windows 7 Login Cannot get to past User login

[greglampman]

Friend of family had a stroke, can't remember user password. It happens. I'm an old ex network admin, so pretty savy here yet Totally stumped, short of spending money to buy something. Here is what I've tried to do to get to the command prompt, so I can run net user to enable the administrator login, which is defaulted as disabled on 7. Of course she never made up any backup image disks or anything, duh.......who does?

1. On boot up, pressed F8 to get to command prompt with safe mode. That works, when selected option given here, still boots up to the user name login. So I can't get to the command prompt. Tried the other safe mode options, with same result. Toshiba also has a F12 boot option, same result.

2. Started windows, when it was loading, I shut it down with Power On button, restarted, repair mode to get to command prompt, cancelling the repair when it starts, but can't get to command prompt this way either.

3. Tried my Windows 7 disk, but still loads and comes up to user login, so I can't enable the administrator option.

4. I think she has this locked down pretty good, nothing in the BIOS to secure the user access.

I have a bootable Flash drive, but it will not work on this Toshiba Satelite laptop, will not boot as there is no option in BIOS to enable it. I tried with a bootable CD disk, and it boots up, but I still go to the user login like above.

Would like to help her out, I doubt she'll be working again, and is only in her late 50's. Doing this for no compensation of course, as friend of family. Any ideas, step by steps that might work. Short of that, any low cost software boot apps to get me to a command prompt, so I can reset her user password or enable the administrator login. Post here or drop me an email from profile. I need to fill that out here shortly

Thanks Much New

 

[Trevor Philips]

On the bottom lefts of the login screen click on a blue button with a spiral inside, it should open the cmd.
Run this command:

REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\sethc.exe" /v Debugger /t
REG_SZ /d "C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe"

Hit enter and wait then run this command:

net user [user_name] [new_password]

[user_name] is your Username and [new_password] is the password you will use to login

 

[greglampman]

Fixed

Thanks trevor,

I finally got it cleared, but not with your solution. I found in one of my cd cases or utils, an old XP/Vista app a buddy of mine wrote. While it kept failing at saying the password was cleared, I rebooted and no login screen came up. Fantastic. Five hours of frustration, as nothing would work. So enabled the admin login, and set a password for her, worst case, can at least get in now and set a password backup to a flash drive for her as well.

She will be one happy camper. Upon later thought, I figured few answered, as this is a nefarious post at best. Forget my IT background, and there are people looking to hack passwords, etc. I do appreciate your answer, and will keep it for future use if I need again. I do a few computers a week, for something to do, as well as donate my time at a local school. They can always need help.

thanks again resolved and all happy.