I'm locked out of my computer

jimwhoski
jimwhoski Member Posts: 2 New User

Issue resolved by using the "Automatic Repair Screen". 
Step 1. Hold the power button for 5 seconds or until the computer shuts completely off.
Step 2. Press the power button to turn the computer on. 
Step 3. As soon as you see the rotating loading circle, press and hold the power button until the computer shuts off.
Step 4. repeat this process, steps 2 and 3, 2or 3 times until you see the "Preparing Automatic Repair" screen.
Step 5. Let the computer boot to the Automatic Repair screen.
Step 6. Click "Advanced Options" and then select "troubleshoot".
Step 7. Select "Refresh Your PC" if you do not wish to erase data, or "Reset Your PC" to erase all data and restore the system. 
Step 8. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete recovery. 
I recovered to an earlier time/date to avoid  a complete reinstallation of Windows. 

Hello, I updated my drives using Acer's site and when I rebooted my pc I'm no longer able to get past the sign-in / user screen. I beleive this is the Window's account screen, which is listed as "ADMIN" and no password needed. It says "locked", and when I click on the screen it goes blank to the color I choose as my background color. I tried numerous times to use my recovery thumb drive pushing F12 when the Acer logo pops up but it just keeps continuing on as a normal start up. Is this a Windows issue or and Acer issue? I was thinking more a Windows issue but would appreciate any input on how to deal with being locked out as "ADMIN". Thank you for your time and help.

Best Answer

  • philetus
    philetus ACE Posts: 4,759 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    Member
    Solution! Re: Locked myself out of Windows (By accident, oops!)[ New ]
     

    ‎05-07-2014 08:09 PM

    So I decided to look into the BIOS update files, and I managed to extract the files from the newest BIOS update firmware using 7-Zip, then I manually installed the files using the applications that it came with, WinFlash32.exe within the environment that my W8 USB ran. It reset my BIOS settings to default and allowed me access to Windows again!

     

    For those that have the same issue I had, do the following:

    1. Install 7-Zip on a secondary computer.

    2. Open the installer file (Mine was VA410218.exe) in 7-Zip (It's a 7-Zip self-extracting file) and extracted the files to a second USB drive.

    3. Opened the launch.bat file in a text editor, then took the USBs and inserted them into my laptop and started up the Windows 8 USB. I went to Repair Windows, then opened a Command Prompt.

    4. I typed in F:/WinFlash32.exe /bcp /sd /ver /cvar /v /endkey /silent /bbl /cac /cbp 30 /file F:/BIOS.cap, plugged in my laptop, then hit Enter. (NOTE: The drive, F, may change depending on your comptuer. Try a few different drives, and try the 64-bit version, WinFlash64.exe, as well.)

    5. Let it do its thing, and it reboot, then flashed the BIOS image.

    6. It rebooted once more, and properly rebooted into Windows 8.

Answers

  • philetus
    philetus ACE Posts: 4,759 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    Member
    Solution! Re: Locked myself out of Windows (By accident, oops!)[ New ]
     

    ‎05-07-2014 08:09 PM

    So I decided to look into the BIOS update files, and I managed to extract the files from the newest BIOS update firmware using 7-Zip, then I manually installed the files using the applications that it came with, WinFlash32.exe within the environment that my W8 USB ran. It reset my BIOS settings to default and allowed me access to Windows again!

     

    For those that have the same issue I had, do the following:

    1. Install 7-Zip on a secondary computer.

    2. Open the installer file (Mine was VA410218.exe) in 7-Zip (It's a 7-Zip self-extracting file) and extracted the files to a second USB drive.

    3. Opened the launch.bat file in a text editor, then took the USBs and inserted them into my laptop and started up the Windows 8 USB. I went to Repair Windows, then opened a Command Prompt.

    4. I typed in F:/WinFlash32.exe /bcp /sd /ver /cvar /v /endkey /silent /bbl /cac /cbp 30 /file F:/BIOS.cap, plugged in my laptop, then hit Enter. (NOTE: The drive, F, may change depending on your comptuer. Try a few different drives, and try the 64-bit version, WinFlash64.exe, as well.)

    5. Let it do its thing, and it reboot, then flashed the BIOS image.

    6. It rebooted once more, and properly rebooted into Windows 8.