I forgot Windows 10 password and tried recovering it through super admin but could not access it. I tried resetting it through Factory resetting my PC but I have got a lot of data and I fear losing it. How should I unlock my PC without losing data or without knowing the password?
There are so many reasons due to which one forgot windows 10 password such as not opening the PC for a long time, or setting a password that is too complex to remember, etc. The study says that almost 21% of users forget their password after two weeks and 25% of users forget their password at least once a day. It seems to be a huge problem and you are not the only one facing it.
So, we should be more focused on the solution rather than the problem. There are many ways to reset windows 10 password if forgot such as resetting it using the super admin account, using the password reset tools, or by formatting or factory resetting the PC but, everything does not work for everyone. So, the easiest and most suitable way of resetting a password on Windows 10/8/7 is by using the Bootable USB Flash Drive.
There are different ways to create Windows 10 password reset USB to reset the password on Windows 10/8/7 which are mentioned in the article. You are not afraid of losing your data or changing the other system settings and knowing how to use a USB password reset disk to reset the password. Here are some different ways of doing it. All you need to do is choose the most suitable way and work through it.
Part One: Reset Windows 10 Password via Password Reset Disk
Resetting password via password reset disk involves two steps:
- Creating the windows password reset disk.
- Resetting windows password using password reset disk.
Let’s see how to complete each step:
Creating the Password Reset Disk
Although Windows 10 provides an option to add security questions to prevent data loss by forgetting the password, it is always best to create a password reset disk windows 10 whenever you set a password on Windows. The password reset disk for a particular PC can only be created when you are logged in to the system. You may ask how to create a password reset disk for windows 10? Here are the steps for creating a password reset disk:
- Log in to the system using the local account. ( Note that this method would not work with Microsoft Accounts.)
- Plug in the USB drive that you want to use as the Password Reset Disk. Note that the USB drive is not reformatted while creating a password reset disk.
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Now in the Taskbar Search Box, type “Create Password Reset Disk”.
- Click on the Create a password reset disk option. The Forgotten Password Wizard will open.
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In the Forgotten Password Wizard, click on Next.
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Select your USB drive and again click on Next.
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Now you will be asked to enter the existing password. Enter the password and click on Next.
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Click on Finish when the following window appears:
You have successfully created the Password Reset Disk for your PC. You will have to store the USB drive in a secure place to prevent any unauthorized access to your PC.
Resetting Password Using Password Reset Disk
If you created a Password Reset Disk when you could log into the system, Bingo! You do not need to worry about resetting your password. You can use the Windows 10 Password reset USB to recover your Windows user account password. Here are the steps to do so:
- Turn on your PC and enter any incorrect password when the login screen appears.
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Click on the Reset Password link when it appears below the Password field:
In Windows 7, it may look like follows:
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When the Password Reset Wizard appears, click on Next.
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Choose your Password Reset Disk i.e. USB Drive and click on Next.
Now you will be asked to enter the new password.
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Enter the new password and confirm it. Type a password hint if you want or leave it blank if you do not want to display any password hint.
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Click on Next and then click on Finish when the following screen appears:
You have successfully reset Windows 10/8/7 password and you can now log into the system using the new password.
I also list the pros and cons of using password reset disk:
Pros
- No need to install any external program.
- Create a password reset disk when to change or set password.
- USB drive is not formatted while creating a password reset disk.
Cons
- This method is useless in case you have not create a password reset disk before.
- If you missed your password reset disk mistakenly, someone else might get access to your PC.
Part Two: Reset Password on Windows 10/8/7 via Windows Password Reset Tool -- PassFab 4Winkey
The options for resetting passwords do not end at using the password reset disk. Unfortunately, if you did not create a password reset disk before you forgot your password, there are Windows 10 password recovery tools that you can use to create one and reset the password using it. Although there are so many tools that serve the same purpose, the easiest, and most effective tool is PassFab 4WinKey.
PassFab 4WinKey is a Windows password recovery tool that can be used to recover or remove the password from admin or user accounts. You can easily create a password reset disk using this tool and use that disk to reset Windows 10/8/7 password. Here are the steps to follow to create a password reset disk using this tool:
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Download PassFab 4WinKey from the official website and install it on any accessible PC. And choose the USB Flash you want to burn.
- Once the burning process is finished, Plug in your windows password recovery tool USB drive into the locked PC.
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Choose the windows system and click next.
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Choose the account for which you want to Reset/Remove the password and click next.
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Enter the new password. After the password has been reset, reboot the system.
Your PC will reboot and you will be able to log into your local account using the password that you created using the PassFab 4WinKey.The following part shows the features of this charming tool.
Pros
- Guarantees 100% data safety while removing or resetting password.
