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WIN 7 administrator password
Posted on Comment on the AskWoody Lounge- This topic has 293 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 2 weeks ago.
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I sent this question to Woody. He said he didn’t know the answer but someone else might.
I’m stuck and am hoping you can point me in a direction to get my little WIN 7 notebook going again.
I have been trying stuff since April when I downloaded the big update from Microsoft.
I have read everything I can find on Ask Woody. I have also downloaded and tried to use other things posted on the Internet.
I’m only trying to get one thing repaired…administrator password.
When I bought the little machine, it offered an option to create an administrator password. I chose not to do it. So, anytime I was installing or removing software and was asked for an administrator password, I hit “continue” and whatever was supposed to happen did.
The Microsoft update must have installed a password, but since I didn’t install it, I have no idea what it is.I have tried to take out the password they installed, but I have to have the password to get into command prompt. When I go to bios, the option to change the administrator password is locked.
I looked at chrome books. Most don’t seem to have USB ports and won’t run PowerPoint if I had one to plug in a jump drive with slide shows on it. I have about 25 years of PPT programs. Most of them are seldom used but are like an archive from which I can borrow slides and insert into current programs. Many are pretty large files.
If you can point me to help, I surely would appreciate it.
Edit to remove HTML. Please use the “Text” tab in the entry box when you copy/paste.
William Sharp
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My problem began shortly after I downloaded the monthly roll up in April (2018). The machine is a Toshiba NB505 with WIN 7 Pro. I am the only one that uses it. It is not part of a network. I use it to run PowerPoint presentations. I would like to sync it to my Google Drive account, but it wants an administrator password to permit the sync download.
I’m 74. I have limited computer skills. I can follow instructions pretty well.
William Sharp
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Most of the question pertains to the Windows Administrator-credentialed user logon, and I think that this is that for which you are requesting help.
But just to clarify: “When I go to bios, the option to change the administrator password is locked.” This is a different Administrator.
When I go to my BIOS Security tab there are two password fields that can be set.
An Administrator password permits one to lock out the possibility of changing these BIOS passwords. This is not related to an OS password.
A Power-On password permits one to require a password before the computer can be booted into an OS.The use of the unqualified word ‘Administrator’ is ambiguous. In a max-passwords scenario one would have at least three distinct passwords: BIOS Administrator, BIOS Power-On, OS (e.g., Windows) ‘Administrator’. In addition, each defined ‘standard’ user could have his own distinct password. (And, applications also may have password capabilities.)
“When I go to bios, the option to change the administrator password is locked.”
If this statement is as it appears to be, then the BIOS Administrator password has been set, and is a different challenge than the one you have concerning software installation.Are you the only one who uses the computer, or who does updating?
You may be able to log on to the built-in Administrator by booting into Safe mode.
A couple of Google search [ windows 7 safe mode administrator ] hits are:
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/102552-built-administrator-enable-winre.html
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/682-command-prompt-startup.html
Note that some information applies only for 32-bit systems.
Warning: Registry editing can be disastrous; get more-expert help if you are not comfortable.Concerning the BIOS Administrator password – what is the make/model of the computer?
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Bill, if you want to change the “Administrator” account’s password, you will need to be logged in on an account with administrator rights. Once you have done that, open File Explorer and right click on Computer, then choose Manage. Now click on Users and Groups, then Users. You will see the Administrator account listed there. Right-click on it, and then change the password. You can ignore the warnings that you will see.
Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 8.1 running in a VM -
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That’s because you are logging in with less than administrator rights. Is there an account on your computer that you can log on with that has administrator rights? For example, that account that it keeps prompting you for the password of.
Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 8.1 running in a VM1 user thanked author for this post.
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It sounds like your account is a Standard user account, not an Administrator.
(You may have a separate Administrator account on the machine.)Try this:
- Press Window key + R to bring up the Run window
Type lusrmgr.msc and hit enter (This should bring up Local Users and Groups) - On the left, click on the Users folder. In the middle, double click on your account which is probably your first name.
- Under the Member Of tab, are you a member of Administrators or Users?
If you are an Administrator, you can change the Administrator account password by going back to the Users > middle panel, right-clicking on Administrator, and choosing Set Password.
If your account is a User account, you cannot reset passwords. You also are then getting the UAC prompt because you are a User account but you’re trying to change things that require Admin privileges. You can either 1) change your user account to be an Administrator account (which has to be done with another Administrator account), or 2) you can try to use a rescue disc such as Hiren’s Boot CD to reset the password.
Download link: https://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/ (scroll down, the ISO link is next to Filename)
How-to: https://www.hirensbootcd.org/faq-items/resetting-windows-password/ - Press Window key + R to bring up the Run window
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@zero2dash @The-Surfing-Pensioner
Please be sure the solutions you are offering are legitimate. Woody doesn’t like to reference non-legit software on the blog
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The video does show a widely known legitimate solution (many web pages present this solution), yet it applies only to resetting a User’s login password (regardless of whether or not the User has only User rights or Admin rights. This is not Bill’s issue. Bill’s issue is that he needs to reset the Win7 Admin password, whereas Bill already can log in on his Win7 computer using his account which which only has User rights. This is the twist which Bill is presently encountering with his Toshiba laptop. Bill only has User rights after logging into Windows. Bill does not have Admin rights, and Bill has no idea what the Admin password is for Admin access on his Win7 Toshiba laptop computer.
