How to Hack a Password Protected Computer Account.

A simple step-by-step guide to accessing a PC or Mac without a password

This wikiHow teaches you how to view a password-protected computer account's files and folders on a Windows or Mac computer.

Things You Should Know

• If you want to hack a Windows PC, you'll need a boot from a Windows installation DVD or USB drive.
• If the Mac you want to hack is running an unpatched version of High Sierra, you can log in to the root user account without a password.
• For other macOS versions, you can use the DaveGrohl exploit to find the password of any user on a Mac.

Steps

Method 1

Windows

1. 

   Understand the limitations. Since most Windows 10 accounts use a Microsoft account email address and password to log in, you can't reset a hacked computer's main account password like you could in Windows 7 and down. You will, however, be able to access the files of the main account.
   • If the user you're trying to hack is a local user (e.g., a user added to the computer by a Microsoft account), you can change their password like you could in previous Windows renditions.

2. 

   Make sure you have an installation CD or USB drive. You will need a Windows 10 installation medium such as an installation CD in order to perform this method. If you don't have an installation CD, you can create an installation USB drive by doing the following:
   • Plug an 8 gigabyte (or larger) USB drive into your computer.
   • Open the Windows 10 download page.
   • Click Download tool now
   • Double-click the downloaded tool.
   • Follow the on-screen prompts to install the tool to your flash drive.

3. 

   Insert your installation media into your computer. Place the installation CD in the disk drive, or insert the USB flash drive into one of the computer's USB ports.

4. 

   Restart your computer into the BIOS. Click Start

   

   , click Power

   

   , and click Restart, then immediately begin pressing repeatedly (or holding) your computer's BIOS key until the BIOS launches.
   • Your BIOS key will depend on the manufacturer of your computer's motherboard, but common keys include the function keys (e.g., F2), the Esc key, and the Del key.
   • If you don't know which key to press or hold, consult your computer's BIOS documentation by searching for your computer's model, the word "bios", and the word "key".

5. 

   Change your computer's boot order to prioritize the installation media. Again, this will vary depending on your computer's BIOS; you'll usually open the Boot or Advanced tab, use the arrow keys to select your CD drive or USB drive, and press the + key to move the drive up to the top of the list.
   • As with any BIOS problems, you should consult your BIOS documentation online if you have any trouble.

6. 

   Save and exit. Press the "Save and Exit" key as specified by your BIOS legend, then confirm by pressing another key if prompted. Your computer will resume rebooting, at which point you should see the installation menu appear.

7. 

   Open Command Prompt. Press ⇧ Shift+F10 to do so.

8. 

   Replace Utility Manager with Command Prompt. You'll need to do this in order to be able to access Command Prompt later:
   • Type in move c:windowssystem32utilman.exe c:windowssystem32utilman.exe.bak
   • Press ↵ Enter
   • Type in copy c:windowssystem32cmd.exe c:windowssystem32utilman.exe
   • Press ↵ Enter

9. 

   Reboot your computer. Type in wpeutil reboot and press ↵ Enter, then remove your installation media from the computer. This will ensure that Windows reboots to the login screen rather than back into the installation setup.
   • If you're using an installation CD, you'll need to eject the CD before entering the reboot command.

10. 

    Open Command Prompt via the Utility Manager. Click the "Utility Manager" icon, which resembles a dial with a right-facing arrow in the middle. Since you replaced Utility Manager with Command Prompt, doing this will open Command Prompt in administrator mode.

11. 

    Create a new user. You can add a new administrator account by doing the following:
    • Type in net user name /add making sure to replace "name" with a username of your choice.
    • Press ↵ Enter.
    • Type in net localgroup administrators name /add again replacing "name" with the name of the user you just created.
    • Press ↵ Enter

12. 

    Restart your computer one more time. Click the Power

    

    icon, then click Restart when prompted.

13. 

    Log in with your new user. Once Windows finishes restarting, you'll be able to use the account you created to log in:
    • Select your new user's name in the lower-left side of the screen.
    • Click Sign In
    • Wait for Windows to finish setting up your new user account.

14. 

    View your user's files. While you can't change the password of the main user if they're logged in via a Microsoft account, you can view all of the files on their account by doing the following:
    • Open

      

      File Explorer (or press ⊞ Win+E).
    • Click This PC on the left side of the window (you may have to scroll up to find it).
    • Double-click your computer's hard drive in the "Devices and drives" section.
    • Double-click the Users folder.
    • Double-click the folder for the user whose files you want to view.
    • Click Continue when prompted, then wait for the user's folders to load (this can take several minutes).

15. 

    Change the password on a local account. If you want to hack a local account by changing its password, open Start

    

    and then do the following:
    • Type in control panel, then click Control Panel at the top of the window.
    • Click the User Accounts heading.
    • Click User Accounts again if the "Make changes to your user account" page doesn't open.
    • Click Manage another account
    • Select an account.
    • Click the Change the password link.
    • Enter a new password in the "New password" and "Confirm new password" text boxes.
    • Click Change password

Method 2

Mac

1. 

   Use the macOS High Sierra hack. Some versions of macOS High Sierra have an exploit which allows you to log into the root account without entering a password or downloading any programs. If the following hack works for you, skip the next step:
   • Open the login screen.
   • Replace the current username with root
   • Click the password field (but don't type in anything)
   • Press ⏎ Return repeatedly until you're logged in.

2. 

   Wait for the user to log in. If the macOS High Sierra hack doesn't work, you'll need to wait until the user you want to hack logs into their account. Unfortunately, hacking a Mac requires administrator access, which can't be established unless the user in question first logs into their machine.

3. {"smallUrl":"https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/c7/Hack-a-Password-Protected-Computer-Account-Step-18.jpg/v4-460px-Hack-a-Password-Protected-Computer-Account-Step-18.jpg","bigUrl":"/images/thumb/c/c7/Hack-a-Password-Protected-Computer-Account-Step-18.jpg/aid617600-v4-728px-Hack-a-Password-Protected-Computer-Account-Step-18.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"

   u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
   
   

   
   
   

   "}

   Similar information

   • Microsoft Excel: 2 Ways to Open a Password Protected Spreadsheet
   • How to Create a Password Protected Google Form
   • How to See a Password Protected PDF Using Gmail