikaeliop
Iron Contributor
Feb 04, 2026

What comes to mind is Hiren’s BootCD PE, a free, all-in-one rescue toolkit built on Windows PE. It is widely used for system repair, data recovery, disk management, and password reset. With its built-in utilities, it can safely and efficiently reset Windows 7 passwords without data loss. It boots from a USB drive or CD, runs independently of the installed Windows operating system, and supports both BIOS and UEFI modes.

How to reset windows 7 password

  1. Download the official software ISO image and use third-party software to burn it to an 8GB or larger USB drive.

  2. Insert the USB drive into the locked Windows 7 computer. Select USB boot in the BIOS/UEFI settings to enter the PE desktop environment.

  3. Open the Password and Registry Tool on the PE desktop.

  4. Select the Windows 7 system partition and load the SAM registry file.

  5. Choose the user account requiring password reset.

  6. Click to clear the password or set a new one, then save modifications to the SAM database.

  7. Close the tool, safely remove the USB drive, and restart the computer.

Pros

  • Graphical Windows-style PE environment, more user-friendly than command-line tools.

  • Compatible with Windows 7/8/10/11 systems, supporting both BIOS/UEFI modes and GPT/MBR partitioning.

  • Requires no software installation; runs directly from bootable media.

Cons

  • Requires pre-creation of a bootable USB drive.
  • Does not support Microsoft accounts; restricted to local Windows accounts.
  • Certain older hardware may encounter driver compatibility issues within the PE environment.

 

 

 

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