Build Your Own Free Windows Password Reset – Part 1

By | October 22, 2016
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Now- you can create your own free Windows Password Reset utility using Windows PE and pcwinRecovery.

If you haven’t created a Windows PE package it can be confusing.  In this first of a two part walkthrough I step through creating a Windows PE package complete with pcwinRecovery.  So, after you’re finished- you can use it to boot your computer and reset your Windows Password.  Microsoft has provided Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) for quite some time and if you’re not familiar with it, you can review Wikipedia’s Windows PE webpage for some details and history.

Requirements and prerequisites…

  • Microsoft Windows ADK (WADK)
  • Windows 10
  • USB flash drive (thumb drive) – to create a bootable USB flash drive
  • CD or DVD – to create a bootable CD/DVD

The first step is to download the Windows ADK.  Microsoft has 2 downloads for the WADK based on Windows 10 version that you’re running on build computer.  Check your Windows 10 version.  Use the keyboard and type WIN+R and then type ‘winver’ in the run dialog and record the version listed (either 1607 or 1511) and download WADK for your O/S.  If you’re running Windows 7 then you can download the Windows Automated installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7, likewise there is a Windows PE build for Windows 8 and 8.1 too.

When you click the download link- you can either download WADK or install (see image below).  Select either and continue.

download

The WADK is big.  So, if you choose to download the kit- it can take a while.  Next, start the installation and select the Deployment Tools and Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) and install.  After it completes you’re ready for the fun stuff- building your own custom Windows PE CD/DVD, or bootable thumb drive.

featuretoinstall

 

After the installation completes- check this folder location, C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit.  Open your start menu and check for Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment and right click and Run as administrator. A command windows displays and you should already be in the correct folder, but if not change to this folder location…

copype-folder

In Windows Explorer or from the command prompt create a new folder.  In my example I created a new folder at D:\WinPeImages and that is where I’ll create my custom Windows PE build.

After you create your new folder you can start creating your own Windows PE build.  The steps are (1.) create a working directory complete with Windows PE files, (2.) mount boot.wim image so you can (3.) add packages, and finally (4.) dismount .wim file, and (5.1.) create an ISO, or (5.2.) create a bootable USB flash drive.

  1. Specify either 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (amd64) O/S and the path to write the WinPE files. 
    copype.cmd amd64 D:\WinPeImages\W1064
  2. Mount the WinPE image file that you created in step one. 
    Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:"D:\WinPeImages\W1064\media\sources\boot.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount"
  3. Add packages to WinPE. 
    Dism /image:D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\winpe-wmi.cab"
    Dism /image:D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\en-us\WinPE-WMI_en-us.cab"
    Dism /image:D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\WinPE-NetFx.cab"
    Dism /image:D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\en-us\WinPE-NetFx_en-us.cab"
  4. Save and dismount the image file. 
    Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:"D:\WinPeImages\W1064\mount" /commit
  5. Create a bootable ISO to make a CD or create a bootable USB flash drive.
    1. Use this command to create a ISO file that you can use to create a boot CD/DVD. 
      MakeWinPEMedia /ISO D:\WinPeImages\W1064 D:\WinPeImages\W1064\W1064.iso
    2. Use this command to create bootable USB flash drive. “F:” is an example, you should check your USB drive letter and modify as required. 
      MakeWinPEMedia /UFD D:\WinPeImages\W1064 F:

       

So, at this point you created your WinPE 10 bootable CD/DVD or USB flash drive.  After setting your computer’s BIOS/UEFI to boot from your media- WinPE 10 will load and display a blue background and command window.

In Build Your Own Free Windows Password Reset – Part2 I’ll expand the walkthrough to include the PCWinRecovery files and modify WinPE to launch Password Reset x64.  So, instead of a command prompt- Password Reset x64 program will display and from there you can use it to reset your Windows password.