Microsoft Windows 8 Password Reset

[Lauro Pericles]

Ive got myself into a bit of a pickle and could really use your collective wisdom. I've been locked out of my Windows 10 computer (yeah, I know, should've written down the password) and I'm scratching my head on how to get back in. Has anyone here been through this and managed to reset their password without being able to log in?

I've seen a few methods online involving bootable USB drives and using command prompts, but I'm not super tech-savvy and a bit hesitant to dive into something that seems so complex. I'm looking for a more straightforward, beginner-friendly way to reset my password and get back to my files.

[Edit] A few folks asked me if the problem was solved? Yes. The password was reset with the help of Passcue Windows Password Recovery software. Thanks Jack888 for the recommendation!

Once, I also encountered a situation where I forgot Windows 10 password of local account. I was really a little panicked at that time. After all, all the important files were in that account. I remember that I really didn't want to use those complicated technical means at that time, and wondered if there was a simple way to solve it.

So, I saw a "Reset Password" link on the login screen. Although I hadn't noticed it before, I decided to click it this time. After clicking it, the system prompted me to answer the security questions I had set before. I was quite glad that I didn't fill in some random answers at that time. The question was the name of my elementary school. I remembered that I set the name of my alma mater and answered it without hesitation. Then the system actually let me enter the interface for setting a new password.

After entering and confirming the new password, I was able to log in smoothly. This experience made me realize that setting security questions is really useful, especially when you forget Windows 10 password.

@zcbadeedee Ophcrack is not recommended if the password was strong enough. Ophcrack relies on rainbow tables to recover the forgotten Windows 10 passwords. These tables are precomputed lists of possible passwords and their corresponding hashes. If a password is complex (long, uses special characters, or is otherwise not common), it may not be included in the available rainbow tables.

In addition, Ophcrack has not been actively updated to handle newer hashing algorithms or security measures implemented in Windows 10 and 11. Newer versions of Windows have strengthened password security. So it is no longer a good choice to reset Windows 10 password when the computer is locked due to forgotten password.

Once, I also encountered a situation where I forgot my Windows 10 password. I was really anxious at the time, after all, all my important documents and work data were on that computer. I tried various possible password combinations, but none of them worked. At this time, I remembered that I had a backup consciousness before and made a Windows 10 password reset disk.

I quickly rummaged through the boxes and found the USB drive and inserted it into the computer. I restarted the computer and went to the login screen. I saw a link to "Reset Password" and clicked it without hesitation. The system recognized my password reset disk and began to guide me step by step.

A Windows 10 password reset disk is a special type of disk that allows you to reset Windows 10 user account password if you forget it. This disk is created while you still have access to your account and can be used in case you get locked out. The below tutorial shows you how to reset Windows 10 password without logging in:

Once, I forgot Windows 10 password and it felt like the end of the world. I tried all possible passwords but none of them worked, and I became more and more anxious. However, I suddenly remembered that a friend once told me about a way to reset Windows 10 password using the command prompt. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time because it seemed too complicated, but now it has become a lifesaver.

So, I decided to give this method a try. First, I needed a Windows installation disk or a bootable USB drive. Fortunately, I had an old Windows installation disk at home, so I immediately found it, inserted it into the computer, and restarted to enter the installation interface.

Step 5. Open the Command Prompt: At the login screen, click the "Accessibility" icon (usually a small circle icon) in the lower right corner. Now, the Command Prompt should open instead of Accessibility.

Although this method sounds a bit complicated, it is actually quite smooth to follow the steps. After the operation, I successfully logged in to the computer with the new password, and the big stone in my heart finally fell. I really recommend that if you are also locked out, you can try this method, but you must be careful in operation, after all, it involves modifying system files.

Self-service password reset (SSPR) gives users in Microsoft Entra ID the ability to change or reset their password, with no administrator or help desk involvement. Typically, users open a web browser on another device to access the SSPR portal. To improve the experience on computers that run Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 you can enable users to reset their password at the Windows sign-in screen.

Deploying the configuration change to enable SSPR from the login screen using Microsoft Intune is the most flexible method. Microsoft Intune allows you to deploy the configuration change to a specific group of machines you define. This method requires Microsoft Intune enrollment of the device.

If you have problems with using SSPR from the Windows sign-in screen, the Microsoft Entra audit log includes information about the IP address and ClientType where the password reset occurred, as shown in the following example output:

When users reset their password from the sign-in screen of a Windows 11 or 10 device, a low-privilege temporary account called defaultuser1 is created. This account is used to keep the password reset process secure.

The account itself has a randomly generated password, which is validated against an organizations password policy, doesn't show up for device sign-in, and is automatically removed after the user resets their password. Multiple defaultuser profiles may exist but can be safely ignored.

During the password reset, SSPR creates a temporary local user account to connect to When a proxy is configured for user authentication, it may fail with the error "Something went wrong. Please, try again later." This is because the local user account is not authorized to use the authenticated proxy.

Configure a machine-wide proxy setting that doesn't depend on the type of user logged into the machine. For example, you can enable the Group Policy Make proxy settings per-machine (rather than per-user) for the workstations.

The error "Something went wrong" can also occur when anything interrupts connectivity to URL For example, this error can occur when antivirus software runs on the workstation without exclusions for URLs passwordreset.microsoftonline.com, ajax.aspnetcdn.com, and ocsp.digicert.com. Disable this software temporarily to test if the issue is resolved or not.

If you have problems with using SSPR from the Windows sign-in screen, events are logged both on the machine and in Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft Entra events include information about the IP address and ClientType where the password reset occurred, as shown in the following example output:

If additional logging is required, a registry key on the machine can be changed to enable verbose logging. Enable verbose logging for troubleshooting purposes only using the following registry key value:

With SSPR configured for your Windows devices, what changes for the user? How do they know that they can reset their password at the login screen? The following example screenshots show the additional options for a user to reset their password using SSPR:

When users attempt to sign in, they see a Reset password or Forgot password link that opens the self-service password reset experience at the login screen. This functionality allows users to reset their password without having to use another device to access a web browser.

A Microsoft Account is a "connected account" that is not tied to the device itself. A Microsoft Account can be used on any number of devices. Windows Store apps, settings, and data can be accessed from any device you sign in to using cloud storage. To purchase apps from the Windows Store, you must have a Microsoft Account.

A local computer account is an account that is created for a particular device. Information that is created or stored in that account is tied to that computer and cannot be accessed from other devices.

If you lose or forget your local computer account password, you must remember the password hint to regain access to the account (in Windows 10 version 1803 this is changed to security questions.) Alternately, another administrator account on the computer can reset the password. If you do not remember your password hint or security questions, you must reset Windows . This destroys any data, programs, and settings you have on the computer.

To reset your Microsoft Account, browse the Microsoft Reset Your Password site with any device that is connected to the Internet. You must supply some security information to verify that you are the owner of the Microsoft Account. You may also need access to the text-enabled phone number used to create the account.

Windows 10 supports creating a password reset disk if you do not want to use a password hint or security questions. For more information about this tool, see Microsoft KB article, "Create a password reset disk for a local account in Windows 10 "

I believe all security is properly set up. The application registration has the Directory.ReadWrite.All permissions and the service principal is a Global Administrator. There are no errors regarding insufficient privileges, but whenever I try to provide a password inside the password profile I get an error.

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