How to Regain Access to Your Computer When You Have Forgotten Your Windows 7 Password?

There are 4 options to reset the forgotten Windows 7 password.

1. Use Password Reset Wizard
Create in advance a Windows 7 password reset disk, then follow these steps:

Step 1: Start your computer and log on to Windows 7. When typing an incorrect password, you will be reminded. Insert your password reset disk in your PC and click Reset password.

Step 2: When the Password Reset Wizard appears, click Next to continue.
Step 3: Select your target disk and click Next.
Step 4: Input a new password two times and type the password hint (Optional), click Next.
Step 5: Click Finish, and you can log on with the new password.

2. Use the Shareware Program "Windows Password Unlocker"
Windows Password Unlocker is a professional Windows password recovery tool to reset lost Windows domain password, administrator or user password with ease. It provides a fast and secure solution to remove forgotten password of Windows 7/ XP/ Vista/2000/2003/2008. You can reset the forgotten Windows 7 password with just 3 steps.

Step 1: Download Windows Password Unlocker Professional on any PC you can access to.
Step 2: Burn a bootable CD/DVD/USB drive with this program in minutes.
Step 3: Reset forgotten Windows 7 password on your own.

You can also follow these instructions on this video:

3. Reset Windows 7 Password with Freeware
You can also use freeware programs to unlock your PC.

Ophcrack is an open source (GPL licensed) program that cracks Windows passwords by using LM hashes through rainbow tables. The program includes the ability to import the hashes from a variety of formats, including dumping directly from the SAM files of Windows. It is claimed that these tables can crack 99.9% of alphanumeric passwords of up to 14 characters in usually a few minutes.

PC Login Now is another recommended freeware, which allows you to reset your Windows password and unlock locked accounts on Windows 7/XP/Vista and Windows 2000, 2003, Server 2008. Instead of recovering your password, PC Login Now erases the current password and allows you to create a new password.

4. Reset Your Forgotten Password from Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a way for Windows to load when there is a system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of Windows. 

Step 1: Start your PC in Safe Mode by pressing and holding the F8 key.

Step 2: Log in as Administrator by entering the administrator password in the "Password" field.

Step 3: Click the "Start" button, and open "Local Users and Groups" by typing "lusrmgr.msc" in "Search" box.
Step 4: On the coming Local Users and Groups Window, click Local Users and Groups ->Users in order.
Step 5: Right-click the account that you need to reset the password for, and then click Set Password.
Step 6: Type and confirm the new password.
Step 7: Restart your computer and login with the new password.

Warning: If you use an administrator account to reset the password, you will permanently lose access to any e‑mail messages or encrypted files that are on that account.

If you forget the administrator password and don't have a password reset disk or another administrator account, you won't be able to reset the password. If there are no other user accounts on the computer, you won't be able to log on to Windows and will need to re-install Windows. Just insert the Windows 7 boot disk into your DVD drive and restart it. Once the computer is running, follow the onscreen instructions to boot from disk and reinstall Windows 7. 

Warning: this method will overwrite much of your personal information on your computer.

If you've forgotten your Windows password and you're on a domain, you should contact your system administrator to reset your password.

How to Always Show Scroll Bars in Mac OS X Lion?

The scrollbars in Mac OS X Lion are hidden until activated by moving the cursor to the side of the window and swiping your 2 fingers up and down on the trackpad. This is an extremely annoying and useless default feature from Apple once again for the sake of looks or design.

In a few steps, you can bring them back permanently. You will notice they appear to be skinnier than in previous versions of the OS.

This will return scroll bar behavior to that which existed in 10.6 and prior, being always visible:

• Launch System Preferences from the  Apple menu
• Click on General
• Look for ‘Show scroll bars’ and select the radiobox next to “Always”

Scrollbars are instantly visible with this change. You may want to take this tip one step further and adjust the behavior of clicking within the scroll bar too.

How to Import .nk2 Files into Outlook 2010?

When you start Microsoft Outlook 2010 for the first time, your nickname cache (stored in the profilename.nk2 file) is imported into a hidden message in your default message store. 