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The password you see in the BIOS has NOTHING to do with the passwords required to log on to Windows. They are two different things. BIOS passwords belong ONLY t othe BIOS, Windows passwords belong only to Windows.
If one of the other Users is an Administer account, you can change passwirds with it. Log in with any account, go to Control Panel\User Accounts.\Manage Another Account. That will list the accounts on the computer. If any one is an Administer, use that one to change your password.
Log in with the account that is Admin. In the “run” box type “lusrmgr.msc” (without quotes). In the box that pops up, click on Users, then click on your ID. When it opens, on the “Member of” tab add Administrators. On the General tab (check boxes) be sure the account is not disabled or locked out, be sure to uncheck the box “User can’t change password, checl password never expires. Close the box. Right click on your ID and choose “Set password” (to something you know).
Reboot the computer and log in.
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We have something similar on some small form factor HP units as well.
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Take your computer and go to your local down-home computer shop. (You don’t want a big-box or boiler-plate shop; you want a computer technician.) Explain your problem. Have the computer shop set things to rights and explain to you what was done. Sometimes computer procedures just don’t fit through flat-print online computer explanations very well.
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I’m about ready to do that.
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@zero2dash @the-surfing-pensioner
Please be sure the solutions you are offering are legitimate. Woody doesn’t like to reference non-legit software on the blog
Understood – I’ve used Hiren’s BootCD in the past many times; it is legitimate, legal and free.
Also, from their About page:
https://www.hirensbootcd.org/about/
“Hiren’s BootCD PE does not contain any malicious software and it does not contain any pirated software. It includes only free, safe and legal software.”5 users thanked author for this post.
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I seem to recall when updating from win7 to win10, win10 really really wanted me to have a microsoft account. Since I had an old hotmail account (now outlook.com) I used that info to set up the account on the machine and set it to log in automatically. If you have a microsoft account of some sort you might try the credentials used for it.
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This can be accomplished with sticky keys. It’s a nice trick for those who are familiar with the cmd line. You will need a Win XP/7/10 disc. Lots of documentation on it if you google it. Once you have the sticky keys exploit in place, you can create an administrator account from the cmd line with the following commands:
net user /add [username] [password]
new localgroup administrators [username] /add
Group A | Windows 7 Pro 64-bit | Windows 10 Pro 1809 64-bit1 user thanked author for this post.
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My latest attempts to change the administrator password brought up a screen that told me that administrator is disabled. I can uncheck the box, but when I click apply, I’m getting a screen that tells me change can’t be made. Before the April 7 roll up, I sometimes saw a screen that told me I need administrator permission, but all I did was click continue and whatever I wanted to do…did. For anyone following this, I still need help
Hmm. Try this…
Go to Control Panel and double-click on Administrative Tools. Then double-click on Computer Management.
In Computer Management and in the left pane, click on Local Users and Groups to expand that group. Then click on Users.
Double-click on Administrator. The is the built-in Administrator account for Windows itself. In the Administrator Properties popup window, uncheck “User cannot change password” and “Account is disabled”. Make sure that “Password never expires remains checked. Hopefully the “Account is locked out” is not checked. If so, uncheck that.
Then click Apply and see what happens. Hopefully you were able to active the Win7’s Administrator account. If so, do the following:
Go back to Control Panel and double-click on User Accounts. The Administrator account should now be displayed along with your user account and the Guest account. Double-click on Administrator and see if you can either set a password, or change the password. As a user with non-admin rights, I am not sure if you will be able to do either. If you can set a password create a password which is at least 11 characters long and which consists of characters and digits, and at least one special character such as an asterisk. Write down the password first, before you set the password!
Assuming that you were able to enable the Administrator account and set a password, do the following…
Close everything, log off of Windows (don’t reboot), and log back in by clicking on the Administrator account icon and typing in the password. You should now be logged on as an Administrator.
Go back to Control Panel and double-click on User Accounts. Double-click on your user account so that you can make changes to your user account. Double-click on “Change the account type” and change your user account type to Administrator. Then change your account’s password, as described above, but don’t use the same password. Again, write down this password!
Assuming that you were able to change your user account to an administrator account and set a new password, do the following…
Close everything, log off of Windows (don’t reboot), and log back in by clicking on your account icon and typing in the new password for your user account. You should now be logged on as an Administrator. Go to Control Panel and then to User Accounts, and verify that your user account is now an administrator account.
IMPORTANT!!!!! Now we must disable the built-in Administrator account for Windows…
Go to Control Panel and double-click on Administrative Tools. Then double-click on Computer Management.
In Computer Management and in the left pane, click on Local Users and Groups to expand that group. Then click on Users.
Double-click on Administrator. Add a check mark for “Account is disabled” in order to disable the Administrator account. Click Apply and then click Okay.
Hopefully all of this will have resolved your issue.
Best regards,
–GTP
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Hi Bill,
At this point, it is seriously looking like your only solution is to reinstall Windows, and to avoid using Tohiba’s BIOS Windows password stuff for Windows in the future, as it appears that there is no other available solution.
