9 Ways to Crack or Reset a Forgotten Windows Password Using the best online resources available
1. Ophcrack Live CD :
Ophcrack Live CD My favorite ways to blank out or crack a Windows password is to use a Linux Live CD. These are special distributions of Linux that run directly from the CD (no installation required) and are specially designed for cracking Windows passwords. You can read the documentation to learn how to use it.
Simply burn the ISO and boot using the CD and the program will get right to work. It may not work, however, on very complicated passwords because it actually tries to determine the password rather than reset it
2. Login Recovery :
Login Recovery is a web site that has a program that you can either download onto a floppy disk or a cd that you than use to boot up with. If the PC is connected to the Internet, it will automatically upload the encrypted data to their servers and begin the process of trying to recover the passwords. If you don’t have an Internet connection, it will generate a file, which you then manually upload to their site.
I have tried this site and it did not work for my password, which was 11 characters and mostly symbols, numbers, and letters. However, if the password is something simpler, they will probably be able to crack it.
3. Reset your Microsoft account :
If you use a Microsoft account to log in to Windows 10 and find yourself locked out, head to Microsoft’s account recovery website and enter your email address, phone number or Skype name, then click ‘Next’.
4. Reset your account password :
Try this suggestion first if it’s your local PC account password that you need to reset. If you’re using Windows 10 version 1803 or later, select the ‘Reset password’ link under your username on the login screen.
You’ll need to answer your security question, then enter a new password. This will then be saved as your new password from now on.
Alternatively, if you’re signed in you can press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, then click ‘Change a password’. Enter the name of the account whose password you want to change, then enter a new password below.
5. Reset a PIN from the login screen :
Choose how you want to be sent a security code (either as an email or SMS message), then fill in the missing information to verify the account is yours. Once you receive the code, enter it on your PC, then choose a new PIN and re-enter it to confirm. This will reset your PIN.
6. Reset a PIN in Windows 10’s settings :
If you’re already signed in to your account and want to change your PIN, that’s simple enough. First of all, make sure you’re connected to the internet. Now, click Start, then the Settings cog and go to ‘Accounts > Sign-in’ options.
Click ‘I forgot my PIN’, then enter your account password and click ‘OK’. You can then enter a new PIN, which can be simply numbers or include letters and symbols. When you’ve chosen one, enter it again to confirm, then click ‘OK’.
7. Use the elevated command prompt :
Click Start and, in the Windows 10 search bar, type “cmd”. Right-click the first entry, then click ‘Run as administrator’.
Type the following phrase, replacing “account” with your account name and “password” with the new password you want to use:
net user account password
When you’re done, press ‘Enter’ and close Command Prompt.
8. Use another administrator account :
In the left-hand column, navigate to ‘Local Users & Groups > Users’, right-click the account you’ve been locked out of, then click ‘Set Password’ and enter a new password.
Note that Microsoft locks some files and information if a user’s password is reset this way. This method will also only work if the account signs in locally rather than using an online Microsoft account.
9. Create a password reset disk :
Click ‘Next’ in the Forgotten Password wizard, choose the USB drive, then click ‘Next’ again. Type your current account password and click ‘Next’. Click ‘Finish’ when the wizard is done.
If you need to use the disk, enter it on the Windows 10 login screen, then click ‘Reset password’, then ‘Next’. On the dropdown menu, select the USB disk, click ‘Next’, then enter a new password and click ‘Finish’.