If you’d read my
blog article entitled How
to remove Rootkit Virus or Hidden Folder Virus using Bootable Rescue Discs,
you’ld have realized that the very same Rescue discs and Bootable Linux OS can
be used to recover Data and back it up on an External Hard-Drive. I do this all
the time as a routine in my job as a On-Call Computer Repair Technician,
especially Thumb Drives accidentally erased by persons thinking it’s infected
with a Virus as stated in my Geezam blog
article entitled “How
to recover Data from your Damaged Thumb Drive or ZIP Archive”.
But from time to
time I encounter cases where the Hard-Drive is password protected or the
Customer forgot their Windows Password. If your Hard-Drive or computer is
locked with a Password or you’re locked out of Windows, chances are you’re
having a really bad day. But fret not dear reader; there’s a way around it.
After all, it’s manmade!
Hard-Drives with Password Protection – Password Hacks
and Mounting is the thing
In the case of a
Hard-Drive that’s locked with a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) password, you
have to know the password. If you forgot it, then you need to use a backdoor
password or reset the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) by
removing the battery.
Since removing
the battery means you have to go inside of your computer or Laptop, it’s a Good
idea to power it down. This is usually done for a period of 24 hours to
guarantee that it works as some CMOS have a backup capacitor. Worse some CMOS
are soldered on to the Motherboard.
Thus for my
business as an on-call Computer Repair Technician, this isn’t the way to go. I
need something that works faster!
From experience,
the fastest thing I know is to simply figure out the name of the BIOS manufacturer
by reading it off the Motherboard of which there are three (3) main
manufacturers:
1.
Award BIOS
2.
AMI BIOS
3.
PHOENIX BIOS
Then I go ahead
and reset using my standard list of BIOS Backdoor passwords as listed in the
article “How
to Bypass BIOS Passwords”, viewed January 2 2014, written by Rajiv
Priyadarshi, The Instructables and “How to Bypass BIOS
Passwords”, viewed January 2 2014, UK
T Support.
Good idea to
take the time to either write or Print off this list (preferably print!):
 |
 |
Hint: Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass
the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot. Interestingly
too, IBM Aptiva BIOS can also be bypassed by pressing both mouse buttons
repeatedly during the boot.
Alternately,
when I’m Pressed for Time, I usually tell the customer I’ll backup their Data onto
my External Hard-Drive. I then either booth their computer using my copy of Fedora
or Ubuntu Linux or if that doesn’t work, I’ll stick into my 2.5” or 3.5”
External Hard-Drive enclosure and connect it to another computer in the house
or my Laptop if I happen to have it handy and just TeraCopy everything across!
Simple solution
Windows Password Recovery – Bootable Password Reset in
lieu of Recovery of Data
This is a common
problem that’s easier to fix. Just like the situation with a locked piece of
proprietary Software, such as Microsoft Word as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How
to Legally Activate installed Microsoft Products – Office 2010’s in the Lost
and Found” you need a software to unlock or Reset the Windows Password. More
importantly, it has to boot form a CD/DVD ROM Drive; hence the reason why I
always travel with a Bootable External CD/DVD Writer in my toolbag!
Dear reader, I’d
like to introduce you to a few friends of mine. Here’s a list of some great
software that can recover passwords for every version of Windows up to Windows
8:
1.
Ophcrack
Download and burn
the *.ISO using the instructions in my blog article
entitled “Animation
After KingstOOn - How to Author Professional DVD Copies of your Animation
Project or any Downloaded Video or Audio Files”. Then go ahead and rescue
your Laptop or PC.
No comments:
Post a Comment