Each of us sooner or later has problems with passwords! A familiar picture. You sit down in front of your computer, hoping to finish urgent work, try to enter your Windows 10 login credentials, and then realize to your horror that you absolutely do not remember your password!
The first thing that comes to mind is that you need to work less at night... You go through dozens of options and nothing, there was no access, and there is no access!!! And then an idea comes - you need to reset Windows password 10! I think many people remember how to do this in older versions of "windows", but how to do this in the new one?
Fortunately, the reset procedure in Windows 10 is largely similar to the same procedure in Windows 8 and older versions of this OS. Although with some minor reservations. In this review article, I will introduce you to the basic methods for resetting your password. They are suitable for both Microsoft Live accounts and local accounts.
1. Use the Password Reset Tool to recover your Microsoft Live account password
The first and most obvious solution is to use the standard reset function available on the special Microsoft password recovery service. A window opens on the service page asking why you can’t log into Windows 10? You will be asked to choose one of three options. In our case, the very first one is suitable - “I don’t remember my password.” But this is only if, when installing the system, you linked your account to the Microsoft account authorization network service.
I will not dwell in detail on this reset option. I will only note that the official password reset procedure in Windows 10 is standard and you must be prepared to undergo verification. To do this, you will need to provide your personal data, such as E-mail and phone number.
If this option doesn't suit you, no problem. In our area accounts Microsoft is still not popular. Fortunately, there are other ways that will help you regain control of your computer. Alternative ways to restore access in Windows 10 are not so obvious and use different workarounds. Let's look at them one by one.
2. Reset Windows 10 password via password reset disk
Using a Password Reset Disk is another in a regular way regain control implemented by Microsoft. The only disadvantage of this method is that the disk must be created in Windows 10 in advance, even before access is lost.
By creating a Password Reset Disk, you can easily regain access to Windows 10. In the near future I will devote a separate article to this method.
3. Use alternative authorization methods to reset the main password
Perhaps you still have access to the operating system through alternate authentication? Using a PIN code, graphic code or through a second account? If so, then you have a chance to log in in a roundabout way and reset your Windows 10 password through the command line.
- Log in to the system using one of the alternative ways, press the Windows logo key and the X key simultaneously. Find “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” in the list of available system tools and launch it. PowerShell is an updated edition of the command line shell, but with expanded capabilities.
- Type the following in the utility window:
net user "account_name" "new_password";
Instead of "account_name" enter the name of your account,
Instead of "new_password" enter New Password(quotes should be removed).
- Success will be indicated by the message “Command completed successfully”
4. How to reset your password on Windows 10 via MSDaRT
The DaRT (Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset) toolkit has been released by Microsoft for quite some time and helps IT specialists restore their computer's functionality. DaRT functionality also includes the ability to reset your password. To do this, you need to boot your computer from the DaRT Recovery CD and run the built-in Locksmith Wizard utility. It is in this utility that you can restore login for any Windows 10 account.
Unfortunately, the DaRT toolset is not free. This utility is only available for corporate clients Microsoft, TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers.
5. Reset the Windows 10 password using the PCUnlocker utility
The PCUnlocker utility allows you to unlock Windows computer, which would be blocked due to a forgotten password. She represents boot image, which must be written to a CD or flash drive using one of the appropriate programs. For example, UltraISO or Rufus. After loading from such a disk, you will see full list local accounts used in the current Windows installation 10.
- Select the required account from the list and click on the “Reset Password” button.
- The program will check the status of the selected account and offer you one of the options to solve the problem:
Remove the password if the Windows account was protected by it,
Connect the associated Microsoft account to the local account,
Raise the rights of a standard or limited user to administrator level,
Activate your account if it has been disabled,
Unblock a blocked account and so on...
- Once you reset your password and sign in to Windows 10, be sure to set a new one and make sure you don't forget it in the future.
6. Reset your password by rolling back Windows 10
If you do not want to use any additional software or if your hard drive encrypted with using BitLocker, you can use another technology. Simply roll back Windows 10 to a previous state that stores old data. Select the appropriate restore point and go through the standard system rollback steps. Windows files 10 to older versions. But remember that you will then have to reinstall software installed after the date the restore point was created.
So what did we get in this article? I quickly walked you through how to reset a Windows 10 password that you forgot or lost the hint for. In the future, I will try to take a deeper look at each of the mentioned methods so that you do not have problems accessing the new OS.
