In each new version Windows and Microsoft are striving to improve the level of protection not only from online attacks, but also from physical influence from outside. Since the release of Windows 8, the system has forced you to set a password, which can be difficult not to set. There are two types of system protection using a password: through a Microsoft user account or through a local account.
On Windows 10 this trend is also noticeable. But if you are faced with such an everyday problem as a forgotten password, do not despair. You don’t think that the developers offer to set a password on the system, without options for resetting it.
It’s worth saying right away that the problem may not even lie in a forgotten password, but in Windows 10 itself. Over my many years of experience, I have encountered several times that Windows itself changes the password or protection methods - as it wants. This can only be explained by its rawness, although the developers are trying to stop all errors in new updates.
It should also be noted that if you are using Windows 10 OS relatively recently, then it is advisable for you to choose a password in the local account, since in this situation, the possibility of the appearance Windows errors related to the password and its recovery is practically excluded.
Refusing to set a password is not an option, because in some way Windows moment may request it the next time the system starts, which is even more deplorable.
Resetting an old password/setting a new one in a Windows Microsoft account
The easiest and in a fast way will recover your password through the Microsoft online service itself. You can do this from another computer or phone by following the link. Microsoft will offer you a choice of 3 options (reasons for restoring access). By choosing one of them, you must prove that you are the real owner of the account.
You need to enter your phone number and email that was previously attached to your Windows 10 account. After this, you should receive a security code on your phone, after entering which you will be asked to change your existing password.
If you don't have it on hand mobile phone or there is no access to the assigned mailbox, you will need to complete a longer questionnaire with security questions, the answers to which will be the data you entered during registration.
You can find out more about password recovery through the Microsoft website in this video.
After recovering your password, do not rush to close the site if you think it is possible to forget your password again. On the same Microsoft website, you can make an individual authorization, in the form of a PIN code or a special key, using which you can access your account without difficulty at any time.
Regaining access to a local account
For inexperienced users, this method of returning access may seem very complicated, but I can assure you that after doing everything once, you won’t have to sweat a second time. In fact, it is not too complicated; all you need to do is perform several sequential actions.
Method 1. File renaming hack
The first thing you need to do is unearth a flash drive or disk with Windows 10. You can do this by recording the image on another PC, or ask your friends if you haven’t had one before.
After inserting the installation media, we start the system and at the same time go into the BIOS. Logging into the BIOS looks different on each system, if you find it difficult to solve this problem,... Here we need to put our media first in the boot queue (as when installing the system). After that, save and wait for the interface to load.
You should see a screen for selecting the installation language. If it is present, press the combination Shift keys+ F10 to open the command line.
Using it, you need to find out the drive letter on which Windows is actually installed. You may assume that this is the C drive, but you may not know that the letters you are used to seeing in folders are sometimes renamed - that is, different from those installed on the system.
So, in the command line that appears, enter “ notepad" and press Enter, after which Notepad should open. In Notepad, click “File”, “Open”. Select “My Computer” and then find the drive where Windows is installed. Having remembered the letter, we exit the explorer and notepad that appears.
Now it may seem like the most difficult and incomprehensible part, which in fact is not what these commands are and what they do will be described below. Having found out the drive letter, enter it in command line the following commands, pressing Enter one by one:
- cd Windows\System32
Replace drive “F” with your drive on which Windows is installed.
Next, you need to replace the Accessibility button on the login screen with a command prompt entry. To do this, enter the following commands one by one, pressing Enter after entering each:
- ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak
- ren cmd.exe utilman.exe
These commands are responsible for creating a backup copy of the special file. capabilities(utilman.exe). We need it to restore it, but after replacing it with a command line file (cmd.exe).
Next, you need to close everything and restart Windows, without installation disks and additional modes. Having seen the evil window with the password, select the button to launch special features, after which the command line will open.
On the command line we write the following command: net user Administrator /active:yes. If you have an English version of Windows installed, instead of “Administrator” write “Administrator”.
Here you should turn off and turn on the computer again to new account replaced the previous one on the security password entry window. However, on some systems it may appear immediately, without requiring a reboot.
Login to the system. You won't need a password here because there is no administrator on the stock account. set password. On the desktop, right-click on “Start” and select the line “Computer Management”.
A window will appear in front of you in which you need to select “Local users and groups”, then “Users” and already there, among them we find the account for which we forgot the password. Right-click on it and select “Set password”.
After entering the password and confirming it, an error will appear if the entered password differed from the set one.
Now you need to log out of the Administrator account and log in to your old one, the key for which will be the password you entered earlier, if you did everything correctly before.
In order to return utilman.exe and cmd.exe to their previous directories, you must:
- turn on the system with installation disk Windows;
- open command line;
- go to the System 32 folder and enter these commands:
- ren utilman.exe cmd.exe
- ren utilman.exe.bak utilman.exe
Method 2. Use the registry editor
To complete this method, you will also need the Windows 10 installation disc. Having started from it, go to the command line, enter regedit.