SEPARATELY, A NOTE TO ALL: My company bought four identical laptop computers, in terms of actual hardware. All had identical BIOS versions. One of these four identical computers had Win7 installed, and the other three had Win8.1 installed. Here is the thing. Windows 8.1, forever and irreversibly changed the BIOS settings, such that it is impossible to make any of the three computers which came with Win 8.1 installed to show the same configurable BIOS settings which are shown in the hardware identical computer which came with Win 7 installed. I tried reflashing the BIOS with the same version which was present on the three laptops which had Windows 8.1 installed, yet after doing so, I can’t get these BIOSes to show the same configurable settings which are shown in the same identical hardware laptop which has Win7 installed.
The upshot is that it appears that Microsoft writes to, post Win7 and within the BIOS, areas in the BIOS which do not get reflashed even when reflashing using an OEM BIOS file.
This is just a heads up. Do your own research to verify my above comments.
Best regards.
–GTP
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Thanks to all of you who spent valuable time trying to get me reconnected to my administrator password. I still have not solved the problem but have become frustrated trying.
Perhaps my attitude will improve later and I will try again. Until then, thank you for trying to help me.
Bill
William Sharp
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You mention new Battery (main, I take it its a laptop) and a new CMOS battery. To reset CMOS the power Source normally (this includes main battery, Mains power supply and the CMOS Battery normally like a large watch Battery i.e. completely dead) has to be away from the CMOS strip to discharge fully. No you wont wipe it or “Brick” it but it should remove all user settings from the ROM CMOS etc you wont break them they are “Hard Wired” in there. There’s mention of “Short Circuit” that I caught skimming through this UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES TRY as larger Voltage spikes and or Electrostatic charges will fry or “Brick” the Machine. 30Secs is the Golden rule anything over is immaterial but hey it doesent hurt to try, if its a really older machine it may well have a Jumper on the Mother Board or on rare occasions a small reset button, that will do the same Job if its an OS time problem definitely go with @Microfix ‘s scenario (below).
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1. I gather that you are now at the point that you want to just ‘recover to original factory image’, and abandon all hope of retrieving all user data (except that which is on ‘Bub’).
Correct?2. You said that pressing zero during boot doesn’t work, because ‘administrator is disabled’. This statement is baffling, since Windows hasn’t yet been initiated, and couldn’t possibly be an inhibitor. BUT, if a BIOS Supervisor password has been set, that is a different matter.
(In 206158 you say: “I have tried to take out the [Windows Administrator] password they installed, but I have to have the password to get into command prompt. When I go to bios, the option to change the administrator password is locked.” Posts 206196, 206328, 206448 clarify that Windows passwords and BIOS passwords are distinct. I may be wrong – and despite several replies above that seem to accepts this – I do not believe that Toshiba stores any Operating System (Windows) password into the BIOS. What is confounding this whole matter is that a Toshiba utility, run from within Windows, supports the changing of BIOS passwords.)3. Reference 210819: Technically, the (Toshiba) Restore partition is not within the C: drive. The (only) physical hard drive has multiple partitions: C: drive; the Restore partition; and perhaps one or more partitions. Only the C: drive is visible, the others are normally hidden, but whose allocations can be seen IF one has the (Windows) Administrator password. (Catch-22 anyone?)
4. 210857: “I chose not to use an administrator password. It never had one … and may not now. After installing the download, all user passwords were gone.”
– “and may not now” – What? isn’t that what this whole thread is about?
– “all user passwords were gone” – Umm, no. Bub has no password. ‘Me’ now has a[n unknown] password. It is not clear if ‘my wife’s logon now has a password.5. I don’t see a succinct reply to Microfix‘s questions.
Please post the exact verbiage that is displayed when you do a Boot while holding the 0 (zero) key.1 user thanked author for this post.
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My current situation:
I am asked for a password as the machine powers on.
I have that so it goes to a screen showing names and icons of users.
If I click on my daughter’s icon, the program goes to her desktop screen without asking for a password. The others all require a password…that I don’t know, can’t guess.
I have followed the trail using lusrmgr.msc. The list of users are: administrators, Bub (daughter), Mary (wife), Bill Sharp, guest, homeusers. Under the “member of” tab, administrators, Mary, and Bill are all members of administrators. Bub is not a member of the administrators group. I have tried to add her (as well as me and my wife). I get a requests for a password. Administrators is disabled.
Recently the clock went back to the first day the machine was used. After that, I was denied access to the Internet because the clock was not correct (error message). All attempts to add, delete or changes any programs get an error message “access is denied.” I bought and installed new cmos and main batteries.
I have tried all the things suggested.,.particularly 206249, 206307, 206295, 206328, 206354, 206479, 206851, 207041 and 210968.
When I try holding down the 0 key during start up, nothing happens…no messages.
I just want to kill or replace the password.
William Sharp
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Please post the exact verbiage that is displayed when you do a Boot while holding the 0 (zero) key.
Please?
Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter
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I use 2 methods in such a situation, one is a relatively expensive Technicians program on a bootable CD that allow deleting passwords and the other is either a Bootable Linux DVD that has GPARTED or a Bootable GPARTED CD, both created from a downloaded .iso file to create the disc. GPARTED is great for deleting partitions on a drive, gives a clean media for installing an OS. The main issue is to have the install media available first, either an earlier version of Windows [Win7, 8 or 8.1] or using the MCT/Media Creation Tool to either create a Bootable USB drive or download an .iso file to create the Bootable install DVD. Be sure to get the same edition as in use, x86 or x64. After having created the install media the computer should complain about not finding an OS so insert one or the other and try again.