As in the previous version of the OS, in Windows 10, when logging in, two methods of user authorization are used - through an account with Microsoft and through a local account. Next, we will tell you how to reset the administrator password in both cases, if the latter has forgotten it, and how to create a disk, a special flash drive or other media whose capabilities allow you to restore account data.
Changing your local account password
To reset a Windows 10 user password, you will need an installation or boot disk. You need to go into command line mode:
You can get to the command line easier if, when logging in from the installation drive, when a window appears with the ability to select a language, press Shift and F10 at the same time. If this method does not work, you will have to act in the manner described above.
After the window opens, enter sequentially (pressing Enter each time):
- diskpart,
- list volume.
These entries will bring up a list in front of you HDD partitions. You need to select from them the disk with Windows 10 installed and remember the partition letter. Moreover, this will not necessarily be the letter C. The system partition can be designated, for example, by the letter D, which we will use to enter the following commands:
- move d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman1.exe;
- copy d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.
Let us remind you that instead of entering punctuation marks at the end of each line, you need to press Enter. With these steps, we simply copied the cmd.exe file in the system32 system directory and changed the name to utilman.exe.
If, after executing the above commands, you see messages about the successful movement and copying of files, then enter the line wpeutil reboot, after which the computer will reboot. Next, you need to download Windows 10 in the usual way, for which you extract installation disk from a DVD drive or a flash drive from a USB connector.
Once the download is complete:
- In the user authorization window, select the special icon. opportunities located at the bottom right.
- On the command line write:
- net user name password, where you need to enter the login to your account in Windows 10 as the name, and the combination of characters that you will use further as the password.
- Press Enter.
If the administrator's name is more than one word, enter it in quotes. If necessary, you can remember it by entering the command net users - a list of each user in the system will be displayed.
Creating a password reset disk
You can provide in advance the possibility of resetting the password for the administrator account in Windows 10, however, only local, before the user forgets it. For this purpose, a special medium is created - it can even be a floppy disk:
- Insert the drive into the drive;
- Go to the user account component by opening “Start” and clicking on Control Panel;
- In the left column, follow the link that creates an administrator password reset disk;(5)
- A special wizard will open, following whose instructions you can create the tool you need.
It is important that the flash drive is not formatted during operation; no information is deleted from it. It will just be created new file userkey.psw, which, if necessary, can be transferred to a disk or any other medium - it will work exactly the same.
Using the created drive in Windows 10 is also easy. To do this:
- A flash drive or disk created for resetting the administrator password is inserted into the USB port or drive, respectively;
- Incorrect account information is entered in the form;
- Below the input form you will then see a link to reset your data.
Will open special application, as a result of following the instructions of which your account information will again become available to you.
Account recovery application
For this, a simple free program Online NT Password & Registry Editor. To place it, you can use a regular flash drive, which can be easily used if necessary. An ISO image of burning to disk or files for transferring to USB can be downloaded from http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html.
Go to it and do the following:
A Windows login password is one way to protect personal data. But if the user has forgotten the security key for the account and cannot log in, then security becomes an obstacle that must be urgently eliminated.
There are several ways to reset your password. The choice of method depends on the type of profile. If the user has forgotten the password for the local account, then to restore access you will need a Live CD or installation Windows media. If you have lost the access code for your Microsoft account, you can resolve the problem on the corporation’s website.
Microsoft password reset
If you use a Microsoft profile to log in, you can quickly recover your password on the official website. To do this, you will need another device with Internet access. To begin regaining lost access to your Microsoft account, go to the page and select " I don't remember my password».
Enter the email address that was used as the account name. Specify the characters from the picture.
To verify your identity, you must receive a security code. If you have the phone number at hand that was used to create your Microsoft account, send an SMS with the code to it or call it. After this, all that remains is to enter the received security code, reset the old password and install new key. If you can't access your phone, click " This data is not available».
Enter a different email for contact. A Microsoft security code will be sent to it. Copy it from the letter.
After entering the security code, you need to answer questions regarding the personal data associated with your Microsoft account.
Correct answers will convince the system that you are the true owner of the account. The old password will be reset and you will be able to specify a new security key.
Local account access
If the user has forgotten the password for a local account, then to restore access you will need a Live CD or media with Windows distribution 10. To create installation media you will need:
- Flash drive.
- Another computer with Internet access.
- The Media Creation Tool utility, which can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.
Connect the installation media to the computer that is using the locked account and boot from it. When the language selection window appears, click Shift+F10 to call the console.
Important: if command line does not appear, select your language, then go to System Restore and proceed to troubleshooting. There, open advanced options and proceed to use the command line.
