How to Do a Windows 10 Password Reset

Passwords provide an effective way of keeping your data/information protected from unwanted people. Most of us keep our Windows password protected to make sure no one can access our important documents and files. But, to keep your device secure, we should change our passwords every once in a while. Also, there are cases when we forget our passwords as well. In these type of scenarios, we need to change our passwords. There are a couple of ways of changing your Windows 10 passwords and all of them are given below. Some of them requires you to sign in to Windows 10 while some of them will work without the need to sign in to Windows.

Method 1: Changing from Windows Control Panel

This is the easiest way of changing your password. This method requires you to sign in to Windows. So, if you can’t sign in to your Windows then skip this method.

Hold Windows key and press R
Type control.exe /name Microsoft.UserAccounts and press Enter

Select Make changes to my account in PC Settings

Select Sign-in options from the left pane
Click Change in Password section

Enter your current password or PIN

Enter your new password that you want to change to. Re-enter your new password and enter a hint for your password (hint will be shown in case you forget your password).
Click Next

That’s it, your password should be changed now.

Method 2: Using a Password Reset Disk

If you forgot your password and cant log in to your Windows then this method is for you. Also, this method requires you to have a Password Reset Disk. If you don’t have a Password reset Disk then you should move to the next method.

The steps for changing your password using Password Reset Disk are given below

Plug in your Password Reset Disk
Enter the wrong password while signing-in to Windows 10 and then press Ok

A reset password option will appear under your password field now. Click the reset password

Now, your Password Reset Disk wizard should automatically appear. Click Next

Choose your Password reset Disk from the drop down menu. If there is only one disk plugged in to your computer then it will automatically be selected by default
Click Next

Type your new password and the re-enter the new password as well. Enter the hint that you want to have in case you forget your password. Click Next

That should change your password and you should be good to go. You should be signed in to your Windows now.

Method 3: Microsoft’s Password Recovery

You can use the Microsoft’s Password Recovery method to recover or change your forgotten password. This is possible because your Windows is associated with your Microsoft account and your Windows password is the same as the Microsoft account.

Note: This won’t work if your Microsoft Account isn’t linked to your Windows. Sure, it will change your Microsoft’s Account password but since your Windows won’t be using the Microsoft’s password (because your account isn’t linked to your Windows), it won’t be useful for you.

Go here to start the process of resetting/changing your password
Select I forgot my password and select Next

Follow on-screen instructions to change your password. Keep in mind that it might ask you various questions for security purposes. These questions are asked to confirm your identity. Any external emails or phone numbers connected to your account will most likely be used to confirm your identity.

Once you are done, the same password will be used to sign-in to Windows 10.

Method 4: Administrator Account

Whenever you install a fresh copy of Windows, a new administrator account (separate from your account) is created in Windows. This administrator account doesn’t have a password so you can use this account to get in to Windows.

All you have to do is turn on your computer and look for the account named Administrator on the bottom-left corner of the sign-in screen. If you see an account there then select it and click Sign in. Once you are in, follow the steps given below to change the password of your account

Hold Windows key and press R
Type control.exe /name Microsoft.UserAccounts and press Enter

Select Manage other account

Select the account that you want to change the password of

Click Change the password

Now, follow the on-screen instructions to change the password of your account

You should be able to sign in to your account once you are done.

Method 5: Using the CMD (Only works for local account)

This is a tedious and long method of changing your password. So, this should be your last resort. If nothing else worked then you should try this method. Basically, you will create a new dummy account using the command prompt and a bootable CD/DVD or USB. Once you are done, you will sign in to the newly created account and change the password of your original account from there.

Note: This method requires a bootable CD/DVD or a USB. Also, this method won’t work for your Microsoft account. If you want to recover the password of a Microsoft account then check method 3 above.

Turn on your computer
Once the error is shown, press F1 or Del or F10. You will also see the button mentioned on the screen as well. The button you press to open BIOS depends on your manufacturer so it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
You should be in the BIOS menu If you aren’t, then you must be looking at another menu (depending on your manufacturer). Use your arrow keys to move in the list, select BIOS menu and press Enter.

Use your arrows key to navigate through the BIOS menu. Go into the section Boot Order and make sure the CD/DVD or USB are on the top priority. The Boot Order might have a different name like Boot option depending on your manufacturer

Save the settings and exit the BIOS once you are done

Reboot your computer
Once the setup begins, press SHIFT and F10 together (SHIFT + F10)
You should be able to see a command prompt window
Now, we will run some commands to make sure that the command prompt appears on our Windows login screen. This will be useful because we will use the command prompt to make a new dummy account from the sign-in screen.
Type the line given below and press You should be able to see a message saying 1 file(s) moved.
move d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.bak
Type the line given below and press Enter. You should be able to see a message saying 1 file(s) copied.
copy d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
Now, you are done, you just need to restart the system. Type wpeutil reboot and press Enter to reboot the system

You should see a command prompt windows once you get to the sign-in screen of Windows

Type net user <username> /add and press Enter. Replace the <username> with the username you want to assign to the account that you are creating
Type net localgroup administrators <username> /add and press Enter. Replace the <username> with the username you entered in steps 16

Now, close the command prompt and reboot
You should be able to see the newly created account once you come back to the sign-in screen of Windows
Click on the newly created account (bottom left corner) and sign in to your Windows
Once signed in, Hold Windows key and press R
Type compmgmt.msc and press Enter

Double click Local Users and Groups from the left pane
Select Users from the left pane
Now select, right click the account (from right pane) that you were having troubles with and select Set Password…