Note profilename is the name of your Outlook profile.

For example, if you are using a Microsoft Exchange account, the nickname cache is imported into a hidden message in the Exchange mailbox.

Note Earlier versions of Outlook store the nickname cache .nk2 file in the following folder.

• Windows XP
  Drive:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
• Windows Vista and later versions
  Drive:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook

After the nickname cache is imported, the profilename.nk2 file is renamed to profilename.nk2.old. On the next start of Outlook, your nickname cache is not imported. Outlook 2010 does not use the .nk2 file for maintaining your nickname cache. All updates to your nickname cache in Outlook 2010 are made to the hidden message in your default message store.

Note If you have multiple Outlook profiles, the nickname cache from each profile is merged into your new Outlook 2010 nickname cache on the first start of Outlook 2010 by using that profile. Therefore, you may find more than one .nk2 file renamed to .nk2.old.

To import .nk2 files into Outlook 2010, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the .nk2 file is in the following folder: %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
   Note The .nk2 file must have the same name as your current Outlook 2010 profile. By default, the profile name is "Outlook." To check the profile name, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Mail.
3. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click Show Profiles.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type outlook.exe /importnk2, and then click OK. This should import the .nk2 file into the Outlook 2010 profile.
   
   Note After you import the .nk2 file, the contents of the file are merged into the existing nickname cache that is currently stored in your mailbox.

Note The .nk2 file is renamed with a .old file name extension on the first start of Outlook 2010. Therefore, if you try to re-import the .nk2 file, remove the .old file name extension.

How to Enable Root User in Mac OS X?

About the root user
The root user in Mac OS X is disabled by default. The root user does not appear in Users or Accounts preferences.

Only the owner of a computer or its designated administrator(s) should have an administrator account or the root password.

Any user with an administrator account can become the root user or reset the root password.

A root password should be difficult to guess, containing both numbers and letters within the first eight characters. A root user has the ability to access other users' files.

The root user has the ability to relocate or remove required system files and to introduce new files in locations that are protected from other users.

The user named "root" is a special user in UNIX-style operating systems that has read and write privileges to all areas of the file system. The root user should only be used for specific administration or monitoring tasks. After completing a task as the root user, you should log out of Mac OS X and log back in using a normal or administrator account. You should disable root access if you do not use it often.

How to enable the root user

OS X Lion

1. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences....
2. From the View menu choose Users & Groups.
3. Click the lock and authenticate as an administrator account.
4. Click Login Options....
5. Click the "Edit..." or "Join..." button at the bottom right.
6. Click the "Open Directory Utility..." button.
7. Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.
8. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
9. Choose Enable Root User from the Edit menu.
10. Enter the root password you wish to use in both the Password and Verify fields, then click OK.
    

Mac OS X v10.6.x

1. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences....
2. From the View menu choose Accounts.
3. Click on the lock and authenticate with an administrator account.
4. Click Login Options....
5. Click the "Edit..." or "Join..." button at the bottom right.
6. Click the "Open Directory Utility..." button.
7. Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.
8. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
9. Choose Enable Root User from the Edit menu.
10. Enter the root password you wish to use in both the Password and Verify fields, then click OK.

Mac OS X v10.5.x

1. From the Finder's Go menu, choose Utilities.
2. Open Directory Utility.
3. Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.
4. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
5. Choose Enable Root User from the Edit menu.
6. Enter the root password you wish to use in both the Password and Verify fields, then click OK.

How to Change User Account Name or Home Directory Name in Mac OS X 10.5 or Later

About the account name

Each user in Mac OS X has a "Full Name" (referred to as "Name" in Mac OS X v10.5.8 or earlier) and an "Account name" (referred to as "Short Name" in Mac OS X v10.5.8 or earlier) as defined in the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences (referred to as Accounts pane or Users pane in Mac OS X v10.6.8 or earlier). The account name can contain up to 255 lowercase characters with no spaces. This is the name used to create a user's home directory (also known as the user's Home or Home folder) in the Users folder. Once the user has been created, the account name (or short name) cannot be changed in the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences.

