Cat Reset Password, Can't Find a Workaround

[flyinphill]

My daughter's Dell M4700 with W7 Pro has an unknown password set by the cat. Yes, literally set by the cat walking on the keypad while on the login screen. None of the techniques I have found here are working.

If I try to boot to a Command Prompt, I end up stuck at the same Password screen. I can't get to an elevated Admin because I can't get a Command Prompt.

I have the OEM Reinstall disc, but when I go to the Recovery page, I first get the screen asking for keyboard type, then the very next screen is asking me for the same/user/password that I don't have. If I try to hit Shift+F10 as specified in this tutorial, absolutely nothing happens. This combo of keys does nothing on the screen asking about keyboard options, and I can't get to the "Install Windows" screen because I can't get past the User/Password screen. So now what can I do?

 

[Ranger4]

Cats & computers are a bad combination. It looks like you will have to do a complete reinstall of Windows. This means you will lose all personal files & program software.

 

[Barman58]

There are ways of getting through an unknown password, the forum rules, quite rightly, do not allow us to assist with this or to even discuss what is involved,

Not an accusation, but we cannot be certain that you have rights to access the system with the issue.

However there are many local technicians that can do this for you, Check your local listings for someone and give them a ring, most will charge a small sum for this service and they may ask for proof of ownership - once you have found someone you feel can do the job, a visit to them should have the password removed in minutes.

This is obviously the best way if you have a lot of personal memories (pictures Etc) on the hard drive.

 

[redoak]

Boot up a Linux Live CD/USB, copy your data to an external drive or separate partition, and reinstall Windows.

I'm really not sure I understand how this could have happened, but as someone else said, cats and computers aren't a good combo.

My daughter's Dell M4700 with W7 Pro has an unknown password set by the cat. Yes, literally set by the cat walking on the keypad while on the login screen. None of the techniques I have found here are working.

If I try to boot to a Command Prompt, I end up stuck at the same Password screen. I can't get to an elevated Admin because I can't get a Command Prompt.

I have the OEM Reinstall disc, but when I go to the Recovery page, I first get the screen asking for keyboard type, then the very next screen is asking me for the same/user/password that I don't have. If I try to hit Shift+F10 as specified in this tutorial, absolutely nothing happens. This combo of keys does nothing on the screen asking about keyboard options, and I can't get to the "Install Windows" screen because I can't get past the User/Password screen. So now what can I do?

 

[lehnerus2000]

Boot up a Linux Live CD/USB, copy your data to an external drive or separate partition, and reinstall Windows.

Agreed.

Remember to copy any driver and program installers you may have downloaded.

I'm really not sure I understand how this could have happened, but as someone else said, cats and computers aren't a good combo.

Also never go to sleep on your keyboard.

Years ago one of our friends fell asleep at our PC with his head resting on the keyboard.
Somehow his head rolling from side-to-side activated a keyboard combination that deleted the scoreboard of a game we were playing (Civ I). :shock:

 

[flyinphill]

We ended up going with a clean install. Now we are stuck with driver issues. I can't get the wireless to work because several of the devices, including what I believe to be the wireless card, are showing as "unknown" in Device Manager, so no internet connection to be able to do any updates directly.

I created a driver DVD from the Dell website based on my original purchase info. I created a DVD in another machine with the drivers from Dell and ran it in the fresh install machine, but nothing happens. I opened the DVD and all of the file names have a slash "/" in front of them. I have no idea what this disc is supposed to do, but it isn't doing it what ever that is. So now I am stuck for new, different reasons. This is why I wanted to avoid a clean install at almost any cost.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

We ended up going with a clean install. Now we are stuck with driver issues. I can't get the wireless to work because several of the devices, including what I believe to be the wireless card, are showing as "unknown" in Device Manager, so no internet connection to be able to do any updates directly.

I created a driver DVD from the Dell website based on my original purchase info. I created a DVD in another machine with the drivers from Dell and ran it in the fresh install machine, but nothing happens. I opened the DVD and all of the file names have a slash "/" in front of them. I have no idea what this disc is supposed to do, but it isn't doing it what ever that is. So now I am stuck for new, different reasons. This is why I wanted to avoid a clean install at almost any cost.

Phill,
Why on earth did you not take the best advise...."take your computer to a computer tech who can fix that problem for you". I'm a tech and I'm pretty sure I could get rid of that password in less than 5 minutes, for a very minimal charge (like, Lunch).

Every computer tech that's worth his salt, has at least One Password Removal Tool, on a bootable CD, or flash drive. I do! That's as basic to a computer tech as a screwdriver.

It's absolutely correct, that since we don't know if you even own the PC in question, we cannot tell you here how to remove a password or get past one, without violating the forum rules.

NEVER, but NEVER do a clean install on your computer, until all other possible options have been exhausted. Because when you do, you wind up with exactly what you're reporting.
At the very worse....if windows was totally corrupted and the PC won't boot up, any decent PC tech can remove your hard drive and slave it to his shop PC and access all your data files, and write them to a DVD for you. I do that all the time for my customers who have lost their Windows. Or where the boot sector on the hard drive has become damaged. I've spent many long hours recovering the data files for my customers.

And, I suppose that you've also ignored the thousands of admonitions on this forum about Backing up your C: drive on a regular basis. Backup and cloning software is easily available for FREE, on the internet.

If you were my customer, I would have already set that up for you. Oh well.....

I backup and CLONE my C: drive at least once a week. I did mine yesterday!
Over the past two decades, I've lost four spinners and one SSD, but in all that, I've never lost even one data file or picture, because I keep everything backed up.

Good Luck,
TechnoMage

 

[lehnerus2000]

Hardware IDs

You are going to have to create a list of the hardware that needs drivers.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/208...d-drivers-for-unknown-devices-in-windows.html

Follow the instructions, but copy the "Hardware IDs" into a text file.

You are going to have to copy that file onto a USB stick and then use a friend's PC to download the drivers.

You probably only need to get the correct network/wireless driver.
After that you can use your own PC to get the remaining drivers (if W7 can't find them for you).