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Windows Password Reset

There are two reliable ways to reset a Windows 10 user account passwords.

Prerequisites

  • Windows install has to be decrypted or Bitlocker not enabled
  • Able to boot from USB

Reset Password From Windows

Boot from a live Windows install media, hit Shift+F10 to drop to a console.

move c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\
copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe

Reboot the device and on the login screen bottom right select the Ease Of Access button which will launch a command prompt now.

net user <username> <password>

You can move the copy of utilman.exe back to where it needs to be and reboot the system.

Reset Password From Linux

Any linux distro will work, boot live and install chntpw package.

Mount the Windows root partition and navigate to the Windows\System32\Config directory.

chntpw -u <username> SAM

Select the user you want to blank the password. Reboot the system and the user will be able to login with no credentials.