Forgot Your Windows Password? How to Get Back In

Work out which kind of account you have

On the sign-in screen, look under your name. If you see an email address, the account is a Microsoft account and the password is the same one you use for that email or for the Microsoft services tied to it. If you see only a name, it is a local account stored on the laptop itself. The recovery routes are completely different, and trying the wrong one wastes time.

Microsoft account

1. 01

   Reset from another device

   On a phone or another computer open the Microsoft account recovery page, enter the email address, and follow the verification step (a code sent to your recovery phone or alternate email).

2. 02

   Choose a new password

   Pick something you can remember and, if you use a password manager, store it there immediately.

3. 03

   Sign in on the laptop

   Make sure the laptop is connected to Wi-Fi from the sign-in screen (there is a network icon in the bottom-right corner), then enter the new password. The first sign-in with a new password needs the connection so Windows can confirm it.

Local account

1. 01

   Try the reset link

   Type a wrong password once. Windows shows a Reset password link under the box. Click it and answer the three security questions you set up when the account was created.

2. 02

   Use another administrator account

   If a second user on the laptop is an administrator, sign in as them, open Settings, Accounts, then Other users (or Family and other users), select your account and choose Change password. Alternatively open Control Panel, User Accounts, Manage another account.

3. 03

   Use a password reset disk

   If you made one on a USB stick when the account was created, plug it in, click Reset password on the sign-in screen and follow the wizard. A reset disk only works for the account it was made for, and only on that computer.

If nothing else works: reset Windows and keep your files

Hold Shift while clicking Restart on the sign-in screen to reach the recovery menu, then choose Troubleshoot, Reset this PC, Keep my files. Windows reinstalls itself, removes installed programs, and keeps the contents of your user folders. You will set up a new account during the process. This is the route the old cracking tools tried to avoid, but on a modern system it is safer and usually faster than any of them. If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, you will need the recovery key, which is stored in your Microsoft account or wherever you saved it when encryption was turned on.

Prevent it happening again

• Set up a PIN and, if the laptop supports it, fingerprint or face sign-in. These are tied to the device and are quicker than a password without replacing it.
• For a local account, set the security questions and make a password reset disk while you still know the password.
• Add a second local administrator account with a password stored somewhere safe. It costs nothing and rescues you from most lockouts.
• Keep the BitLocker recovery key printed or in your account. Without it, a locked encrypted drive is unrecoverable by design.

For other fixes, see all the how-to guides. A locked laptop is also the moment to check that your files exist somewhere else, so read the 3-2-1 backup rule explained next, and use the screenshot guide to capture any recovery codes shown on screen. If your drafts live only on this machine, turning on draft version history protects the record of your work as well as the files.