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Resetting your Windows 7 Password when using Parallels on your Mac

I recently ran into the problem that Windows 7 which I run as a virtual machine using Parallels on my Mac decided to lock me out. I had to reset my password before I could log in, but had no idea what my password was.

Looking around the internet I found a lot of advice and software you could run to hack your Windows 7. All involve downloading software… which did not appeal to me. And you don’t have to. I came across a forum where a user named anamareddyj had the perfect solution how you can reset your password using just two commands through your OS X terminal window.

His explanation:

1. Start your virtual machine;
2. Open Terminal application (Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal);
3. Copy the following command, past it into Terminal window and press Return:

prlctl list —all

The output should look like the following:

UUID STATUS IP_ADDR NAME
{3e21f02b-9d52-4ebe-a079-675dc822d723} running - Windows 7

4. Copy the following, past it into Terminal window and add space

prlctl set

5. Copy the UUID from the output of the previous command (e21f02b-9d52-4ebe-a079-675dc822d723 in the example) and past it at the end of the “prlctl set” command (do not forget that there should be a space between “set” and UUID number), then add space, type the following and add one more space:

—userpasswd

Right now you will have something like:

prlctl set 3e21f02b-9d52-4ebe-a079-675dc822d723 —userpasswd

6. Add username (your Windows user account name), colon, and a new password (do not add space between username, colon and password). Please see the example below:

prlctl set 3e21f02b-9d52-4ebe-a079-675dc822d723 —userpasswd yourWindowsUsername:123

7. Press Return. You should see the following:

authentication tokens updated successfully.

You can now login to your Windows user account using the specified password.

See the forum topic: http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=260255