Currently, most users are trending towards upgrading to and using the Windows 10 operating system. Its highly likely that in the next one or two years, Windows 10 will surpass and leave other operating system versions far behind. If you are a third-party user and want to recover your Windows 10 administrator login password, its a rather difficult task. However, if your Windows 10 computer is yours and youve forgotten your login password, you can easily reset it.
On Windows 10, 8.1, and Windows 8, there are two types of user accounts: Online accounts and Local accounts. Online accounts are linked to Microsoft accounts. When you create a Microsoft account, you can synchronize settings, personal files, and data just like Google/Microsoft/Apple accounts on your mobile phone. Therefore, resetting an Online account is quite simple and easy to do. If you don't have one yet, create a Microsoft account now.
However, since the admin account on Windows 10 is a local account, the reset process is not simple at all. In this guide, TipsMake will show you how to recover your Windows admin login password on Windows 10/8.1/8/7 in case you forget your computer password or lose your login password.
Overview of steps to recover a lost or forgotten Windows Admin login password.
Normally, when you forget your computer password, you can reset it using traditional methods. However, you can also use a third-party application instead of manually resetting your login password to achieve this.
Reset Windows Admin Password
1. Recover the Admin password connected to your Microsoft account.
2. Manually crack the Admin password offline.
3. Reset your password using iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro.
4. Recover a forgotten Admin password using PCUnlocker.
The steps to reset the admin account connected to Microsoft and reset the admin password offline are not too difficult. Even inexperienced users can do this.
Steps to reset a forgotten Admin login password online
This method only applies to Windows 10, so Windows 7 users can skip it. You can reset your account password simply like you would reset your admin account password . If you forget your admin login information, just reset your admin account password and try logging in with the new password.
Here are the steps to follow:
- First, make sure your computer/laptop is connected to the internet. If you don't know how, simply click on the network/wifi/airplane icon on the login screen and connect to any available network.
- Using a different computer or laptop, access the password reset page.
- Select "I forgot my password," then click "Next."
- Enter your email address and then click Next.
- Then choose the method you want to use to reset your Microsoft account password and follow the on-screen instructions.
- After the reset is complete, you can log in to your admin account on your Windows 10 computer using the new password.
How to recover a forgotten Local Administrator account password
Suppose you forget or lose your admin password and are unable to connect to your Microsoft account. Your computer cannot connect to the internet. Furthermore, you cannot reinstall or reset Windows. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Replace Utility Manager with Command Prompt
All you need is a bootable Windows 10 USB drive or DVD. The purpose of using this bootable USB drive is not to reinstall the Windows operating system.
First, insert this bootable USB drive or DVD into your computer.
- Restart your computer and press the F12 key to select the boot drive. On some computer models, the key to perform these actions may be the F8 key.
Next, choose to boot from the USB drive or DVD drive, depending on the bootable drive you inserted into your computer.
Wait until the Setup window appears.
- In the Setup window, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt. If this doesn't work, click Repair => Troubleshoot => Command Prompt .
- In the Command Prompt window, type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor window.
- In the Registry Editor window, find and select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE . Then, from the menu, click File => Load Hive .
- A new window similar to File Explorer will now appear on the screen. From here, you access the Windows installation drive. Usually, it's drive D or E. In this window, drive C is the drive reserved for the system.
Right-click on the black area and select Open Command Window Here .
- Enter the following commands:
cd windowssystem32
ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.old
copy cmd.exe utilman.exe
- Close all windows and disconnect any bootable drives, then restart your computer.
Step 2: Activate the secret Admin account
In this case, you've forgotten your admin account password, so you'll need to create a new admin account to reset the forgotten or lost admin password.
- On the login screen, click the Ease of Access / Utility button to open Command Prompt .
- All you need to do now is activate the secret admin account on Windows. To do this, run the following command in the Command Prompt window:
net user administrator /active:yes
- Restart your computer. You should set the new username to Administrator on the login screen. Simply select the new username you just created - Administrator - and click Sign in .
Note:
If you lose access to this secret admin account, you will have to create another admin account using different commands.
Step 3: Reset the user account password.
After activating the hidden admin account, the next step is to recover the admin password that the user has lost or forgotten.
- You will now be able to access the desktop screen. Press the Windows + X key combination to open the Power User Menu. Here, select Computer Management .
- In the Computer Management window, navigate to the following key:
System Tools => Local Users and Groups => Users
- On the screen, you will see a list of users on the computer. Right-click on the username you want and select Set password. A warning window will appear; click Proceed to continue.
Follow the on-screen instructions to set a new password.