Should have mentioned, your problem can’t be resolved from the installed Windows which is the reason for other measures, the OS booted to can’t kill itself.
Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?" -
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I also found a program called iSumsoft Windows Password Refixer. See:
https://www.isumsoft.com/windows-7-password-refixer/
See this YouTube video about how to use the software:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM2ghRmUNac
The software appears to add an administrator account named iSumsoft. Then the user is supposed to set this account’s password to blank, and then reboot the computer. At that point, the user should then be able to set new passwords for the other accounts on the computer.
I do not know whether or not the above software contains any malware.
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Go to the bottom of reply while logged in and include your picture.
Remove your mail address; it’s unwise.
BetaTest {Got backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender TRV=1909 WuMgr
offline▸ Win10Pro 20H2.19042.685 x86 Atom N270 RAM2GB HDD WindowsDefender WuMgr GuineaPigVariant
online▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.746 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox85.0b9 WindowsDefender TRV=2004 WuMgr
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Hi Bill,
In BIOS, try typing in “Toshiba” without quotes for the BIOS administrator password. Note that this is case sensitive with a capital T and the other letters in lower case. If this doesn’t work, then try the methods shown in this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb0fGxT9VYU
If the above doesn’t work, then Bill is going to have to short the U contact on jumper J1.
Bill emailed me photos of his laptop back in September. Please see the attached photos. Bill’s laptop is a Toshiba NB505-N508BL. The User’s Guide for Bill’s laptop is here:
https://support.dynabook.com/support/modelHome?freeText=3043211&osId=3333616
Chapter 5 in the User’s Guide contains information about the password features in the BIOS.
The BIOS has a feature to store a Windows password such that the user never needs to type in a password when booting Windows. Like other BIOSes, the BIOS also supports setting both user and administrator passwords for the BIOS itself.
Bill does not know the administrator password for the BIOS. If he knew that, then he would have access to the BIOS setting for either setting a new Windows password in the BIOS, or for completely disabling this BIOS feature. If Toshiba is not the administrator password for the administrator level settings in the BIOS, then Bill is going to have to ground the U shaped contact on jumper J1 by following the procedure in the YouTube video which is linked further below.
Toshiba realized that it is possible for a user to become locked out of the administrator sections of the BIOS. So Toshiba provided a jumber pad, labeled as J1, for clearing all passwords in the BIOS. All that is needed is a thin strand of copper wire. Bill can get a thin strand of copper wire by cutting a cheap dollar store electrical extension cord and using needle nose pliers to extract a single strand of copper wire.
The procedure for shorting the U shaped contact on jumper J1 is shown in this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P516wdYnlYI
Best regards,
–GTP
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Bill,
If you format the drive and don’t have the activation key for windows 7, you would need to buy a windows 10 activation key. Image the drive before the format in case everything goes belly up.
This How-to Geek page
https://www.howtogeek.com/206329/how-to-find-your-lost-windows-or-office-product-keys/
has ways to discover the activation key for windows 7. Three quarters down the page “Find the Windows Key Without Any Software (Advanced Users Only)” uses a VBscript to read the key in plain text from the registry. If this gives you the 25 character key without “OEM” in it, the key should activate a clean install of windows 10.
Win 10 home - 20H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely1 user thanked author for this post.
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Given these two facts:
- You can’t boot from USB because there’s a BIOS password set that keeps you from changing the boot order…
- You can’t do an upgrade-in-place to Windows 10 because you don’t have access to an admin-level account
I can think of one way you can improve your situation without buying additional hardware or software, but you’ll need access to another computer and possibly a USB dock to accomplish it.
- Remove the hard drive from your laptop
- Using a USB dock, connect your hard drive to another PC or laptop that CAN be booted from USB or CD-Rom
- Boot that PC or laptop using one of the freely-available password-cracking utilities, then use that utility to reset/remove the password(s) of the admin accounts on your original laptop’s hard drive
- Power everything down, reinstall the hard drive in your original laptop, then boot it up and login using one of the newly-reset admin accounts.
- Make whatever OS choice you want as long as it can be downloaded and installed from a running Windows 7 session – you may be limited to Windows 10, but some Linux distributions may install in a similar fashion.
You won’t have defeated your BIOS password using this approach, so you’ll still be prevented from booting from another drive or device, but you should be able to get your system updated and have admin-level access going forward.
Again, you’ll need access to another system, some utility software, and a USB dock.
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Bill, have you tried to reset the BIOS password as suggested here.
Hi Bill,
I came across this video this morning for clearing the passwords in a Toshiba NB505’s BIOS. Others should review the video so that they can chime in as to whether or not this might resolve your issue. See:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P516wdYnlYI
Best regards,
–GTP
cheers, Paul
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Bill, have you tried to reset the BIOS password as suggested here.
Hi Bill,
I came across this video this morning for clearing the passwords in a Toshiba NB505’s BIOS. Others should review the video so that they can chime in as to whether or not this might resolve your issue. See:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P516wdYnlYI
Best regards,
–GTP
cheers, Paul
Bill please try the jumper process in that video.
— I have reviewed that process and have also done that on a couple of PC’s over the years.
— If that video doesn’t open on your PC, open it on a PC that works normally so you can follow the instructions.Also is the time/date still set to it’s first date for your PC and cannot be corrected?
HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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Just setup the SD as a bootable Windows 10 installer, boot it up, and do the install straight from there.
It won’t be possible using an SD card as their maximum size is limited to 2GB and the Windows 10 installer is more than twice that size.
It would have to be an SDHC card of 8GB minimum.
To be honest I have my doubts whether the netbook will handle Windows 10. Unless it’s had a RAM upgrade to its maximum of 2GB, it’s only got 1GB of RAM and a single-core 1.66 GHz Atom processor (and a slow HDD).
I’ve put Windows 10 on similarly-specced Acer Aspire One and Asus EEE netbooks and performance was so dire they were almost unusable even with RAM maxed out. You have to do a lot of tweaking (like disabling services and scheduled tasks) to get them going without the ‘activity’ spinner having an almost constant presence. I wiped them and put Linux Mint XFCE on instead. Even then they are slow… but at least usable. (In fact, I’ll be using an Acer Aspire One D260A netbook with 1.6GHz Atom processor and 1GB RAM to test any bootable SD I create as it’s almost identical to Bill’s Toshiba NB505 netbook.)
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OK, that shows how the boot menu identifies the SD card – as ‘USB-Generic-Multi-card-(USB 2.0)’.
Now – step 1 – to make the SD card bootable:
- Create a temporary folder, say C:Temp. This is just so downloaded files can be unpacked, kept together and not misplaced.
- Download Rufus from the following direct link – Rufus 3.8 (1.1 MB) and save it to the temporary folder. Rufus will be used to create the bootable device from an ISO file of the utility.
- Download the CD version (*not* the USB version) of Offline NT Password & Registry Editor from the following direct link – cd140201.zip (~18MB) and save the zip file to the temporary folder.
(Even though it seems more logical, I could not get the USB version to work properly… and the instructions are more complicated.) - Unzip the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor zip file to the temporary folder then delete the zip file. You should be left with just two files in the temporary folder – cd140201.iso and rufus-3.8.exe.
- Remove any USB storage devices that are attached to the device (this is important so there’s absolutely no chance of choosing the wrong device), ensure that the SD card is in the memory card reader then double-click on the rufus-3.8.exe file.
- When Rufus opens, double-check that the Device dropdown (at the top) has selected the drive containing the SD card correctly.
- Click on the Select button (a) then navigate to and select the cd140201.iso file.
- Confirm that the Target system (b) and File system (c) are set as per the screenshot below then click on the Start button (d).
- When creation of the bootable SD card is complete, close Rufus.
Post back when you get to this stage.
Hope this helps…
(The next stage is going to be a little tricky to document. I’m going to have to see whether I can use a virtual machine so I can get clear screenshots. If not then I’ll have to take photos of my netbook and hope I can get them well-focussed and level)
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Bill,
You are trying to install an operating system (Offline NT Password & Registry Editor) onto your SD card and then use the SD card to boot your Toshiba.
I downloaded the rufus file and copied it to the SD card. I unzipped the cd402201 and then copies the unzipped file to the SD card.
If you did this with your windows 10 computer, you can use your windows 10 computer to create the bootable SD card. Copy the files (cd140201.iso and rufus-3.8.exe) to your windows 10 desktop and follow Rick’s instructions starting with step 5. Remove any usb storage devices to be certain the rufus program is burning the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor to the SD card.
Once the rufus program is running, make sure the top entry (device) lists your SD card.
Win 10 home - 20H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely
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Rick would it be possible to use that USB port to boot by?
I haven’t been able to confirm from any Toshiba site but from what I read on forums elsewhere the BIOS does not support boot from USB, only HDD/LAN/SD.
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OK, good. We are reconnecting now. Your understanding of COPY is correct. Further, I think you now understand that making a boot-able drive requires something more. I want to ask you to do two things:
First, read again Rick’s #post-2153338 from further up on this page. You have done some steps correctly, but then went astray.
Second, ask questions when the words change and don’t quite match what you already know. This indicates where more information needs to be given. If a clean sheet and a new topic would help, go ahead and start a “Boot from SD” topic. If you are more comfortable remaining on this page where so much information is already written, good.
I think Rick’s item #5 needs special attention, where you launch the Rufus program. But I also admit my own confusion as to where the actions diverge from the directions. I hope I have assisted in a small way here. But believe you are better served by the several advisors who have contributed already.
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Long as it is, this thread might save someone else a considerable amount of time, if they have a similar problem. At some point a summary of diagnostics and methods tried might be even more helpful. Starting a new thread, can be helpful, as well… if continuing to work on this. I believe in learning from failure- my own, but also from others, rather than deleting the documentation of it all…
Personally, I’ve just been given a HP laptop- have to get a compatible charging cord for it. Sticker not readable. No idea what any of the passwords are. No idea of the operating system, but stopped using it when the charging cord broke and the battery went dead… a mystery to be solved, and perfect for a technically challenged person to experiment with! So been reading up, and deciding on a plan of action, while waiting on a charging cord.
I’ve promised to return any pictures I find on the hard drive… and I may just turn it into my Linux Mint machine… but it is worth exploring, just to have a system to learn on! However, I’m still working on learning W10- and it definitely isn’t configured and tweaked the way my Windows 7 was, and I’m taking my time with it. The mystery laptop will be my first machine dedicated to my personal learning and experimentation, rather than an all-in-one workstation that I protect, because it has things on it that I need and use every day. There is a lot of information in this thread about what to look for, how to look for it, how it should work, and how it does or doesn’t work. Please don’t try to delete it!
Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter
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How would you decide which bits to delete? And who will put in the time to read through the whole thing to decide?
I can’t see the value in that effort.cheers, Paul
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If you decide to start a new thread, please include in your opening post a nutshell description of the current effort — making an SD card into a bootable drive, and investigating whether that will crack this hardware block you’ve had.
But also very important to give a reference link for this topic https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/win-7-administrator-password , and any others you feel relevant. This would assist a future reader in finding how this developed at their leisure. Please add this to your opening post.
Once the new topic has been assigned a URL, you could post that as a link here, in a final “bottom line” post directing to the new topic. I admire your efforts.
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I have decide to take the suggestion to create a Cliff’s Note version of this two years of correspondence and the many suggestions I have tried to get an administrator password for my old WIN7 machine and/or format it so I can load WIN10. This will take some time. I’ll be back when I finish. Then I would like to wipe all the accumulated correspondence. I don’t know how to delete stuff, but when I ready I will appreciate some help. Thanks guys.
William Sharp
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Why do you need a” tech dude to format the hard drive so I can install WIN 10″ ?
Download a copy of Windows 10 1909 from Heidoc.net. create a bootable USB stick with the free Ventoy app. Boot and run a clean install.
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The reason for creating a bootable USB drive is to move from trying and failing to do things within Windows, to booting from the USB drive (which is an external drive that is completely separate from your current Windows system) and using it to install a clean W10 to your current drive. The USB doesn’t need permissions from your current drive, and a clean install means that you start from scratch… including passwords. It basically wipes out what you have, and puts a new operating system over it. Trying to upgrade in place, saving your files and programs would likely continue the password access problem. By doing a clean install, it wont matter.
It will give your old laptop new life…
If you want to go step by step, start a new thread. What’s to lose, except a the fee you’d pay a local geek to do it for you?
Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter
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The challenge I have had with trying to boot from an external source is that I have make a change in BIOS that “sees” the external drive. Others have helped me try, but because I am not making changes in BIOS as an administrator, the change in boot instructions is ignored.
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I was one of the early reply-ers here. To recap:
For an obscure reason (Bill attributes this to a Windows update), the computer has password protection on the BIOS (and on the ‘admin’ user) so he cannot access fundamental computer functionality. (There is an unusual quirk in the OEM design that supports a Catch-22 situation – too long to review here.)First thought:
The only solution now is to physically remove the disk and format it on an external attachment. Then do a bare-metal Windows installation.Second thought:
BUT, Bill — Since the BIOS presently is locked down, and assuming that Win 10 is newly on the disk – and that it boots — how will you be able to get to that OEM Utility that lets you clear/reset the BIOS Password? That utility was included with the OEM set of add-ons, but it is not a part of Win 10. Clearing the disk does not touch the password that is in the BIOS.I’ve forgotten, but I don’t recall that you have any OEM material (DVD?) from which you could get that particular utility. And if you do, would it work under Win 10?
That’s a pretty good summary PaulK
Bottom line is that’s why Bill’s post #2281950
“I have decided to find a tech dude to format the hard drive so I can install WIN 10. I’m in Kansas City, MO. Do you have any suggestions for a person with really good software skills near me?”Bill, refer to garlin’s post #2141789
“To change or remove the BIOS Password, it’s necessary to know the existing password. Otherwise, it can only be removed by a Toshiba Authorized Service Provider. To locate a Toshiba Authorized Service Provider (ASP) anywhere in the world, visit Toshiba’s Global ASP Locator at: http://pcrepair.toshiba.comBill mentioned he’s near KC, and there’s two service providers located in Overland Park and Lenexa.”
I would also consider the cost of that vs. buying a new device that would be expected to match your needs.
HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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Thanks guys for staying with me. My trips into BIOS have not been to change passwords. I have tried to change the boot sequence so that I can boot from a CD or USB drive. The system won’t let me do anything without administrator authority. I have created and purchased some software that could make changes but I can’t get past the interrupt message to enter an admin password.
I was (and still am) trying to get this old machine up and running again for grandkids. Now with covid-19 forcing our school district to go to virtual learning, it’s even more important. A major challenge is that the machine only cost $300 when I bought it. I am hesitant to pay Toshiba $200 to get it running again.
I don’t think I have an OEM boot disc. Seems like that is something I should be able to buy and it would cost too much. It also seems there should be some geeks who skills to format my hard drive. I’m just soldiering on.
William Sharp
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I remember with mixed feelings the many times I formatted my machine when it was running WIN 95. It always took a gob of time, but I could get the thing running again.
This little machine can’t do much, but grandsons in elementary school don’t need much computing power. I will ship this little old guy to anyone you guys think can either find the administrator password or format the hard drive.
William Sharp
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If the BIOS password were the issue, that password would be needed to enter the BIOS.
Not a given. There have been occasional “advanced BIOS” things (and this *is* one of those if it integrates with Windows credentials management) that allowed read-only access to BIOS as a non-admin user.
Also it being one of those means there very likely are “special” drivers, which it …might… even need for booting. (Worse case than usual if so, means a generic Windows boot media might not work – don’t know before getting that far and trying…)
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Do BIOS or UEFI systems ever provide an error code or descriptions in some cases?
