How to Recover Account Password in Windows 10?
I’m a bit forgetful, so I always use a password manager to remember all my fancy and complex passwords for everything. Even so, I sometimes enter the wrong password to access it, although I have been using it for years.
However, I ended up with the correct password. The same can’t be said for when you’re prompted for a password for an account you don’t even know about – worse, when that account is an important part of how you use your operating system. I’ll let Lifehacker reader Ken explain for this week’s Tech 911 Q&A:
I have a new Windows 10 desktop that I mistakenly added a PIN (which I know) that I need to enter in order to log in after booting.
Tried to get rid of it in Settings> Windows Settings> Accounts> Sign In Options> Windows Hello PIN> Uninstall> Uninstall> Confirm your account “password” first.
The problem is I have no idea what password it needs, so can I delete that “Hello PIN” ??
At first I thought it was a regular Microsoft password. I can log into Microsoft account without issue, but this is not the password he wants!
It looks like some kind of local password only for Windows 10 computer and I have no idea what that is !!
I tried everything. How can I get rid of all passwords and PINs on this Lenovo desktop computer?
Windows accounts can be tricky at times
It’s fun, Ken. I also use a PIN to log into my Windows 10 computer. And I got the same prompt when I tried to delete it. However, it directly asked for the password for my Microsoft account, which I usually use to log into Windows 10.
My first thought may seem obvious, but I’m going to get it out: are you sure you’re entering your password correctly? It is assumed that your system prompts you for the “MicrosoftAccount” password, which you should know. I would make sure to type it very carefully and slowly and try it a few times – if that’s what Windows 10 wants, you already know that.
However, if he asks for a password for another account, this is where things get curious. First, I would click the “Your Information” link in the sidebar and confirm that you can sign in to your system using your Microsoft account and not your local one. If it’s the latter, try to see if you can customize the former (although you’ll probably be asked for your local account password, which won’t help). Otherwise, perhaps switching to your Microsoft account to sign in will allow you to enter your Microsoft account credentials in order to remove your PIN.
Before I dive in, here’s another thought: since this is the new Windows 10 desktop, as you put it, why not just wipe everything out and start from scratch? I’ve gone through this process before . Basically, you need to install the Windows 10 installation media onto a USB key, boot from it when you restart your computer, and format your system’s hard drive to zero. Then reinstall Windows 10 on it and you should be fine with using a base OS that’s not tainted by any weird account issues.
I usually don’t advocate “nuking” at this early stage of troubleshooting, but assuming you haven’t actually done anything on your system, now is the time to quickly fix this problem and install a clean version of Windows. 10 from scratch. (Before doing this, make sure you link your existing version of Windows 10 to your Microsoft account so you can then simply sign back in to activate your system. This will save you the stress.)
Otherwise, if you’d rather just use your existing Windows 10, I think I have a solution for you. Try to run Run (Windows Key + R) and lusrmgr.msc , then press Enter. You should see a screen that looks something like this:
Click the Users folder on the left, and the center column should display all local accounts on your system. Find the one that matches the credentials of the account whose password you cannot remember (or never knew). Right-click it and select Set Password. Ignore the dire warning and select Continue, which will allow you to reset the password for this account.
You can also do this via the command-line administration, if I’m right. Enter “Command Prompt” in the start menu, right-click and select “Run as administrator” and enter the following: net user
This should give you a list of all user accounts on your system. Find the one for the user account you don’t know the password for again and enter the following: net user [name of that account] [new password]
Obviously, you will want to replace the parts in parentheses with information specific to your installation. However, any of these tricks should work in your situation. If not, there is an even more fancy method for resetting account passwords that you can try using your Windows 10 installation disc (or USB key). But if you’re already doing one of these and messing around from there on the command line, you could also save your data and reinstall Windows from scratch. Enjoy this fresh, new, hassle-free user experience instead of constantly searching and troubleshooting with a fancy account password.
You can also try a third-party application, such as Lazesoft Recover My Password, to see if you can reset the password for you, but I prefer to do it by hand; it’s just me.
However, I have one last trick for you. If you don’t want to mess with any of this and just want to be able to log into your computer without entering that PIN, press Run (Windows Key + R) and type netplwiz . Make sure the account you use to sign in is highlighted and uncheck the box next to Users must enter a username and password to use this computer. You will need to enter your account password – hopefully for your Microsoft account, not this local account you don’t recognize – but this will allow you to bypass the login screen permanently.
Obviously, you should n’t use this feature on a laptop because it would be incredibly insecure. I only use it on my desktop computer, which never leaves my office and will never be contacted by my roommates. (I am very confident in this fact, so there is no need to lecture on security.) And I only do this because I was too lazy to constantly enter a four-digit PIN every time I boot up my desktop. If you feel just as secure, twist it.
Otherwise, I think it’s best to reinstall Windows 10 from scratch. You probably won’t even need to install any Lenovo special apps or drivers after that, but I just mention that in case some component of your computer requires some TLC after Windows 10 is up and running again …