Using Hiren's Boot CD to Recover Lost Causes

One of the first problems I had to face at my new job was a computer where the local user password was forgotten. Actually they've been changed a few times, so we just couldn't find the one that worked. Once the computer was removed from the domain there was no other way to log in, so ater doing some searching I found Hiren's BootCD. It did the job, did it well and fairly easily too! All I had to do was boot up the Hiren's CD, launch the password recovery application and was able to reset the password. This allowed me to actually log in using a local account, change a few settings and put the computer back on the domain. The CD has some other pretty cool features as well like booting up into a Windows XP live session or even a Linux live session. Other tools include ghosting options, partitioning options and several applications that let you run thourugh diagnostics on the machine or even run a pre-boot virus scan. I recommend just burning this disk and just putting it in your collection. You never know when you'll need but assuming you work in IT, I assume it won't be long before you will. You can download and create the Hiren's BootCD by going to their website at: http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd