Buzz
This guide explains how to change your computer's password in case you forget it. You can do this in various ways on both Windows and Mac computers.
Steps
Resetting the Microsoft Account Password Online
Know when to use this method. If you're using a Windows 10 computer that requires a Microsoft account (such as an email address) to log in, you can reset the password online.
- You will need to perform this step on another computer.
Open the Windows 10 password reset support page. This is where Microsoft keeps the updated links to their password reset sources.
Click on the Reset your password page link. This is the link mentioned in Step 1 of the "Online" section.
Tick the box that says "I forgot my password" near the top of the page.
Click the blue Next button at the bottom of the page.
Enter the email address. Type the email address of the account for which you want to reset the password.
Enter the characters displayed. In the input field below the distorted characters, you need to type the exact same characters.
- Note that the characters in the box must be entered in the correct case (uppercase or lowercase).
Click on the Next button at the bottom of the page.
Select a recovery option. Choose either the "Text" (Send text message) or the "Email" (Send email) option.
- Depending on the recovery settings for your account, you will only see one of these two options.
Enter the recovery phone number or email address. If you selected "Text", enter the last 4 digits of the recovery phone number. Alternatively, if you selected "Email", enter the full email address partially shown.
Click the Send code button at the bottom of the page.
Receive and enter the code. Depending on the recovery method you selected, follow one of these steps:
- Text - Open the messaging app on your phone, view the message from Microsoft, find the code in the message, and type it into the input box on your computer.
- Email - Open the recovery email inbox, find the email from Microsoft, locate the code in the email, and enter it into the input box on your computer.
Click on the Next button at the bottom of the page.
Enter your new password. Type the new password you wish to create into both fields provided on the page.
- Your password must be at least 8 characters long.
Click on the Next button at the bottom of the page. Once the two entries for your new password match, you can sign in to your Windows 10 account using the newly reset password.
Change your Microsoft account password on your computer
Know when to use this method. If you are using a Windows 10 PC that requires a Microsoft account (such as an email address) to log in, you can reset your password by using the "I forgot my password" option on the lock screen.
- If you are unable to access your computer at the moment, you can also reset your password online.
Turn on your computer.
Open the login screen. You can click anywhere on the screen or press the spacebar to bring up the password entry field.
Click the link I forgot my password at the bottom of the screen.
- If the screen only shows the PIN entry box, click Sign-in options and select the horizontal bar icon that appears.
Enter the displayed characters. The input field below the misaligned characters is where you will type them exactly as shown.
- Make sure the characters are entered in the correct case, as shown.
Click on the Next button at the bottom of the page.
Select a recovery option. Check the box for "Text" (Send SMS) or "Email" (Send email).
- Depending on the recovery option set for your account, you will have only one of these two choices available.
Enter the recovery phone number or email address. If you selected "Text", enter the last 4 digits of your recovery phone number; otherwise, enter the full email address that is partially displayed.
Click on the Send code button at the bottom of the page.
Receive and enter the code. Depending on the selected recovery option, follow one of these two methods:
- Text - Open your phone's messaging app, locate the message from Microsoft, find the code within the message, and enter it into the provided field on your computer.
- Email - Open the recovery email address's inbox, find the email from Microsoft, locate the code in the email, and enter it into the provided field on your computer.
Enter your new password. Type in your desired new password into the two input fields provided on the page.
- Your password must be at least 8 characters long.
Click the Next button at the bottom of the page to save your new password.
Click the Next button once more to return to the login screen. You can now log in using your newly set password.
Change Windows 10 password using Command Prompt
Know when to use this method. If you’ve forgotten the password for your local account, you can use the Command Prompt to create a new administrator account, which will allow you to change the password for the original account.
- However, this method cannot be used to reset the password for a linked Microsoft account.
- If you have access to the administrator account on Windows 10 but not the local account, you can use the administrator account to reset the password.
Create a Windows 10 installation USB. To access the installation screen, you need to start the initial phase of the Windows 10 installation process. To do this, you can create an installation USB:
- Visit http://microsoft.com/software-download/windows10 in your browser.
- Click Download tool now.
- Insert a USB drive with at least 8GB of storage into your computer.
- Double-click the downloaded tool file.
- Follow the on-screen instructions, ensuring you select the USB drive as the installation location.
Access your computer's BIOS page.Power
Restart- The BIOS key varies depending on your computer's motherboard, so you'll need to check for your specific model. Common keys include "Function" keys (such as F12), Esc and Del.
- If your computer finishes rebooting and shows the lock screen, you will need to restart and try a different key.
Change your computer's boot order as follows:
- Look for the "Boot Order" or "Advanced" tab.
- Select the USB drive (or "USB" option) using the arrow keys.
- Move the USB to the top of the list by pressing +.
Save and exit BIOS. Press the "Save and Exit" key as indicated on the shortcut key on the right or at the bottom of the screen.
- You will be asked to confirm your decision before proceeding.
Open the Command Prompt.⇧+F10⇧ Shift+Fn+F10Power
Restart
Swap the Utility Manager shortcut with Command Prompt. After the Command Prompt window appears, do the following:
- Type move c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.bak into the Command Prompt.
