How to Reset a Forgotten Windows Password

You are at the Windows sign-in screen and the password does not work. The fix depends on whether the account is a Microsoft account or a local account, so check that first.

Check which account type you have

Look at the name under the picture on the sign-in screen. An email address such as name@outlook.com means a Microsoft account. A plain name means a local account. If other people use the PC, note whether any of them has an administrator account.

Reset a Microsoft account password

On the sign-in screen click I forgot my password (or Forgot PIN if you sign in with a PIN). The PC needs an internet connection. If the link is missing, go to account.live.com/password/reset on a phone or another computer. Enter the email, verify with the code sent to the phone number or backup email on file, and set a new password. Back at the PC, sign in with it. To set a new PIN afterward, open Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options.

Reset a local account with security questions

Type any password once so the Reset password link appears, then click it. Answer the three security questions chosen when the account was created and enter a new password. If a password reset disk was made earlier, plug it in, click the same link, and follow the wizard.

Change the password from another administrator account

Sign in with any other administrator account on the same PC. Open Control Panel, User Accounts, Manage another account, pick the locked account, and click Change the password. Or open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

net user AccountName NewPassword

Sign out and sign in with the new password. Files encrypted with EFS and saved browser passwords under that account are lost when an admin changes it this way.

Reset the PC as a last resort

With no other administrator and no security questions, the remaining option removes every account. On the sign-in screen hold Shift and click Power, Restart. Choose Troubleshoot, Reset this PC, then Keep my files or Remove everything. If the drive is BitLocker encrypted, Windows asks for the recovery key first; look it up at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. Personal files survive under Keep my files, but every installed program and every user account is gone.

If you know the password but forgot the PIN. Click I forgot my PIN on the sign-in screen, sign in with the password, and set a new PIN.

To avoid this next time. Add security questions under Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options or switch to a Microsoft account, which can always be reset online.