Above are two methods commonly used by users to reset or recover their Admin login password.
Note : After resetting your password, you should undo any changes you made to cmd.exe and utilman.exe.
Use a third-party tool to recover your admin password and log in to Windows.
If you're busy or lack experience and don't want to tweak your system to reset a lost or forgotten Windows 10 admin login password, you can seek assistance from third-party software and tools.
There are many software programs available that you can use to recover a lost or forgotten administrator login password. However, using these programs will require a small fee. Two of the software programs that TipsMake wants to recommend are iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro and PCUnlocker. With these two "inexpensive" programs, you can easily crack a lost or forgotten Windows password.
Reset your Windows password with iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro
Simply use iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro to create a bootable CD or USB drive and reset your forgotten Windows 10 password or unlock your account.
iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro is one of the most effective solutions for resetting or bypassing all types of Windows account passwords, including: user accounts, admin accounts, Active Directory accounts, and domain admin accounts.
Step 1: Download and install iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery Pro here: Download iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery
You will need a USB flash drive or a recorded CD/DVD to perform the following steps. In this tutorial, TipsMake uses a USB flash drive.
Step 2: Create a bootable USB drive or bootable CD/DVD drive.
Insert the USB drive into your computer and allow the software to recognize it. Next, select your USB flash drive from the list of USB drivers, and choose Burn USB.
This will begin the process of burning the ISO image file to the USB flash drive you just inserted. Once the process is complete, a message will appear on the screen: ' Burning Successful '.
Note:
You should use a blank USB flash drive because the software will erase all data currently on the USB flash drive. The same applies if you use a CD/DVD to burn the ISO image file.
Step 3: Begin the reset process on the locked computer.
Take the USB flash drive from which you just burned the ISO image and plug it into the locked computer. Restart the system and select Boot from USB Drive from the Boot Option menu to begin the process.
The program will start automatically and will display a window like the one below:
Select the username as Administrator and click Reset Password , then click Reboot .
Step 4: Complete the process. You can now log in to your Windows 10 computer without using a password.
Use PCUnlocker to recover a forgotten password.
PCUnlocker is one of the simplest solutions for resetting forgotten passwords. The software's strengths lie in its simplicity and reliability, designed with a good, intuitive GUI interface.
This software is primarily used by novice users, computer repair technicians, and even professionals to troubleshoot password and login issues, including:
- Forgot the password for the unique admin account on your Windows 10 computer?
- Disabled all admin accounts and unable to log into Windows?
- My Windows account was locked after trying the login password multiple times?
- Forgot admin privileges and need to notify guest or standard users?
- Windows is refusing to log in to your account due to invalid group settings policy?
- Is it necessary to convert a Microsoft account to a local user account when Windows is not locked?
PCUnlocker works on all versions of Windows, from Windows XP to Windows 10 Creators Update. Additionally, PCUnlocker supports the latest UEFI software pre-installed on most computers running Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8.
Use PCUnlocker to 'unlock' Windows if you've forgotten your Microsoft account password. You can download PCUnlocker here: Download PCUnlocker
Step 1: Before unlocking your computer, you first need to create a PCUnlocker Live USB (or CD) from another computer.
Download the PCUnlocker ISO image, then install the bootable USB creation software - ISO2Disc.
Step 2: Plug in your USB drive (minimum 1GB of USB capacity required) and run ISO2Disc. Click Browse to find the PCUnlocker ISO file you just downloaded. Select the Burn to USB Flash Drive option , then choose your drive and click Start Burn to format and create a Live USB.
Step 3: The next step is to set up your computer to boot from the USB drive. When you first turn on your computer, quickly and repeatedly press a special key (it could be F2, F12, F8, DEL, etc., depending on your computer model) to access the BIOS/UEFI screen. Here you will have options to boot your computer from the USB drive.
Step 4: After your computer boots from the USB drive, you will see the PCUnlocker screen listed among all local accounts on your Windows 10 system. In the example below, you can see the Microsoft account's email address displayed under the Description column , next to the local account associated with it. Simply select that local account and choose Reset Password .
Step 5: You will be prompted to set a new password, and the program will convert your Microsoft account into a local account. In this Windows admin login password recovery example, TipsMake leaves the password field blank, then clicks OK .
A message will appear on the screen stating that the password has been successfully reset.
Step 6: Remove the USB drive and restart your computer. You can now log in to your Windows 10 computer using the local account you just converted.
Above are methods to recover your Windows admin login password in case you lose or forget it. If you encounter any problems during the setup process, you can leave a comment and Taimienphi will try to help you fix those errors.