Solved Forgotten password - How do I tell what version of Windows is installed? Key?

A friend has forgotten her Windows password, even with a decent hint, so can't log in. She wants me to just reset Windows and she will start over. I can download the Media Creation Tool and reinstall Windows, but I have a couple of questions...

1. How can I tell which version of Windows she is running if I can't log in?
2. If her activation is linked to a Microsoft account (which she has no idea about) will Windows still activate properly after being reinstalled?
3. Is there any way to tell how Windows was activated without logging into the computer?
4. Is there a way to start the Windows "reset" procedure from the hard drive without logging in?

I just don't want to wipe the machine and it not be able to activate.

Thanks!

@Calab

If worse comes to worst, there's always this... $9.97

Extra question... If I boot from a Live CD (Windows PE, Linux, etc.) and bitlocker is not active, I should be able to see the files, shouldn't I? Would there be a way to find the Microsoft account (not password) that was used to activate Windows, if the activation is linked to an Microsoft account?

Calab said:

A friend has forgotten her Windows password, even with a decent hint, so can't log in. She wants me to just reset Windows and she will start over. I can download the Media Creation Tool and reinstall Windows, but I have a couple of questions...

1. How can I tell which version of Windows she is running if I can't log in?

Click to expand...

WMIC was deprecated and could have been added.

Try:

wmic datafile where name='c:\\windows\\explorer.exe' get version
wmic os get caption

or

Boot to Windows RE > command prompt > type:

notepad
notepad

bcdedit | find "osdevice"
(Identify the assigned Windows drive letter)

(change the letter W: to the applicable drive letter)

dism /image:W:\ /get-packages /format:list

cd W:\Windows\INF

Save the setupapi.dev.log to notepad or a flash drive > post a share link

Calab said:

2. If her activation is linked to a Microsoft account (which she has no idea about) will Windows still activate properly after being reinstalled?

Click to expand...

When a clean install is activated its licensing data is entered into Microsoft servers.

Having a Microsoft account is not required for a clean install reactivation.

Calab said:

3. Is there any way to tell how Windows was activated without logging into the computer?

Click to expand...

Calab said:

4. Is there a way to start the Windows "reset" procedure from the hard drive without logging in?

Click to expand...

A reset may be unavailable.

A custom install is performed via Windows RE.

It has similarities to reset save files.

Drivers and applications need to be reinstalled.

Files are saved to a new Windows.old > important files are restored from Windows.old after the clean install.

A custom install may require a password.

If you are not averse to a dual boot you can just pop in a fresh drive, install Windows on it, and download BelArc Advisor for free. You don't have to activate the Windows license on the new drive. Bel Arc will tell you what operating systems are on the PC so you can go from there. After you are done you can just pull the new drive. This is just one of many approaches. If you're familiar with using CMD I would recommend following what zbook posted here.

Calab said:

Extra question... If I boot from a Live CD (Windows PE, Linux, etc.) and bitlocker is not active, I should be able to see the files, shouldn't I? Would there be a way to find the Microsoft account (not password) that was used to activate Windows, if the activation is linked to an Microsoft account?

Click to expand...

Ideally, with a fresh installation you can prompt Windows to search your PC for the activation key when you attempt to activate. It is also possible to access the user files on the old OS if bit-locker is not active via Windows Manager or Explorer when you install your OS on a fresh drive. This method will allow you to copy over the personal data to the new drive. It is an option.

Your initial question /problem doesn't seem to have been addressed.

A friend has forgotten her Windows password, even with a decent hint, so can't log in.

Click to expand...

It is possible to reset a password when it has been lost/forgotten. How depends on whether the account in question is a local account or a MS account.
The procedure may make use of the built-in hidden administrator account, or a MS account password can be reset on line.


Note: blue links in text are clickable and may open another tutorial.

This does not require knowing the Windows build.
A similar tutorial exists for Windows 10 - see tenforums.com tutorials.

Activation: as the digital entitlement to Windows is held against a hash of a form of the hardware id of the device (excluding RAM and disk) this should not be an issue, although certain problems can arise.

Bitlocker: If this is enabled (not available on Home editions) this would be a problem.

Reset Windows:
Given the lost password, if you don't succeed in resetting it, your only option (using this procedure) would be to reset Windows losing everything including accounts. Rather a last resort.
And yes, can be done even if you can't log in - see:

Just to follow up... She told me just to wipe everything as it was "acting funny" anyhow. Had no issues installing and Windows activated without any issues. She's happy.

And thank you for your reply.

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