- Be compatible with Windows 10/11/8.1/8.7/Vista/Server 2019.
- Free online tech support is provided to solve customer's problems.
- Can be used to unlock any (local or domain) user or admin account.
Cons
- Be not free and you have to purchase it after your trial expires.
- USB is reformatted while creating a password reset disk.
Part Three: Other Free Tools to Reset Password on Windows 10/8/7
Although PassFab 4WinKey is the useful tool to reset Windows password, there are some alternates that are not as effective as the mentioned above but will do the job. Following are the two ways that could be used to reset the password on Windows 10/8/7.
- Ophcrack
- Offline NT
Way 1: Resetting Windows 10/8/7 Password via Ophcrack
In case you do not know what is Ophcrack, it is the oldest Windows Password Cracking tool that you can use to recover your account if you ever forget your Windows password. Here are the steps to be followed to use the free windows 10 password recovery tool.
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Visit https://ophcrack.sourceforge.io/ and download the ISO image (on any accessible PC) for the Windows version that you are using. There is no ISO image for Windows 10 so you can download the Ophcrack Vista/7 LiveCD version.
- Once the ISO image has been downloaded, plug in your USB flash drive and launch ISO2Disc to burn the image on the USB.
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When the ISO2Disc launches, browse the ISO image you downloaded in the previous step and select your USB drive.
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Click on Start Burn. Once done, plug out the USB drive.
After you have created the Bootable drive, plug it into the locked system and boot it from the Windows Password Reset USB. Now, follow these steps to complete the process:
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When a list of graphics modes displays on the screen, press Enter to boot with default automatic mode.
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The Linux Live Image will load into the memory and Ophcrack will be launched automatically which will perform a dictionary attack on the basis of Vista rainbow table.
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Wait until the Ophcrack recovers your password. It will take a bit longer to recover complex passwords as compared to simple ones.
- Once your password has been recovered, Reboot your PC.
You can now log into Windows 10 using the recovered password.
Pros
- Downloaded for free.
- The forgotten password is recovered and displayed on the screen
- Support multiple operating systems such as Linux, IOS etc.
Cons
- Only recover passwords that contain 0 to 14 characters.
- A LiveCD ISO Image of 649MB / 425MB has to be downloaded.
- It is sometimes mistakenly identified as Trojan or a virus.
Way 2: Resetting Windows 10/8/7 Password using Offline NT
Just like Ophcrack, Offline NT is also a Windows password cracker tool. This tool can be used to reset the password on Windows 10/8/7/XP without losing any precious data. Using this tool may seem difficult if you have never used it, but if you follow the following guide, it will become much easier for you. Here are the steps that you need to follow to reset your Windows 10 password using this tool.
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Visit https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/ and click on the following link to download the ISO image to burn USB Flash Drive.
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Download the usb140201.zip file from the following:
- Launch the burner tool, select your USB drive and let it burn. Once done plug out the USB.
- Now, plug in the Bootable USB into your locked PC.
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Start/restart the PC and press the Boot key to enter the Boot Menu.
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Set your USB device on first priority and press the F10 key to save the settings and exit the Boot Menu.
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You will be asked to press “1” for a while to choose the partition. The first partition will be chosen by default so you just need to press Enter to choose it.
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Now you will be asked to choose the path to the registry. The default path is OK so just press Enter.
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In this step, you will be asked to choose the action that you want to perform. Since we aim to reset the Windows password, so you can just enter 1 and press Enter or directly press Enter to reset the password.
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Press Enter to edit user data and passwords.
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A list of user accounts will appear. Now, enter the username for which you want to edit data and password. Press Enter.
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Another list of actions that could be performed on the selected user will display. Enter 2 to reset the password. Press Enter.
- Now, enter the new password and press Enter. The password for your selected account will be reset.
- Now, press q and then Enter key to quit settings.
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When you do so, you will be asked if you want to save changes. Enter Y and press Enter.
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Press Enter to exit Offline NT Wizard.
Now reboot the system after unplugging the bootable drive. You can now successfully log in to the system using the newly created password.
Pros
- It is completely open source.
- ISO image file is much smaller than that of Ophcrack.
Cons
- Interface is not so attractive and is a little bit difficult to operate.
- You should be familiar with the command prompt.
Conclusion
From this article, we have observed that to reset forgotten Windows password through USB is better managed using PassFab 4WinKey. The process is pretty easy and simple for even novice users to try and log into their computers successfully, without much technical expertise. Though, the traditional way is capable of resetting the password too, it's lengthy and involves too many technicalities to deal with. The best part of PassFab 4WinKey is it is an all-in-one solution for resetting multiple account passwords (including reset administrator password), removing an admin account or creating a new account. It also helps you to manage your other accounts effortlessly and efficiently.