Ever? Yes.
Reliably and standardized between manufacturers, or even versions from same maker? No.
I mean, you might get the error code in beeps out of the speaker, a quick-disappearing numeric or hex code on “primary” display, some random electronic method on a dedicated port on the motherboard that might not be accessible with the case closed, machine-readable on a management interface (possibly LAN or on older models RS232), only stored in some onboard management register (RAM or NVRAM) that you’ll need a special application or driver to read (chicken and egg anyone?)
… or in very rare cases even as friendly text.
(Yes, I’ve encountered all of those kinds.)
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How I wish we could see your device. I’d like to volunteer to help you on your device but we would have to talk about first but I don’t know how we can contact each other.
AskWoody’s DirectMessage function to exchange direct contact details. I’ve used it before for this very purpose.
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Being able to change things in the BIOS is a good start.
Do you have a USB stick? What size?- Download Hiren’s boot CD, about 1.5GB, and burn it to the USB using Rufus.
- Disconnect / remove the existing hard disk and attempt to boot from the USB.
- If it works, shut down, reconnect the hard disk and attempt to boot from the USB.
If you can do all of those then you can reinstall Windows and remove any passwords you have.
Make a backup first, of course.cheers, Paul
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I can enter BIOS. There are no passwords show under security.
I was able to get the clock in the computer working by making changes while in BIOS. I had not been able to change the date/clock while in Windows.
I will root around to see if I have a rescue disc. This tiny machine does not have a CD player so whatever I might come up with has to be on a USB drive.
Without the password, the machine will not accept the program Rick guided me to create on an SD card.
I have previously purchased a CD that was supposed to open the password information…but it didn’t.
My computer skills are low but I’m good at following instructions and have tried a gob of things you folks have recommended over the past 2 years.
Thanks for that information.
I can enter BIOS. There are no passwords show under security.
— I was under that impression for entering the BIOS.“I was able to get the clock in the computer working by making changes while in BIOS.”
— I was under the impression you were being asked for an Administrator password when you were trying to do that.
— I was also under the impression that when you were making changes in the BIOS, the changes were not maintained and it wasn’t possible to revert to default settings.“I had not been able to change the date/clock while in Windows.”
— I’ve seen that a couple of times but since the PC’s I was working on had an Administrator account it was possible to correct it.“This tiny machine does not have a CD player so whatever I might come up with has to be on a USB drive.”
In PaulK’s post #206448 for Toshiba NB500 Series mini notebook NB505-N508BL manual
https://support.dynabook.com/support/modelHome?freeText=2861099&osId=31
— Is that the correct manual for your device? I believe it is. It’s important for us to know that.
In that manual, there are 2 methods to return to the original factory image (returning the computer to its out-of-box state) on page 50/199.
— The first method is using the utilities stored on your computer’s internal storage mentioned in post #2283088.
— Return to that post if you wish to review it.
— I have to admit that since you cannot access an Administrator account, it isn’t possible to follow through on that.
Then there is a 2nd method
— “using recovery DVDs/media”
— That tells me it’s possible to use DVD’s and you are not limited to using only USB’S.“Without the password, the machine will not accept the program Rick guided me to create on an SD card.”
— Let’s clarify “Without the password”
— To me that means you cannot log-in to your Administrator account but that’s because your Administrator account isn’t accessible and the only accessible account you have is a non-admin account.
— But then, when you are in the BIOS, aren’t you asked for a password?
— If so what kind of password is being requested?
— Is it for an Administrator password so you can access any one of your multiple accounts?”
— In other words, does the password set-up generate through the BIOS?
— “Your post #206311 “I have a password that I assigned for all user accounts in bios.”“I have previously purchased a CD that was supposed to open the password information…but it didn’t.”
— Earlier “This tiny machine does not have a CD player”
— How were you able to at least try the CD that was supposed to open the password information…but it didn’t.”?Moving on,
I haven’t had to use a Hiren’s boot CD but please follow through on PaulT’s recommendation in post #2283346.In the meantime
Bill, I’m willing to use “AskWoody’s DirectMessage function to exchange direct contact details.” Per rick-corbett’s post #2283060.
— Is that OK with you?In addition, I have a retail (not OEM) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit DVD I’m willing to send to you.
— There isn’t anything wrong with it.
— I had used it on a PC I picked up for free back in the Windows 7 days that was in a disastrous condition.Also, I have an external DVD player that you can have if you need it.
HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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Bill:
1 – Over these 2 years you’ve tried many guesses at a password, 1 to 4 spaces, among other things. Have you ever tried just hitting the Enter key, that is, no password at all? Perhaps this is too simple.
2 – Concerning DM – Direct Message. This is the name of a ‘Private Message’ within AskWoody.
Look at the ‘Title Bar’ here in AW; DM is listed near the right end.
One can create and send a message to any AW member.
If your AW profile is set up properly (see note), when someone sends to you a DM you will receive an email that alerts you to the fact that a DM is waiting for you. Log on to AW, click on DM, and read the Message. And reply as desired. It’s pretty slick.Note – Click on Direct Message; click on the button ‘Settings’; ensure that there are check marks on all 3 of the Preferences.
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You have probably not created a bootable USB from the Hiren’s ISO.
- Download the Hiren’s ISO file (HBCD_PE_x64.iso).
- Plug in your USB.