Changing the account name

Though there are other methods by which an advanced user may change the short name and related information, the easier and safer workaround is described below.

Before following these steps, you may wish to back up your important data.

For Mac OS X v10.5 or later

1. Enable the root user.
2. Log in as root.
3. Navigate to the /Users folder.
4. Select the Home folder with the short name you want to change, and rename it just like you would rename any folder. Keep in mind that the shortname must be all lowercase, with no spaces, and only contain letters.
5. Use the Users & Groups pane (Accounts pane in Mac OS X v10.6.8 or earlier) in System Preferences to create a new user with the Account name or Short Name that you used in the previous step.
6. Click OK when "A folder in the Users folder already has the name 'account name'. Would you like to use that folder as the Home folder for this user account?" Note: This will correct the ownership of all files in the Home folder, and avoid permissions issues with the contents.
7. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
8. Log in as the newly created user. You should be able to access all of your original files (on the desktop, in Documents, and in the other folders of this Home).
9. After verifying that your data is as expected, you can delete the original user account via the Users & Groups pane (Accounts pane in Mac OS X v10.6.8 or earlier).
10. Disable the root user.

How to Burn Your Own OS X Lion Install DVD or USB Drive

Getting Lion from the App Store is convenient, but if you want a physical copy of the installation, you can easily make your own Lion install DVD or USB drive with Disk Utility.

If you want to do a clean installation of Lion, you'll need to install it on some sort of physical media. Apple will be releasing a flash drive installer for a whopping $70 in August, but you don't need to wait (or pay twice the OS's price) to get it.

It's very easy to burn Apple's installer to a single layer DVD or flash drive of 5GB or larger.


Note that the Lion installer deletes itself if you upgrade, so if you want to do this, you have to do it before you update your computer to Lion.

Once you've got it on your system, here are the steps to follow:

1. Download Lion from the Mac App Store. The installer should show up in your Applications folder.

2. Right-click on the installer and hit "Show Package Contents". Navigate to Contents > SharedSupport and look for a file called "InstallESD.dmg".

3. Open up Disk Utility and drag the DMG file into the left-hand sidebar. If you're burning it to a DVD, insert your DVD, select the disk image in the sidebar, and hit the "Burn" button.Or if you want to burn Lion to a USB flash drive, plug it in and click on it in the left-hand sidebar in Disk Utility. Go to the Partition tab and select "1 Partition" from the dropdown menu. Choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled) on the left.

4. Hit the Options button under the partition table and choose "GUID Partition Table". You'll need this to make the drive bootable on a Mac.

5.Hit the Apply button when you're done to format your drive (note: it will erase everything on the drive).

6. Click on the "Restore" tab, choose the InstallESD.dmg file as the source and your flash drive as the destination. Hit the Apply button and it will create your bootable USB drive.

7. Reboot into OS X and hold the option key when you hear the startup chime. You can boot into your DVD or flash drive from there.

Hyperlinks in Outlook 2007 or 2010 not working

This usually happens when there is no default Internet browser (properly) registered in Windows.
Whether you use Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Opera, make sure your browser is set as the default browser.

You can reassign a default browser via:
Windows Vista and Windows 7: Start-> Default Programs
Windows XP: Control Panel-> Set Program Access and Defaults

When you have multiple browsers installed, it sometimes helps to set the other browser as the default, apply the changes and then set your preferred browser as the default again.

If you only have a single Internet browser installed in Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can also deselect all the defaults for the browser by pressing “Choose defaults for this program”, save the changes and then select them all again.

Reset the browser
Depending on your Internet browser, you might additionally need to reset the browser. For Internet Explorer this can be done in Control Panel-> Internet Options. When you use Internet Explorer 6 or lower, you’ll find this option on the Programs tab. For Internet Explorer 7 and 8, you can find this option on the Advanced tab.