After launching the registry editor, find and click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE item. Select “File”, then load the hive. Here you need to open the system file, along the path C:\Winоws\System32\config\system
If you need to enter a section name, you can enter any name. Go inside the created section with your name and click on the “setup” item, change these values as shown in the picture. 
- Cmdline instead of cmd.exe
- In SetupType we set the value to 2.
Again click “File” - “Unload hive”.
After this, you need to perform a normal system restart, during which a command line window should open, where you will have to enter your New Password in format:
- net user username new password
Let's sum it up
If you have completed all the points and reached this point, you can be proud of yourself, as you have gained a new useful skill. If none of the above suggested works, you should obviously contact the service Microsoft support. After answering a couple of questions, your account will be returned to you with instructions on how to reset your password.
If you do not understand the instructions written in text or they are too complicated for you, we recommend watching a couple of videos with an explanation.
10 there is an account system. Different computer users may have different rights, capabilities, restrictions on access to certain data, and so on. To log into a specific account, you need to know a secret combination - a password. He is responsible for the security of user data. The article will talk about how to remove the password on Windows 10, install it, restore a forgotten combination and completely disable it.
Setting a password
The most in a simple way How to set a password on Windows 10 is setting up user access. First you need to go to the system settings. To do this, open “Start” and click on the gear icon. There, open the “Accounts” section.
All settings regarding access are set in the “Login Options” category. There you can set a password combination, enable authorization via PIN code, or graphic key. Setup is extremely easy, just follow the on-screen instructions.
change Password
Security requires regularly changing your account password. This also applies to Windows 10 OS users.
Open Start and click on the gear icon. There, find the “Accounts” category. Select Sign-in Options. There will be a corresponding button to change the code combination. First you need to enter the old sequence, and then the new one along with the hint. If you do not have a local account, you will need an Internet connection to complete these steps. In this case, the changes will also be reflected in your Microsoft account. 
Alternative way
Right-click on the Start icon. IN context menu Click on the “Command Prompt (Administrator)” column. Copy there net user. Remember your username. 
Then enter the command:
net user XXX YYY
Where instead of XXX you need to insert the name from the previous paragraph, and YYY is the desired code. This method Only suitable for local user. 
Removing a password
The option to remove a password on Windows 10 is only available for a local account. Accordingly, first you need to disable the connection with your Microsoft account if they are synchronized.
Open a command prompt (terminal) with administrator rights. Then enter net user . This command will display a list of all users logged into the system. Find the one you need and remember its name. Then enter the command “net user XXX “””, where XXX is the account name. If it includes several words, then it must be enclosed in quotation marks. Now, when you start the computer, you will not be prompted to enter a secret word.
Reset
What to do if the secret combination is lost? In this case, you will need to reset your password. It's much easier to complete if you're logged in with a Microsoft account. But there is also an option to reset the local user account.
Microsoft account
How to reset Windows 10 password for Microsoft account? This can only be done online. Open the link https://account.live.com/resetpassword.aspx, select the first item there. You will be asked to enter your account login and verification characters. Follow the prompts on the page, and you will receive an email with your password reset. 
Local user
But resetting protection for a local user is much more difficult if there is no link to a Microsoft account. This will require special software (if you do not have a Professional or Corporate edition of the system), as well as difficult manipulations. To complete the task you need to be a confident PC user.
First you need to prepare a Live CD, on which there is the ability to interact with file system. The first step is to boot the computer from such a drive (disk or flash drive). At the point where you are prompted to select a language, find the “System Restore” button. Go to the system troubleshooting section, open “Advanced options” and launch the terminal.
In it, copy 2 queries sequentially: “diskpart”, and then “list volume” (they are entered without quotes). A list of HDD partitions will be displayed. Note the label of the partition that contains the operating system. You can figure out where it is installed by looking at its size. Then write Exit in the console.
Then enter sequentially:
move "volume label":\windows\system 32\utilman .exe "volume label":\windows \system 32\utilman 2.exe
copy "volume label":\windows\system 32\cmd .exe "volume label":\windows \system 32\utilman .exe
Where the “volume label” is the partition that contains the OS. The essence of these commands is that utilman .exe is used to launch the accessibility feature when logging into an account. And we replace it with executable file command line. The result is that it becomes possible to launch the command line even before entering the password.
All that remains is to restart the computer. It is preferable to enter wpeutil reboot into the console for this, an alternative option is the Reset button on system unit. During boot, remove the Live CD drive from the computer so that it starts from the hard drive.
When the Windows login window appears, click on the accessibility column at the bottom of the window. This will bring up the command prompt. In the terminal you need to enter: net user “name” “code”, where “name” is replaced by the user name, and the code is replaced by the password combination. If you don’t know the name of the account, you can find it by searching net users.
When all actions are completed, a new security code will be installed, which can immediately be used to log into Win 10.
Disable password
Now let's figure out how disable login password. Press the Win + R button combination, insert Netplwiz into the text field and run the command. 
The Account Service will open. In the window, you need to click on the user name, uncheck the login confirmation box and apply the changes. 
The system will ask you to enter your password twice, please enter it. Now the computer will start without prompting you to enter password characters; you can check this after the first reboot. To cancel changes, you just need to put the checkbox back. 
