BIOS Password:

BIOS (or UEFI) is non-volatile firmware used to perform hardware initialization before calling the boot loader to start the OS. BIOS has a setup utility which provides the ability to view and manage your computer’s hardware settings, such as changing the boot order or enabling CPU virtualization.

Through the BIOS Setup Utility, you can set up two different types of passwords:

• Setup password: The computer will prompt for this password only when you are trying to access the BIOS Setup Utility. This password is also called “Admin password” or “Supervisor password” which is used to prevent others from changing your BIOS settings.
• System Password: This will be prompted before the operating system can boot up. This password might also be called “User password” or “Power-on password” and it can stop someone powering up your computer.

If you forget any of these passwords, the reset process can be difficult or impossible. Depending on the motherboard of the computer in question, you can clear a lost BIOS password through jumper settings or removing the CMOS battery.

Windows Password:

Windows allows you to create separate accounts for different people to share a single PC. Each person can set a unique Windows password for their accounts to prevent unauthorized access.

If you forgot your Windows password and can’t log in to your PC, just boot your PC with PCUnlocker Live CD or USB and you can remove the password with ease.

Conclusion

BIOS password adds a hardware-level layer of security and locks the early stages of the startup process. After the BIOS passes the control to OS, you’ll see the Windows logo displayed on the screen. When your PC boots to the welcome/lock screen, you can click on the user name and sign in with a Windows password.

Tired of entering the startup password every time you boot your PC? Or simple forgot your startup password? This article will introduce you to all common options of removing startup password in Windows.

BIOS Password

BIOS is the first program that runs when your computer starts. You can tell the BIOS to ask for a password when it starts, thus restricting access to your computer. BIOS passwords can be added extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers, and are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password.

Forgetting your BIOS password can lock up the hardware and make the computer completely unusable. Fortunately there are a few known backdoors and software that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password on most systems. The BIOS password on desktop computer can be reset by removing the CMOS battery for a few minutes. However, laptop BIOS passwords are stored in a special chip on the motherboard and the only way to recover this password is to using BIOS password cracking utility. Have a look at this article:Recover BIOS/CMOS Password Using Free CMOSPwd Utility.

Syskey Password

As we all know, the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database has been used by Windows to store password hashes for local user accounts. To make the hashes harder to decrypt, Microsoft introduced SysKey password, an additional layer of obfuscation SysKey which can be enabled in Windows using the SysKey utility. To learn how to enable Syskey, please refer to this article: How to Lock Your Computer with Syskey.

Syskey password can be helpful to prevent hackers from cracking Windows user password. There are no reliable tools that will help brute forcing Syskey password. The Offline NT Password & Registry Editor claims that it can help you disable Syskey startup password but I’ve tried it with no luck. After forgetting your Syskey password, the only feasible option is to do a system restore using a restore point dated before SysKey password was set, or reinstall the operating system.

Windows User Password

Have you ever been locked out of your computer by a forgotten Windows user password? There’s no need to get frustrated. It is relatively easy to bypass this safeguard. Reset Windows Password utility is the well-known software which enables you to remove Windows admin/user password easily by creating a password removal Live CD/USB. It works with almost all versions of Windows, including the latest Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.