Determine the letter of the partition on which Windows 10 is installed. To do this:
- Enter the command " diskpart».
- Execute " list volume».
- Look up the Windows volume letter by identifying it by size.
Typically, the system partition is assigned the letter C. After defining the volume, exit the DISKPART utility by entering the command " exit».
There is no need to close the command line; you will need it to run the following queries:
- move c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman2.exe
- copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
To restart your computer, use the command " wpeutil reboot" After restarting, you must boot from installation flash drive, but from the system partition. In the Windows login window, click on the button Special parameters" After replacing the system files, it will launch the command prompt.
To reset forgotten password, run the request " net user Sample new_password" If your username has more than one word, put it in quotation marks. If you don't remember how to spell a username, display a complete list of accounts with the command " net users" After changing your password, you can easily access your local account Windows entry 10 with the new security key.
Reset via built-in administrator
Instead of resetting your password via the command line, you can remove it using the built-in Windows 10 administrator.
Important: To use this method, you must have installed Windows edition 10 Enterprise or Professional.
Run the command line using the above algorithm with replacing system files. Execute " net user Administrator /active:yes" In English Windows versions instead of " Administrator» write « Administrator" After the computer restarts, a built-in profile with administrator rights will appear in the list. Go into it, click right click By " Start" and run the utility " Computer management».
Expand the item " Local users", select the item " Users" Click on the profile you can't log into and select " Set a password».
Click Continue and enter your new account password. After completing these steps, the old access code will be reset, you can disable the built-in administrator by running “net user Administrator /active:no”. To return system files in place, run Command Prompt again via System Restore and run two commands:
- del c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.
- move c:\windows\system32\utilman2.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
Now when you click on the " Accessibility » a list will appear on the password entry screen additional functions, rather than launching the command line. There are other ways to reset your password - through the registry editor, using third party programs. However, the methods described above are official, so it is recommended to use only them.
Sometimes you log in and realize that your account password needs to be reset. Well, you don’t remember a thing. The worst thing that happens is when you lose your administrator password. It's good if you use an account Microsoft entry, and you can request a change by phone or email, but the complexity of using this technique scares people away. And then you have to puzzle over how to reset your password on Windows 10.
You need to restore access through the command line of the installation media. There is no direct way to log in, but there is a workaround. Craftsmen come up with these techniques themselves, but it is possible that some information is also posted on the official Microsoft website. Today we will not talk about how to recover your password. This cannot be done in a normal security system. But resetting the administrator password is quite possible.
Command line
The principles of working with the command line will be very useful. The fact is that we need the account name and the name of the computer itself. We bet that most users do not know this information. You can view it from the command line. In combat mode, we will call it from the recovery tool from a bootable flash drive, and now we propose the following action plan:
- Win + X to open the system menu.
- Selecting the desired line (including on behalf of the administrator).
Let's try simple command net user. It shows a list of names of all users on this computer. So you can rewrite what you need when recovering your password. And at the same time, find out the computer name. Because the custom one is already present on the command line.
The next step may be to study a specific account. This is done as follows. Type net user desired_name. A list of available information appears. Please note that the computer nickname is indicated in capital letters, but is typed in small letters. There's really no difference. You can type in both uppercase and lowercase.
So, for example, we see that the guest account does not have a password, but it is disabled on at the moment not available. Finally, from time to time you will need to run the Command Prompt as someone else. For example, you have the credentials of a global system administrator, but you cannot log into this account. But it’s quite possible to launch the desired procedure. This is done using the runas command. It will only work if there is a password; when logging into Windows, carry out the necessary operations. How to do this will be shown below.
Please note that the characters you enter will not be displayed when prompted. It seems that something has gone wrong, but this is an erroneous train of thought. The characters are accepted by the system but not displayed on the screen. Continue restoring your laptop with peace of mind. The syntax of the runas command can be viewed in the standard way by adding /?. Here's an example:
- the /user key says on whose behalf the launch occurs;
- separated by a colon are computer_name\username;
- name of the program to launch.
No spaces in the user key, otherwise the system will not accept the data. A blank password is not allowed. The standard application names for the command line are cmd.exe. This concludes the introductory part; links to it will be provided further in the text.
Loading
You need to run from installation media - a flash drive or DVD disc. Set the necessary options in the BIOS, or use the F12 key (sometimes ESC) at startup. The second method is simpler, but does not work in all cases. In the BOOT section, put the desired media in first place. This will ensure it loads correctly. Flash drives often do not get here, and therefore you have to use F12 (ESC).
