It is not uncommon when you forget your login password in windows 10. You have the option to log in through Microsoft ID or a local account. You can recover the password by using windows inbuilt tools or by following simple tweaks and there are other third-party tools available to come out of this situation. I will list all the possible tricks to reset your old password or recover the same.
Recover Microsoft Account
If you are using a Microsoft account to log in to windows OS and forget the password, you need to recover the password by opening your Microsoft Mail account in the browser. Now enter your email ID and press next. In the next screen click on Forgotten My Password. Next, it will ask “Why can’t you Sign-in”. Select “I have forgotten the password”.
Before Microsoft attempts to recover the account, it will verify that it’s you. For this, it will ask your mail ID and sends a security code to your already registered number.
Once you fill in the code received on your phone, you can successfully reset your password on the next screen like this.
Recover the Password of the Local User’s Account
If you refer the Microsoft knowledge base to find a solution to reset the windows 10 local account, it will tell you to completely reset your PC by erasing all your data, settings, and program files.
But there are many other tricks to reset the password without losing any data.
Option-1 Use password reset Disk
In order to use this method, you should have a password reset disk with you. Now try to log in to windows 10 with your local user account’s credential. Click on reset password but make sure you have already inserted the reset disk on a USB port.
Press Next and select the USB drive from the drop-down field. Type the new password and a password hint to get an idea about the password, the next time you forget it. Click Finish and that’s it.
Option-2 Use another User account
If you or some other person has a user account with administrative privileges on the system, you can reset the forgotten password of your own user account.
Once you have logged in, right-click on My Computer(This-PC) on the desktop and click manage. Alternatively, you can type compmgmt.msc in Run windows. (Windows key+R) to open computer management.
From the left sidebar menu items, open Local Users and Groups>Users. Now from the list of users, select the user, right-click on it, and click set password.
Recover Password using External Software
There is a plethora of third-party software in the market to recover or reset a lost windows password. All these tools are bootable programs that you need to burn on a CD or a USB drive. You need to boot your system from this software media and it will open the windows resources where you can delete or reset the local account password.
One such software is TunesBro Wingeeker. Built on powerful algorithms, it is an easy-to-use Windows password recovery tool. It doesn’t matter whether you are an IT expert or a novice, you can install and use this DIY software with ease, thanks to its simple user interface. The program is capable to recover guest, administrator, local or Microsoft login passwords and is compatible to use on windows Vista/7/8/8.1/win10 and Windows server NT/2000/2003/2008 and windows server 2012.
You just need to create either a CD/DVD or a USB recovery disk from the software main menu and boot from this media to recover the password. You have the option to see the recovered password and reset a new password moreover, you can also create a new windows user with this windows login password recovery software. Check More Details about WinGeeker Ultimate.
Some of the other free windows password recovery tools include Ophcrack, Trinity Rescue Kit, and Konboot.
Nice tutorial! I use Ophcrack and PCUnlocker the most.