Windows 8 Bible

Creating and Using Password Reset Disks

A password reset disk is an important part of any password-protected PC. It’s the only method of password recovery that allows you to retain all data in an account in the event of a forgotten password. Advanced features such as EFS (Encrypting File System) encryption, personal certificates, and stored network passwords can be recovered only by using a password reset disk.

The trick is that you need to create the password reset disk before you forget the password. You can’t do it after you’ve forgotten the password. Keep that disk in a safe place where you can find it when you need it, but where others can’t find it to gain unauthorized access to the administrative account.

A USB flash drive or memory card works equally well. However, a memory card will work only if your computer has slots for inserting a memory card.

Choosing a memory device for the password reset

A USB flash drive (also called a jump drive) is a small device that plugs into a USB port on your computer and looks and acts like a disk drive. A memory card is a storage device commonly used to save pictures in digital devices, like cameras or smartphones. If your computer has slots for such cards, you can slide a card into the slot and treat the card just as you would a USB flash drive. See Chapter 28 for more information.

To see examples and get an idea of cost, check out some online retailers. Then search the site for flash drive, jump drive, or memory card reader to view available ...