On some computers, as can be seen from the screenshot, pressing ESC is fundamentally no different from the BIOS. Be careful: you only need to click once. Otherwise, the menu immediately disappears from view. Compare this screen with the one taken from the BIOS.
Things may be different on other computers.
Launching media
So, bootloader priority is set on the computer, and we are 100% ready to reset the Windows 10 password. Please note that a module is installed on the disk that requires you to press any key within 5 seconds, otherwise the bootloader will turn on hard drive.
This will be followed by a screen for selecting the operating system version if the media is multiboot. Please note that the 32-bit version of the command line is quite suitable for Windows 64-bit and vice versa. So, don’t worry if there is no suitable version. Start launching with the existing one.
How to enter command line mode
We didn't promise to find out your computer password, but you can reset your account information without any difficulty. After selecting the version, traditional windows will appear - the painfully well-known logo. Sometimes it’s even difficult to understand where the download is coming from - has the hard drive turned on?
As soon as the first meaningful window appears (usually a prompt to select a language and some other settings), press Shift + F10. This will immediately open a command prompt window. Without any accounts, work is carried out from the media. Let's see if his rights are enough to carry out the necessary operations.
The essence of the events
The idea was taken from Windows Server, but it turned out that it works on Windows 10 too. We will now change the Ease of Access Center applet to the command line. Therefore, when we start it later, instead of being asked to enter a password, we will have a command line from where we can (see above) perform all the necessary operations. That is, carry out administration and then log in, a new password is set for Windows 10. Complies with domain requirements, if any. Let's get started.
Teams
We type the operation of changing the name of the applet to a neutral copy: move D:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe D:\Windows\System32\utilman.backup. The executable file has turned into harmless ballast for the hard drive. Be careful, when moving, use the letter of the system drive.
The screenshot shows the complete sequence of actions, which we will not describe in the text. After the operation, you need to replace the utilman.exe utility with its imitation in the form of a command line launch. To do this, type the following text: copy C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe C:\Windows\System32\utilman.exe. There is no point in illustrating this, just type and execute. Type exit or close the command prompt and begin rebooting. You can delete the distribution media; it won’t be useful for now.
Working from a hard drive
After the reboot, a window will appear asking you to log in, but we instead click on the lower left corner, where the button with the Accessibility circle is located. Our command line appears, from which we will proceed further.
Hi all. With this article, I will begin to talk about ways in which you can easily hack the administrator password of the Windows operating system. Many people often encounter the problem that they forgot their account password. If in online services we can turn to technical support for help, here it’s the other way around. There are three options: write down and securely save the password, if you lose the password, reset it, or reinstall Windows.
How to crack the administrator password in Windows 10?
In this article, we will look at the method of resetting the password on a device with . To reset we need the NTPWEdit program and a bootable USB flash drive.
The utility that I indicated above is very good and is designed for operating families Windows systems. This program need to boot from (As we usually boot from the system disk). Download the image from the link
Let's create bootable USB flash drive. Paste it into USB port and launch the Rufus program. In the very first drop-down menu, select the flash drive, in the second tab, switch to the mode "MBR for computers with UEFI", file system choose FAT32.
Check the boxes "Quick Format" And "Create a boot disk"(usually the default). Now click on the drive icon and indicate the path to the image with a different heap useful programs, where NTPWEdit is located. Press the button "Open".
Now that we have everything prepared, press the button "Start" and when various windows appear, we agree to the terms.
Well, the process is over and the flash drive is ready for use. Boot from it on the computer where you forgot your account password.
The familiar desktop appears, thanks to AOMEI PE Builder.
On the desktop we find the icon Windows Disk Manager and open it.
Let's see what drive it's installed on. operating system, usually this is C. Close the Disk Management window.
Now open the folder Integrated Tools.
Find and run NTPWEdit.
Password files are stored in NTLM hash or LM hash format. The utility will look for them along the path C:\Windows\System32\CONFIG\SAM.
If system disk you have a different letter, then just change it.
After this, press the button "Open".
We will see all the device accounts, there you should find yours, it can be called Admin or another name. Click on this account and below click on Change password.
If you wish, you can change the password, or leave the fields empty and then you do not need to enter anything when logging in.
Once you have completed all the necessary actions, click on "Save changes".
On the desktop, click on the shortcut "Reboot" to reboot the computer. In Windows 10 we must boot without a password.
If you cannot see your flash drive in the boot menu, that is, the BIOS does not see it, then you can disable the UEFI option in the BIOS settings, then the laptop or other device will be able to see the flash drive and boot from it. From now on, do not forget your account passwords.
