Password lock-outs are quite common in any commonly used OS like Windows. It can disrupt daily tasks especially if administrator password is forgotten and there is no password reset disk to work with.
To gain access, there are 2 easy methods to reset lost Windows 10 password with bootable disk (CD or USB drive).
This guide is applicable for all versions of Windows including: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista and XP.
Method 1: Reset Windows 10 Password with Installation Disk
If you have a Windows 10 installation DVD, you can then use this utilman.exe method to reset lost Windows 10 password from Command Prompt.
Follow these steps:
1. Insert Windows 10 installation disk into the system and set the PC to boot from the CD drive in the BIOS/UEFI.
2. When the Windows Setup screen asks you to choose your Language and other preferences, press SHIFT + F10 key combination to launch Command Prompt.
3. Run the following commands one by one. This will backup utilman.exe, and replace it with a copy of cmd.exe.
copy /y d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
4. Reboot your computer. At Windows 10 sign-in screen, click the Ease of Access icon in the lower right corner. This will now open a Command Prompt window where you can reset your lost user password.
5. Run the net user user_name new_password command to reset forgotten password of your Windows 10 account.
6. Restart and you can login with the new password!
Method 2: Reset Windows 10 Password with PCUnlocker Disk
PCUnlocker is a fully self-contained Live CD that comes with graphical user interface.
It can help you bypass Windows 10 login when you forget password of a local account or a Microsoft online account. PCUnlocker should be a very useful tool to help you log into your Windows 10 account after you forgot sign-in password.
Let’s see how it works:
1. Since you don’t have access to your Windows 10 PC, you will need to download PCUnlocker ISO file using another PC that you have admin access to.
2. Download and install a bootable disk creator program like ISO2Disc on your PC. Launch ISO2Disc and locate the PCUnlocker ISO file downloaded, and create a bootable CD (or USB drive).
3. After burning, insert the CD (or USB drive) into the target PC, change the boot sequence in the BIOS/UEFI Setup and set it to boot from PCUnlocker disk.
4. When your PC boots to the PCUnlocker screen, select your account and click on Reset Password button to remove your password.
5. Reboot your computer. You can now sign into Windows 10 without a password!
Note: If your selected account is a local user associated with your Microsoft account, PCUnlocker will automatically convert your online account to local account when you click the Reset Password button.
Conclusion
That’s how you can easily reset a forgotten Windows 10 password with bootable disk. If you want to prevent others from breaking into your computer account, you can apply full disk encryption (such as BitLocker) to your hard drive, and then nobody can circumvent the login security on Windows 10.