In this mode, the computer will start faster. But you should understand that user data is not protected in any way. This method is suitable for all types of Windows 10 accounts.
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 a Microsoft account, and you can request a change to your 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 via the command line 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 normal system protection. 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 with 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 a simple net user command. 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 alias is specified in capital letters, but is recruited small. 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 this moment not available. Finally, from time to time you will need to run the Command Prompt as someone else. For example, you have information about the 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. And 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.
You need to run from installation media - a flash drive or DVD disc A. 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 the version selection screen operating system, 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 ten 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.
Read, how to recover a forgotten password Windows user 10 and recover the administrator password. What programs are there for password recovery? Losing your Windows 10 user account password can be a very unpleasant surprise. Indeed, as a result of this, access to the data of a particular computer is completely lost. It’s good if you know the password for the Administrator account, from which you can manage passwords for users on a specific computer. But sometimes it turns out to be forgotten or lost.
Sometimes you urgently need to gain access to a computer for which you do not know the password. The information you need is right at your fingertips, but you have no way to use it. How to restore access to your computer and your files or documents?
What to do if you forgot your Windows 10 password
Step 1: Recover data from a computer whose password has been lost
If you lose access to your data as a result of losing your Windows 10 account password, one of effective ways their recovery will be using the program Hetman Partition Recovery.
For this:
- Download the program, install and run it from another account of this computer. Check out the program's capabilities and step-by-step instructions.
- By default, the user will be prompted to use File Recovery Wizard. Pressing the button "Further" and the program will prompt you to select the drive from which you want to recover files.
- Double-click on the disk the files from which you want to recover and select the type of analysis. Specify "Full Analysis" and wait for the disk scanning process to complete.
- After the scanning process is completed, you will be provided with recovery files. Select the ones you need and click the button "Restore".
- Select one of the suggested ways to save files. Do not save files to a disk from which these files have been deleted - they can be overwritten.
Step 2: Recover the Windows 10 built-in Administrator account password
Looking for how to recover your Windows 10 Administrator account password? Do the following:
Step 3: Programs for recovering Windows 10 account passwords
Recovering Windows 10 account passwords can be done using special programs to reset or recover passwords. Such programs are especially relevant in case of loss of the Administrator account password (since the passwords of other accounts can be reset using this account).
For this:
- Download and install a program to reset or recover account passwords.
- Use this program to create a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive(if necessary).
- Restart your computer and boot from the bootable media you created.
- Reset or recover passwords for the required account.
Step 4: Recover a forgotten user password using Windows 10
Before you begin to recover your user account password, check the password hint, which is located on the welcome screen next to the password entry field.
If the hint did not help you remember your password:
Step 5: Boot disk or flash drive to recover Windows 10 password
Boot disk To recover a password, you can create it yourself or use a ready-made option (which can be purchased or downloaded).
Recover your password using LiveCD
You can recover your account password by starting your computer using LiveCD, an alternative portable version of the operating system. This method is relevant if you cannot boot your computer or connect HDD to another system.
For this:
Use the installation disk image
If for some reason you did not create a system recovery disk, and Windows has lost its functionality, then it can be restored using an operating system recovery disk image.
Such an image can be created immediately after installing the OS and software or at any other time.
You can download free utility from Microsoft and create an image. To do this, do the following:
Note. Do not run the system repair disc from working Windows. To use it correctly, install the system image media in the BIOS as the first boot device and reboot the computer.
Important: It is necessary to create an image only on a working system that is not infected with viruses and does not contain errors. After recovery, you will receive an exact copy of the system at the time it was created.
Step 6: Restore access to your account on the Microsoft website
IN latest versions Windows account user record integrated with Microsoft account. To manage some Windows account functions, work with the operating system and configure it, access to it is required.
If you need to restore access to your Microsoft account:
Step 7: Perform a clean install of Windows
If none of the above methods lead to the desired result, reinstall Windows.
In order to perform a clean installation of Windows, you need to create an installation disk or other media from which you plan to install the operating system.
Boot your computer from the installation disc. To do this, you may need to change the boot order in the BIOS (or UEFI for more modern computers).
Following the installer menu items, specify the drive on which you want to install Windows. To do this you will need to format it. If you are not satisfied with the number or size of local disks, you can completely remove them and re-allocate them.
Remember that formatting, deleting or reallocating drives will delete all files from your hard drive.
After specifying the drive for Windows installations the copying process will start system files and installation of the operating system. No additional actions are required from you during installation. During the installation, the computer screen will go dark several times for short periods of time, and the computer will restart itself to complete some stages of the installation.
Depending on the Windows versions At one stage, you may be required to select or enter basic personalization settings, the operating mode of the computer on the network, as well as account settings or create a new one.
Once the desktop boots, the clean installation of Windows is complete.
Note. Before you begin clean install Windows, make sure you have drivers for everything in advance installed devices and the safety of your files. Download and save the drivers to a separate storage medium, and create a backup copy for important data.
Has the user's password been restored? Leave feedback and ask your questions in the comments.