- Press ↵ Enter
- Type copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe into the Command Prompt.
- Press ↵ Enter
Remove the USB and restart your computer. You can do this by pressing and holding the "Power" button until the computer shuts down, then removing the USB and pressing the "Power" button again.
Open Command Prompt on the lock screen. When the lock screen appears, click on the "Utility Manager" icon located in the bottom-left corner of the screen (depicted as a phone keyboard icon). This will open the Command Prompt window.
Create a new administrator account. Once the Command Prompt window is open, follow these steps:
- Type net user name /add, replacing "name" with the username you want to create.
- Press ↵ Enter.
- Type net localgroup administrators name /add, replacing "name" with the username you just created.
- Press ↵ Enter
Restart your computer.Power
Restart
Log in with the newly created administrator account. Click on the administrator account name you just created in the lower-left corner of the screen.
- Windows 10 will take a few minutes to set up your account.
Change the password using the newly created administrator account. At this point, you can change the password for any local account using the Control Panel.
Change the password of Windows 10 using the administrator account
Know when to use this method. If you have administrator access to the computer but don't have the password for a local account (not a Microsoft account), you can log into the administrator account and change the password of another account via the Control Panel.
Start
Open the Control Panel. Type control panel, then click on Control Panel in the search results.
Click on User Accounts (User Accounts). This option appears in the middle section of the right-hand side of the Control Panel window. Clicking this will open your User Accounts page.
- If clicking User Accounts opens a page where User Accounts is displayed at the top, click on User Accounts there.
Click on Manage another account (Manage another account). This link is located below your profile picture. Clicking it will display a list of local accounts, including the one you want to modify the password for.
Select your local account. Click on the account whose password you want to change.
Click on Change the password on the left side of your account's personal page window.
Enter your new password. Type the new password in the "New password" field and in the "Confirm new password" field.
- You can also add a password hint in the "Type a password hint" field. This will help you remember the password in the future.
Click on Change password below your personal page window. This will reset the password for your local account, enabling you to log in with the new password after restarting your computer.
Change Mac password online
Try logging in at least 3 times. After three attempts, you will see a notification allowing you to reset the password using your Apple ID. If this message doesn't appear, your account isn't set up for online password recovery yet.
Click on the arrow. A rightward arrow will appear next to the Apple ID option. Clicking it will take you to the Apple ID login page.
Log in with your Apple ID. Enter your Apple ID email address and password, then press ⏎ Return.
Follow the on-screen instructions. Depending on your Apple ID, you may need to verify your identity using two-factor authentication, and Apple will ask you to answer some security questions.
Enter your new password twice. When prompted, type the new password you wish to create into the two input fields, then press ⏎ Return.
Click on Restart when prompted. This will restart your Mac and bring you back to the login screen. From there, you can select your account and log in with the new password.
- This action helps you avoid logging in with the old login keychain, though you will still be prompted to create a new keychain when logging in.
Change the password on your Mac in Recovery Mode
Restart your Mac by clicking Restart at the bottom of the login screen. Your Mac will begin the restart process.
- If FileVault is enabled on your Mac and you don't know the password to turn it off, this method will not work.
Open the recovery menu. Press ⌘ Command+R immediately after clicking Restart and hold until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
Click the → at the bottom of the screen.
Click on the Utilities menu at the top of the screen to open the selection list.
Click on Terminal in the list to open a Terminal window where you can enter commands.
Enter the password reset command. Type resetpassword and press ⏎ Return, then wait for the password reset page to appear on the screen.
- Once the reset page appears, you can close the Terminal window.
Select your account. Click on your account name and then click Next to proceed.
Create a new password. Enter your new password in the "New password" field and the "Verify password" field to confirm it.
Click Next at the bottom of the screen.
Click on Restart at the bottom of the screen. This step will prompt your Mac to restart and show the login screen, where you can log in using your new password.
Change your Mac password using an administrator account.
Log in to your administrator account. Select your administrator account and enter the password to log in.
Click on System Preferences… in the menu to open this window.
Click on the Users & Groups option in the System Preferences window to open a new window.
Click on the lock icon at the bottom left corner of the Users & Groups window.
- If the lock icon is already unlocked, skip this step and proceed to the next one.
Enter the administrator password. In the provided input field, type in the administrator's password and press ⏎ Return.
Select the locked account. Click on the name of the account for which you want to reset the password.
Click on the Reset Password… button located near the top of the menu.
Enter the new password. Type the password you wish to create in the "New password" field, then re-enter it in the "Verify" field to confirm.
Click on the Change Password button at the bottom of the newly displayed window to change the user's password.
Advice
- Windows 10 computers use a 4-digit PIN by default. If you can't remember your password but recall your PIN, click on Sign-in options from the lock screen, then click the phone keypad icon and enter your PIN to log in.
- If you're using an older computer running Windows XP, it's still possible to recover your password.
Warning
- If you can't access your account, take your computer to a professional data recovery center. You may need to erase all data and reinstall the system; however, if you have backed up your data to an external source (e.g., an external hard drive), you can use that backup to restore your system.
