Lost admin password on Win8.1 system

My wife has a Lenovo 8.1 laptop and the admin password has been lost… The desire is to upgrade to Windows10 but I would need the MS license key for that. I’ve found how to boot the USB stick, but I need the license key<arggh>. Does anyone have advice, or should I skip to beer…

Conversation 16 comments

  • xperiencewindows

    24 March, 2021 - 10:02 pm

    <p>You might be able to get the key from Belarc advisor</p>

  • beckoningeagle

    Premium Member
    24 March, 2021 - 11:11 pm

    <pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">I believe this command works in WIndows 8. Make sure you run it from an elevated command prompt (run as administrator)

    wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
    </pre>

  • simont

    Premium Member
    25 March, 2021 - 5:37 am

    <p>Try Jelly Bean Software's KeyFinder. The free version should be able to get your Windows key.</p>

  • wayned

    25 March, 2021 - 10:09 am

    <p>I don't have the admin password&lt;argggh&gt; I should say that I have a folder full of passwords, none of which seem to work. Am I SOL?</p>

  • beckoningeagle

    Premium Member
    25 March, 2021 - 10:56 am

    <p>I have used this successfully many many times:</p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/&quot; target="_blank">Offline Windows Password &amp; Registry Editor (pogostick.net)</a></p><p><br></p><p>I don't know if it works with Home edition, and if your drive is "bit-locked" then you are out of luck.</p><p><br></p><p>Be careful when using it though. Best thing is to set a blank password and then set a new password through windows.</p><p><br></p><p>When you first boot windows after using this utility it may ask you to scan the drive. This is normal and nothing to be worried about.</p><p><br></p><p> Read all the instructions and be careful.</p>

  • simont

    Premium Member
    25 March, 2021 - 12:02 pm

    <p>Depending on the laptop, hitting one of the Function keys at boot should get you to a windows recovery page, it would reset the laptop to factory default, but then you have set a new admin password, get the key and then upgrade.</p><p><br></p><p>Or get a recovery disk download from Lenovo and do the same thing.</p>

  • wunderbar

    Premium Member
    25 March, 2021 - 3:39 pm

    <p>if you're up to mucking around with some command line stuff in the windows recovery environment, google "command prompt sticky keys"</p><p><br></p><p>It's a way to get a command prompt with god privileges in the pre-boot environment that'll let you set a new local admin password. I've used it several times over the years.</p>

  • Patrick3D

    25 March, 2021 - 6:29 pm

    <p>If there is no account with admin privileges to reset it then you can purchase software that can reset it (Google Win8.1 admin password recovery) or clean install Windows 10 and buy a license.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      25 March, 2021 - 11:56 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/forums/support/microsoft/thread/lost-admin-password-on-win8-1-system#620169&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to Patrick3D:</em></a></p><p><strong><em>Purchase?</em></strong> If the OP's C: drive or more specifically C:\Windows directory isn't encrypted, booting with Linux Live CD/DVD/usb, installing chntpw, and using that to reset the Administrator account's password on a Windows system would be cost-free.</p>

    • Greg Green

      26 March, 2021 - 6:54 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#620169">In reply to Patrick3D:</a></em></blockquote><p>If you’re near a Best Buy their geek squad can help you out for about $40.</p>

  • arnstarr

    25 March, 2021 - 10:14 pm

    <p>search for this text, i can't paste a link:</p><p><br></p><p>"Resetting a Locked Out Windows 10 Password (Recovery Media)</p><p><br></p><p>If you cannot reboot into safe mode, you can also use the recovery media to change user account passwords."</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    26 March, 2021 - 12:11 am

    <p>Since no one else has asked, does the laptop have a certificate of authenticity sticker on the bottom? If so, that should have the Windows product key on it.</p>

    • beckoningeagle

      Premium Member
      27 March, 2021 - 10:48 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#620191">In reply to hrlngrv:</a></em></blockquote><p>Windows 8.1 COA do not have the key printed on the label when it comes from a large OEM like Lenovo and Dell.</p>

  • beckoningeagle

    Premium Member
    27 March, 2021 - 10:52 am

    <p>Wayned, did any of the suggestions in this thread work for you? It may be time to "skip to beer" :-)</p>

  • Alastair Cooper

    29 March, 2021 - 8:17 am

    <p>I think if you already have Windows 8.1 installed then the laptop should be digitally activated with Microsoft's servers, and that should automatically carry over if you clean install Windows 10. I think (though I may be out of date) that the free Windows 10 upgrade still applies if you go down this route.</p><p><br></p><p>If you have data you want to recover, then assuming the drive isn't encrypted you should be able to boot from a Linux live USB and back up anything important from her home folder first.</p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC