"Is there anyway to break into a Windows 8 laptop if I've forgot my password? I changed my password on Friday and now I have no idea what I changed it to. FYI – I'm using a ASUS laptop that comes with UEFI instead of regular BIOS. Please help!"
There are many bootable Live CDs out there (including Linux distro or BartPE) that could be used to reset Windows login credentials on traditional BIOS-based system. But if you try to boot UEFI-based computer from such a disc, you may get an incompatibility error saying "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key".
If you couldn't find a UEFI compatible bootdisk, try the most powerful Windows password removal utility - WindowsUnlocker, a bootdisk based on Windows 8 PE which can boot in UEFI mode from either a USB flash drive or a CD. Here's our guide on how to reset Windows 8 password on ASUS laptop, so you can spend less time taking shots in the dark and more time getting to the task at hand.
1 Create A WindowsUnlocker Live CD/USB Drive
- Before resetting ASUS laptop password, you need to use another computer to make a WindowsUnlocker boot media. After you've downloaded the full version of WindowsUnlocker Enterprise (trial version), unzip it and you'll get a disc image file called pcunlocker.iso.
Next download and install the freeware ISO2Disc. Run the ISO2Disc program, click on Browse button to select the WindowsUnlocker ISO image.
- To make a WindowsUnlocker Live CD, simply select Burn to CD/DVD and click on Start Burn. However, if you don't have a blank CD at hand, you can make a UEFI bootable USB drive: Choose your USB drive and select GPT partition style, and then click on Start Burn.
2 Reset ASUS Windows 8 Password
- Plug the USB drive into a USB port of your locked ASUS Windows 8 laptop, or put the CD in the optical drive if you've created a Live CD.
- Turn on the computer and immediately press the F2, or Delete key repeatedly until the UEFI (BIOS) Setup screen appears. Since boot is extremely fast, I always need a few attempts to get inside.
In BIOS, go to the Save & Exit tab. Select your CD or USB drive under Boot Override and press Enter. The computer will automatically boot from your specified boot media.
After one or two minutes, you'll see the WindowsUnlocker program that lists all of your existing Windows accounts. If you've set up a Microsoft account as your laptop's login, you can see the associated email address in the Description column.
- Choose a local account and then click Reset Password button, it will reset your forgotten local account password immediately. To unlock a Microsoft account, choose the associated local account and proceed. The program will let you set a new password for your Microsoft account.
So this is how can you reset forgotten Windows 8 password on ASUS laptop. This method will also work for any other brands of computers that use the latest UEFI firmware.