- Download and run Rufus (currently Rufus-3.11.exe). If you can’t run Rufus, copy the files to a USB and ask a friend to do it.
- Rufus should have the USB selected under “Device”.
- Click the “Select” button and browse to HBCD_PE_x64.iso.
- Do not change anything in Rufus.
- Click Start, sit back and relax.
- Close Rufus when it finishes.
Now you can try booting from step 3 in the post above.
cheers, Paul
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Thanks for checking, either should be OK – the N455 chip is 64bit.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/49491/intel-atom-processor-n455-512k-cache-1-66-ghz.htmlcheers, Paul
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Ok folks-
Per @Paul-T ‘s post just above, the Intel Atom N455 processor is indeed 64 bit. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean the system itself is 64 bit. I looked up the detailed spec sheet for the NB505 laptop (link below at the end of this post), and there’s a disclaimer on the second page (which is actually called “page 3 of 5” at the very bottom of the page), a footnote actually labeled “C1”.
That footnote states: “C1 64-bit computing:
64-bit computing requires that the following hardware and software requirements are met:
– 64-bit Operating System
– 64-bit CPU, Chipset and BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
– 64-bit Device drivers
– 64-bit applications”So, in light of what that footnote says (I added the bolding above), it could be that, although the computer does have a 64 bit capable processor, Toshiba cheaped out on the motherboard’s chipset and/or BIOS rendering it only actually capable of 32 bit computing. That would also help explain why it’s only capable of handling 2 gigs of system memory AND why Toshiba only installed a 32 bit version of Windows 7 in the factory in the first place.
The spec sheet is at the following link. Scroll down a bit, and click the “Manuals & Specs” tab then click on the pdf file name of “toshiba_miniNB505-N500BL.pdf”, which should bring up the full spec sheet.
https://support.dynabook.com/support/modelHome?freeText=2871355
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Somewhere in this chain Bill has said that the machine has no optical drive. And there have been suggestions given to create a bootable USB stick. But Bill has said that he is stymied by the requirement for a password when he attempts to do (boot) this. (All this from memory and my following the drama; I’ll locate the posts if requested.)
I believe that resolution will require hands-on by someone who has expertise and resources.
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Somewhere in this chain Bill has said that the machine has no optical drive. And there have been suggestions given to create a bootable USB stick. But Bill has said that he is stymied by the requirement for a password when he attempts to do (boot) this. (All this from memory and my following the drama; I’ll locate the posts if requested.)
I believe that resolution will require hands-on by someone who has expertise and resources.
I double-checked my notes before posting the following information.
Bill’s post #2284023
“I have an external DVD/CD player that attaches to the computer via USB.”Bill’s post #206311 “I have a password that I assigned for all user accounts in bios.”
My post #2282948
Also in Bill’s post #206311 “I have a password that I assigned for all user accounts in bios.”
— That is the process that Lenovo allows that to be accomplished.
— Chances are that’s the process that needs to be undone and that adds to the challenge of fixing Bill’s situation especially since the BIOS is a completely different system than Windows itself.Bill’s post #2284692
“To best of my knowledge there are none in BIOS. I am not asked for a password to sign in to Windows or any user account.”My post #2284708
Does that mean this doesn’t apply anymore?
“I have a password that I assigned for all user accounts in bios.” per post #206311In my estimation today Aug 5, since there isn’t a usable Administrator account, it’s more than a challenge on what needs to be done.
In addition, in my post #2285685
“Can you verify the exact wording of “account is denied.”
— In looking around I’ve seen different wording of Windows 7 “account is denied.”
— I’ve also seen that Windows may not have permission to load the user profiles in question.
— I wonder if that could hinder recovering from password issues.”
I still wonder about that.Bill is still working toward Windows 7 bootable media.
If it doesn’t help, professional help should be considered for sure.
HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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Bill I just saw what you posted and that’s good to do.
When you go into the BIOS, please review as it stands now.
Are there any passwords in there such as a User or Administrator or anything else?
If so please let us know what password is referred to?
Is it possible to have the BIOS saved as default?
— If a password is requested please let us know.
At the same time, let us know the BIOS version.
— Is the time & date still intact?HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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BINGO! After 2 years and 4 months of trying things, I got the machine to boot from the CD drive and loaded the WIN7 program Lawrence sent me.
Somehow I lost the driver for the network adapter so I’m not connected to the Internet yet.
I was careful not to install a password and put in key numbers. I think when I connect to Internet via WiFi, I can complete the registration and be up and running.
You guys are amazing. The patience you’ve had throughout this ordeal is beyond what old, dumb guys like me could ever expect.
I will now start searching for the network adapter driver.
Later, I may upgrade to WIN10 but will have to calculate if this little machine has enough capacity to do it.
Thanks again, guys.
William Sharp
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I finally was taught how to go into bios and instruct the machine to boot from a CD. Another member mailed me an install CD. As it ran, I did not choose to install a password (which was the original problem). The new version is not as complete as the one I had, but it works fine for a little guy doing his elementary education via computer.
William Sharp
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This has been a very instructional thread on so many levels. Sometimes things just take time, patience, and many approaches before resolving a problem. There were many concepts explored here and this thread will be useful to others in the future.
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I’m learning. I just thought it was an issue taking up space. In my “first of the year clean up mode” , I thought I would do my part. I’ll leave it. Thanks for the heads up.
William Sharp
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