There are many reasons why you may forget your Windows login password. If you encounter this situation, this guide will show you how to reset your Windows password.

Table of contents

• 1. Recover your password from the login screen
• 2. Reset disk with password
• 3. Use the Accessibility button to reset your password

1. Recover your password from the login screen

Windows has a convenient feature that allows you to recover your login password from the initial boot screen. The program to reset your password will vary depending on whether you use your PIN or your account password.

If you use a PIN code to log in…

If you have lost your PIN but have a Microsoft account connected to your Windows installation, reset your password just click the I Forgot My PIN button.

It may take a while for your system to display the Microsoft account login screen. You can get a code from Microsoft to log in (more convenient, especially if you may have forgotten your password), or click "Use your password instead" to log in with your account password.

After you enter the received code or your password, the dialog will ask you if you are sure you want to reset your PIN and warn you that some applications may require you to log in again and that some information about you may be lost. Click Continue to reset your PIN.

In the PIN code reset window, set your new PIN code and click OK .

If you use another method to log in…

If you use your Microsoft account password or other method to log in to Windows, click I Forgot My Password to start the process of restoring your account.

The part of your other communication methods (email, phone number, etc.) that is used to receive security codes will be mostly covered by asterisks. Enter the hidden part to confirm your identity.

In the next screen, enter your code and click Next . You will be taken to a screen that asks you to enter a new password.

2. Reset disk with password

Resetting the disk with your password is one of the easiest ways to reset your forgotten Windows password. The only downside is that you need to create a password reset disk in advance.

Create a password reset disk

It might be too late, but the instructions are very simple in case you read this before you lose your password.

First, plug the USB thumb drive into your system. Make sure this is the drive you won't lose, as it will be necessary if you lose your password. After the drive is inserted and detected, click the Start menu and enter "Password Reset Disk".

Find the Create Password Reset Disk Control Panel application.

Click on the app. If the wizard does not open within a few minutes, restart the Windows Explorer process by pressing Ctrl Shift Esc , look for Windows Explorer in the Task Manager process list, and click the Restart button at the top of the window.

Restarting Windows Explorer will display an additional icon in the taskbar that was not previously available. That's the guide. Click it, and then click Next .

Select your thumb drive in the second pane of the wizard. Enter your current password (if you use a PIN, it is not your login PIN).

Wait for the password recovery disk to complete, and then complete the wizard. If you look at the contents of the drive, you will see a .psw file. That is a RSA2 key for verifying yours and is unique to your system.

Reset disk with password

This applies to local accounts only - not to accounts managed by Microsoft. If you are logging into Windows using a Microsoft account, please check the above method.

Try your password again. If it fails, click OK and insert your password reset disk. Click Reset Password , go through the wizard until you can select Password Reset Disk as your method, and then click Next .

Enter your new password, confirm it, create a prompt for it and you're done!

3. Use the Accessibility button to reset your password

This clever trick is a little-known way to reset your Windows password. This helps if you missed making a password reset disk and don't want to use extra software, but it requires modifying some system files, which will at least temporarily affect your ability to use assistive tools.

When modifying system files, you must follow the instructions as carefully as possible. While it is not impossible to recover from accidental deletion of important files, this is by no means the hassle you want to add in your daily life.

To reset your password, access the login screen and click the Power button. Hold down the Shift key and click Restart to reach the recovery menu.

Go to Troubleshooting -> Advanced Options -> Command Prompt .

Carefully enter and execute the following commands.

 <code>move c:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe c:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe.bak copy c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe c:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe</code>

You are replacing utilman.exe with cmd.exe , so pressing the Accessibility button will start the command prompt and create a backup of utilman.exe for use again.

Close the command prompt and click Continue to start Windows again. Click the Accessibility button in the bottom corner of the Windows login screen. This will start the command prompt.

Our goal is to create a new local administrator account with elevated permissions on your login screen.

In the command prompt, use the following commands, execute one by one, while replacing the new username of your choice . In my case, I use "testuser" as my new username.

 <code>net user <username> /add net localgroup administrators <username> /add</username></username></code>

A new user account with a new username will be created. Select a new account from the login screen and log in to your Windows system.

Once logged in, you can reset the passwords for other accounts from the Local Users and Groups windows. Access it by searching for lusrmgr.msc in the Start menu.

While many older hacking methods are no longer there, these Windows password reset methods (especially the last one) are still a powerful way to ensure you can log in to your system again. If you encounter other types of login errors, learn how to fix the "Login Options Disabled" error on Windows!

All images and screenshots are courtesy of Miguel Leiva-Gomez.

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