Forgot your Windows password? you can do this

A good password manager like LastPass, DashLane or KeePass X is already a good tool. With it, you can easily remember all passwords for Windows, Wi-Fi and all kinds of online services and applications. Unfortunately, many users find such a tool complicated or dislike having their passwords tracked online. Therefore, they continue to rely on their own memory. Until this suddenly puts them in a difficult situation. In this article, we explain how to get through such a painful moment in different scenarios.

There are basically two types of Windows accounts. The first is the local account associated with the PC, which is normally kept only on this computer. The second is a Microsoft account. This, like many other services, consists of an email address and a password. The biggest advantage is that you can log on to multiple computers and everything is automatically synchronized via the cloud.

To find out what type of account you’re signed into Windows with, in Windows 10 Settings and choose you Calculates your information. Here you will also find the option to switch to another account type: via Sign in with local/Microsoft account instead. You can create new accounts from this window or create a Microsoft account through it. Sync your settings Decide which tracks you want to keep in sync across your different devices.

Even if you are using Windows 11 go to Settings app then Accounts and then Your information. below Account settings You can then switch to a different account type just like in Windows 10.

If you’ve forgotten your password, the account type doesn’t matter. Let’s say you have a Microsoft account. To do this, go to https://account.live.com/password/reset. Enter your email address here and click Next. A different window will open depending on the data you previously linked to this account. For example, you can specify how you want to receive a security code for verification, for example, via email, text message or phone message. This way you can set a new password.

Other option, you choose I don’t have any of these data. Now enter the e-mail address where you can be reached at that time. After filling the captcha, Next. A little later, you will receive a code at this address, which you entered in the window.

Print To approve and answer some questions. It may take some time for Microsoft to send you an automated email. This indicates whether you have entered enough information to make your account accessible again with a different password.

Recovering the password from a local account is usually more difficult. This is very useful if you have created a pseudo password reset disk before. You do this as follows. Sign in with a local account, insert a USB stick into your PC, press the Windows key, Configuration and start the application Control Board on.

Then click twice in succession user accounts and select or search Create a password reset disk. Wizard Forgotten Password Start. Print NextGo to your USB stick and Next. Enter your current password, again . Next (2x) complete with and Complete.

If you later lose your password, leave the password blank in the Windows login window and press the arrow button behind the password field. confirm with OK and Select reset password. Scroll Using a password reset disk insteadso the magician reset password visible.

Plug the encrypted USB stick into your PC and click. Next. Hover over USB stick, press Next, enter a new password (2x) and provide a reminder. You will see the second one when you enter an incorrect or blank password the next time you log in. End with: Next and together Complete.

Of course, it could be worse: you don’t have a password reset disk, and the reminder doesn’t give you a second memory. Then there is still hope. If you’re running Windows 10 1803 or later, you answered a series of security questions when creating your account. Think about questions about your pet’s name and what your nickname was when you were a kid.

When logging in, enter an incorrect or blank password. then click reset password and you can still enter a new password for your account after you answer three questions correctly.

You can also set these security questions at any time from: Settings, Accounts, Login options. Click here password and on Update security questions. After selecting and answering three of them, confirm with . Complete.

In addition to a classic password, you prefer to work with other login options in Windows 10 or Windows 11. For example, a PIN, picture password, biometric authentication such as a face or fingerprint, or a physical security key.

If you really use one or more of these extra options, you can click on it. Login options Click it. You can still register later via one of the options set. If you have successfully registered, you can still change the forgotten password to admin. Any time you want one or more of these options, if available on your device. Settings, Accounts, Login options.

If none of the above methods help you, there is one last useful way out. At least if you (or any other user) can log in with another administrator account. When you are logged in as an administrator, you can easily change another user’s password.

open it Control Boardclick user accounts (2x) and select Manage another account. Select the relevant account, change password and enter a new password (2x) and a reminder. Or open windows start menu, right click command prompt and Select Run as administrator. Then issue the following command: User . So it will be something like: net user ComputerTotal !Secret123.

Unfortunately, you don’t really like it. You forgot your password, you have no password reset disk and no additional login options. You don’t have any security questions (answers) and you don’t have a second admin account. Fortunately, even in this extreme situation there is still a way out.

However, there are few options other than booting your computer from a live boot environment. This can be a Linux distribution like Linux Mint or Ubuntu, but also with a Windows installation stick. Let’s start with the second one.

Boot your PC from the USB stick. Enter language, country and keyboard, press Next and Select Reset your computer, Solving problems ( Advanced options), command prompt. Here you issue the following two commands: cd a:\windows\system32 a:. relocate a: each time with the correct letter of the drive with your Windows installation (in our example D:). If this is true then issue both commands below rename utilman.exe utilman.bak and Copy cmd.exe utilman.exe.

Now restart your PC. We assume you are running Windows 10 1809 or newer. In the login window you will see the button at the bottom right Accessibility on. When you click it, the expected tool (utilman.exe) will not start, but a command window (cmd.exe) with full administrator rights will open. Indeed, our toll trick handled this nicely.

Enter at command prompt User on. It will show you a list of user accounts. Now all you have to do is change the password of the forgetful user with the command mentioned earlier: User .