For Firefox, open a Run command and type the following (note the spaces);
firefox -safe-mode firefox-safe-mode

In the dialog that pops-up select the option “Reset all user preferences to Firefox defaults” and press “Make Changes and Restart”.

Registry fix
If resetting via the conventional means does not work out for you, then the issue is probably rooted a bit deeper and are the file associations and handlers not correctly registered in the registry or are conflicting. To resolve this, you can download this registry file.

This zip-file contains 3 files:
readme.txt Some information over the zip-file itself
ie-fix-restrictions-Win32.reg For when using a 32-bit version of Windows
ie-fix-restrictions-Win64.reg For when using a 64-bit version of Windows

This registry file contains the minimal amount or registry entries needed for making Internet links open again with Internet Explorer. All these registry entries are original entries which are also there when you do a clean installation of Windows.
If found, it also removes some registry entries which could conflict with the original entries. These registry entries also do not exist when doing a clean installation of Windows.

Note 1: For importing this registry file you’ll need to have Administrator rights on the computer.

Note 2: The registry keys are based on a default installation of Windows on the C:\-drive. If you installed Windows to another drive letter or if you want to see what’s inside the reg-file before importing it, you can extract the zip-file and then open/edit it in Notepad by right clicking on the reg-file and choosing Edit.

How to Uninstall Antivirus .NET?

What this infection does:
Antivirus .NET is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family as Antivirus Scan . When this infection is installed on your computer it will be configured to start automatically. Once started it will scan your computer and list numerous infections in the scan results. If you attempt to remove any of these so-called infections it will state that you first need to purchase the program in order to remove anything. As these scan results are all fake, please do not purchase this program based upon anything it states.

There are a total of 4 images of Antivirus .Net that you may get on your infected PC:




To protect itself, Antivirus .NET will terminate most executables that you attempt to run. It does this to prevent you from running any security applications that may be able to remove the infection. When the rogue terminates the program it will display an alert stating that the program is infected. The text of this alert is:

Security Warning
Application cannot be executed. The file defrag.exe is infected. Do you want to activate your antivirus software now?

This alert should be ignored as the files you are attempting are not actually infected.

While running, Antivirus .NET will also display fake security alerts on your computer. These security alerts are used to make you think that there are various security problems on your computer. The text of some of these alerts include:

Windows Security Alert
Windows reports that computer is infected. Antivirus software helps to protect your computer against viruses and other security threats. Click here for the scan your computer. Your system might be at risk now.

Antivirus software alert
Infiltration alert
Your computer is being attacked by an Internet virus. It could be password-stealing attack, a trojan-dropper or similar.

Antivirus .NET will also configure your computer to use a proxy server so that your web browser will display warnings when you browse the web. This warning is:

Internet Explorer Warning - visiting this web site may harm your computer!
Most likely causes:
- The website contains exploits that can launch a malicious code on your computer
- Suspicious network activity detected
- There might be an active spyware running on your computer

Just like the fake scan results, these fake alerts and browser hijack messages are just another tactic to have you purchase the program.

As you can see, the warnings issued by this program are all fake, and once you realize that, the alerts become more of a nuisance rather than a concern. Therefore, do not purchase Antivirus .NET for any reason, and if you already have, please contact your credit card company and state that the program is a computer infection and a scam and that you would like to dispute the charge. To remove this infection and related malware, please follow the steps below.

1. It is possible that the infection you are trying to remove will not allow you to download files on the infected computer. If you run into this problem when following the steps in this guide you will need to download the files requested in this guide on another computer and then transfer them to the infected computer. You can transfer the files via a CD/DVD, external drive, or USB flash drive.

2. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking using the instructions for your version of Windows.
When the computer reboots into Safe Mode with Networking make sure you login with the username you normally use. When you are at your Windows desktop, please continue with the rest of the steps.

3. This infection changes your Windows settings to use a proxy server that will not allow you to browse any pages on the Internet with Internet Explorer or update security software. Regardless of the web browser you use, for these instructions we will first need need to fix this problem so that we can download the utilities we need to remove this infection.

4. Please start Internet Explorer, and when the program is open, click on the Tools menu and then select Internet Options as shown in the image below. Click on the Connections tab as designated by the blue arrow.


5. Click on the Lan Settings button. You will now be at the Local Area Network (LAN) settings screen as shown by the image below. Under the Proxy Server section, please uncheck the checkbox labeled Use a proxy server for your LAN. Then press the OK button to close this screen. Then press the OK button to close the Internet Options screen. Now that you have disabled the proxy server you will be able to browse the web again with Internet Explorer.


6. Now we must end the processes that belong to Antivirus .NET so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please download RKill to your desktop from the following link.

When at the download page, click on the Download Now button labeled iExplore.exe download link. When you are prompted where to save it, please save it on your desktop.

If you are unable to connect to the site to download RKill, please go back and do steps 3-6 again and make sure the infection has not reenabled the proxy settings. You may have to do this quite a few times before you can get RKill downloaded. If you still cannot download the RKill program on the infected computer, you should download it to a clean computer and copy it to the infected one via a USB flash drive or CDROM.

7. Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Antivirus .NET and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a message that RKill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just a fake warning given by Antivirus .NET when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into these infections warnings that close RKill, a trick is to leave the warning on the screen and then run RKill again. By not closing the warning, this typically will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that RKill can terminate Antivirus .NET . So, please try running RKill until the malware is no longer running. You will then be able to proceed with the remaining steps. Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.

If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions of RKill from the RKill download page. Both of these files are renamed copies of RKill, which you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser window or tab.

8. Next, download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM and save it to your desktop.
If you are unable to connect to the site to download Malwarebytes', make sure the infection has not reenabled the proxy settings.
Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.

Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.

When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish button. If MalwareBytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.

MBAM will now automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program before performing a scan. As MBAM will automatically update itself after the install, you can press the OK button to close that box and you will now be at the main program as shown below.

On the Scanner tab, make sure the the Perform full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for Antivirus .NET related files.

MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. When MBAM is scanning it looks like the image below.


When the scan is finished, you should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with the Antivirus .NET removal process.
You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
A screen displaying all the malware that the program found appears. You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.

When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad window.

You can now exit the MBAM program.

How to solve the error "The command cannot be performed because a dialog box is opened" when you try to open a file in Word 2007 or 2003?

When you try to open a file in Microsoft Office Word 2007 or in Microsoft Office Word 2003, the file does not open, and you receive an error message as follows:
The command cannot be performed because a dialog box is opened, click OK then close open dialog boxes to continue.

There are 2 options to fix the error.

Option 1:
This problem may occur if the Officeav.dll file is corrupted or outdated. The Officeav.dll file is the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in.
To resolve this problem, rename the Officeav.dll file. To do this, follow these steps.

1. Click Start, click Search, and then click All files and folders.
2. In the All or part of the file name box, type officeav.dll.
3. In the Look in box, click Local Hard Drives.
4. Click Search. When the search result is displayed in the right pane, note the path of the Officeav.dll file.
5. Locate the Officeav.dll file, right-click officeav.dll, and then click Rename.
6. Type officeav.old, and then press ENTER.
7. Restart your computer.

Option 2:
This problem may occur if you have a Word template in your Startup folder that contains an autoexec macro that opens a dialog box.

To remove a template from your startup folder, follow these steps.
1. Exit Word 2007 or Word 2003.
2. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
3. Locate one of the following folders depending on which operating system you have installed:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP or
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP or
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\STARTUP
4. Double-click the Startup folder to open it.
5. In the right Windows Explorer pane, click to select the template that you want to remove, and then press the DELETE key.

Note that because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the steps may be different on your computer.

How to Enable Run Command in Windows 7 Start Menu?

1. Right Click on any open area in Windows 7 Start Menu and select Properties


2. Click on Customize under Start Menu tab


3. Scroll down and locate Run Command checkbox


4. Check “Run Command” option to enable Run command in your Start Menu, click Ok and Apply and save settings.
That’s it, Now check your start menu and you should see Run Command.