Reset Windows Account

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Roselee Kruppa

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Aug 5, 2024, 2:26:12 AM8/5/24

to vesinosli

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.

It could be something running on their computers using cached credentials. It could also be something like an email application like blackberry or other smartphones that is accessing their accounts still trying to use the old password.

You should standardize on around 10 failed login attempts threshold for all windows based systems because of the inherent complexities of supporting three primary authentication protocols within the Windows platforms: LM, NTLM and Kerberos. Because Windows supports these authentication protocols, Windows based systems can try any or all of the protocols during a single attempt to authenticate the user however, each attempt would register as a login failure. The net result is that a single failed login can actually register as three failed attempts and result in an account lockout after only one actual failed attempt.

By increasing the threshold to 10 failed logins consistent with the Microsoft Best Practice recommendation, you arrive at a medium that will allow at least two failed logins to occur prior to locking out the account.

Specifically iphone / ipad, I have had a i device lock an account even when the password is correct it still had the old password cached even though a new one was entered. (usually this happens in the matter of seconds).

Looking at domain controller, I see kerberos events with failure logs prior to account lock. Thankfully the events include IP/workstation name and when I look at the offending computer system logs I see that they have saved their creds on the machine. The tech can then log on and go to control panel - User Accounts - Manage Your Credentials and clean up the mess they have made for themselves.

I see this type of thing from time to time. For me it is normally because the user logs on to their computer on Monday for example, when they leave for work they only lock their computer. On Tuesday they unlock their computer and log onto our Terminal Server. They get prompted to change their password so they do it on the Term Server. eventually the account will get locked out do to their local computer being logged in with the old credentials. The opposite sometimes happens there they have a disconnected session on the Term Server and then change their password on with the local PC.

I tried resetting it by simply selecting one of the default user profile pictures, but that doesn't return it to its much nicer looking transparent state. I've deleted all the previous account pictures windows saves in in AppData and all AccountPicture folders with the sourceId entry I could find in the registry, but to no avail. I know it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it's driving me nuts that I cant find the culprit, and I'm reminded of that fact every time I start my computer.

You are almost there. You need to delete those keys pointing to non-existent image files. (At least, that worked for me!) In order to delete them I had to download psexec ( -us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec) and run psexec -i -s regedit.exe from an elevated command prompt.

and its subdirectories, delete existing images so that the account image returns to defaults. If the system prevents you, just follow these steps to become the file owner. If you have a hotmail linked to your system, you will have to unlink it or delete the custom avatar image from the account there as well. To end, restart Windows and the account image will return to default.

When nondestructive PIN reset is enabled on a client, a 256-bit AES key is generated locally. The key is added to a user's Windows Hello for Business container and keys as the PIN reset protector. This PIN reset protector is encrypted using a public key retrieved from the Microsoft PIN reset service and then stored on the client for later use during PIN reset. After a user initiates a PIN reset, completes authentication and multifactor authentication to Microsoft Entra ID, the encrypted PIN reset protector is sent to the Microsoft PIN reset service, decrypted, and returned to the client. The decrypted PIN reset protector is used to change the PIN used to authorize Windows Hello for Business keys, and it's then cleared from memory.

Using Group Policy, Microsoft Intune or a compatible MDM solution, you can configure Windows devices to securely use the Microsoft PIN reset service, which enables users to reset their forgotten PIN without requiring re-enrollment.

You must replace TenantId with the identifier of your Microsoft Entra tenant. To look up your Tenant ID, see How to find your Microsoft Entra tenant ID or try the following, ensuring to sign-in with your organization's account::

To configure a device with group policy, use the Local Group Policy Editor. To configure multiple devices joined to Active Directory, create or edit a group policy object (GPO) and use the following settings:

The PIN reset configuration can be viewed by running dsregcmd /status from the command line. This state can be found under the output in the user state section as the CanReset line item. If CanReset reports as DestructiveOnly, then only destructive PIN reset is enabled. If CanReset reports DestructiveAndNonDestructive, then nondestructive PIN reset is enabled.