i have an older laptop with windows 7 and it comes up with a black screen and a blue banner asking for password i forgot password its administrator password

Dear Steve Sorensen,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Important Disclaimer: 

This method is intended only for authorized access to your own device. Using these steps on devices you do not own or have permission to access may violate laws and Microsoft policies. 

Additionally, this is not an official Microsoft-supported procedure. It involves modifying system files, which can cause unexpected issues if done incorrectly. Proceed at your own risk. 

If you’re not comfortable using Command Prompt, there are third-party guides available. 

The following link is not affiliated with Microsoft and may involve unsupported methods: 

<URL removed by moderator>

Here’s a detailed, step-by-step guide for resetting a forgotten Windows 7 password using the Ease of Access (Utilman) method. 

Step 1: Boot into System Recovery 

1. Restart your computer. 
2. While it’s starting, press F8 repeatedly until you see the Advanced Boot Options menu. 
3. Select Repair Your Computer and press Enter. 
4. Choose your language and click Next. 
5. Select your Windows installation and click Next. 
6. Log in with any available account (if prompted). 

Step 2: Open Notepad from Recovery 

1. In the System Recovery Options window, click Command Prompt. If you don’t see it, click Cancel on the dialog, then View problem details, scroll down, and click the link to open Notepad. 
2. In Notepad, go to File > Open. 
3. Navigate to: C:\Windows\System32 (Adjust if Windows is installed on another drive.) 

Step 3: Swap Utilman.exe with cmd.exe 

1. In the System32 folder:  
   • Find Utilman.exe (Ease of Access tool) > Rename to Utilman1.exe 
   • Find cmd.exe > Rename to Utilman.exe 
2. Close Notepad and Command Prompt. 
3. Restart your PC normally. 

Step 4: Open Command Prompt at Login 

• At the Windows login screen, click the Ease of Access icon (bottom-left corner). 
• Instead of the accessibility menu, a Command Prompt window will appear. 

Step 5: Reset Your Password 

1. In Command Prompt, type: net user (Lists all user accounts.) 
2. Identify your username. 
3. Type: net user <username> <newpassword> Example: net user John 12345  
4. Press Enter. You should see: The command completed successfully. 

Step 6: Log In 

• Close Command Prompt. 
• Enter your new password (or leave blank if you set it that way). 

Step 7: Restore Original Files (Important for Security) 

1. Boot back into Repair Your Computer. 
2. Open Notepad > File > Open > C:\Windows\System32. 

You’ve reset your Windows 7 password without losing data. 

The shorter version: Restart into Recovery Mode 

Press and hold "Shift". At the same time, click to Start > Restart > Restart anyway. 

You will enter the Recovery page, then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt 

Then, enter the following command: 

C: 

Cd windows 

Cd system32 

Ren utilman.exe utilman1.exe 

Ren cmd.exe utilman.exe 

Exit

After you finish, then click on Continue. 

It will bring you to the start page. Then, click on Accessibility icon. 

In this command prompt, type: control userpasswords2  

Then, just choose the account and click on Reset Password. 

You could insert your password here or just leave it empty. 

You can enter the computer without password. 

I hope this helps resolve your issue quickly. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".    

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.