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Windows 10 home change password free

To do so, choose one of the following:. If you’re using a tablet, press and hold the Windows button, press the power button, and then tap or click Change a password and follow the instructions. It depends on whether you’re using a third-party email address. If your email address ends in outlook. But you can use any email address for your Microsoft account, even an email address from a third-party web-based mail service like Google Mail or Yahoo!

When you choose a password for your Microsoft account, it doesn’t change the password you might need to use to sign in to web mail on a third-party site.

Under Picture password , tap or click Add , and then follow the instructions. When you choose a password for your user account, it’s important to pick something you can remember.

You’re going to need it again later! Of course, you can also write your password down and keep it in a safe place. Taped to the underside of your laptop or the inside of your desk drawer is probably not a good idea, however.

If you do write your password down, be sure to keep it separate from your PC. For added security, use different passwords for different purposes. For example, it’s a good idea to keep distinctly different passwords for a social networking account and your online bank account. If you do forget or lose your password, there are still several things you can try to reset or recover it.

For more info, see Reset your password above to reset or recover it. The steps to reset your password will vary a bit depending on if your computer is on a domain, or in a workgroup. If your computer is part of a work or school organization there’s a good chance it’s part of a domain. If this is a home computer it’s almost certainly in a workgroup.

Sign in with a domain account that has administrator permissions to this device. If you’re not sure, contact your organization’s IT admin for help. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

On the Users tab, under Users for this computer , select the user account name, and then select Reset Password. Type the new password, confirm the new password, and then select OK. Note: If you are logged on as an administrator, you can create and change passwords for all user accounts on the computer. Warning: If you use an administrator account to change a password for another account, any encrypted files or e mail messages for that other account will no longer be accessible to the person who was using that account.

If you type the wrong password when you attempt to log on, Windows displays a message that the password is incorrect. Select OK to close the message. Select Reset password , and then insert your password reset disk or USB flash drive.

Log on with the new password. If you forget your password again, you can use the same password reset disk. You don’t need to make a new one.

Type your old password followed by a new password as indicated, and then type the new password again to confirm it. Reset a forgotten Microsoft account password. Change your Microsoft account password. Reset your Windows local account password. Table of contents. Windows account help. Sign in. Windows Hello. Reset your password. On the next screen, select Advanced and then Install a driver.

Confirm with OK. Navigate to Windows , System32 , and scroll down the huge list of files until you find the file utilman. Right-click on that file, select Rename , and rename it to whatever you like, such as Utilmanpassword.

Remember that name! Scroll all the way up and find the cmd file. Make a copy of that file by right-clicking on it, selecting Copy , right-clicking on a free area in the file listing, and selecting paste.

Rename the original cmd file to utilman yes, the same file name as the one you just renamed. In order to see the changes, you might need to right-click on a free white area of this window and select Refresh. Close all windows and select Continue Exit and continue to Windows What you just did is replace the Ease of Access button with the command line, which allows you to reset your password. This shows a list of usernames that are available, including your own.

Windows 10 asks you to confirm a new password. Wracking your brain to remember your Windows password? Instead, spend a few minutes to prepare yourself for an eventual bout of password amnesia.

You can also use a floppy disk if your PC is still surfing the retro waves. Choose Next on the first screen. Type in your current password and choose Next again. After a few seconds, your disk is created. Store it somewhere safe, away from cats who think that USB drives are great kitty toys. Windows 10 begs you to sign into a Microsoft account, and for good reason. Aside from enabling you to download apps from its store and synchronize settings from one PC to another, a Microsoft account also offers you an easy way to reset your password, as you saw above.

Click on the Start menu and then on the little cog icon to open the Settings app. Click on Account. You should sign up for a Microsoft account, which would enable you to reset your password in case you forget or lose it:. To do that, click on Sign in with a Microsoft account. You can register for an account by clicking on Create one! Set up a password which you will of course write down, promise? Last but not least, you can now sign into your new account using the email and password you just specified.

This will be your Windows login going forward. While not the most secure method, you can also set up a PIN in Windows 10 at this point to make logging in easier. Password managers can safely store all your passwords, and many will also generate secure passwords for you. Choose a password manager with multi-device sync capabilities, get it set up on your computer and your smartphone, then use it to store your Windows password.

If none of the above methods work, then the last remaining option is to wipe your entire disk and reinstall Windows. Windows 10 makes this easy by offering a reset option. To do that, click on the Power button on your login screen, select Restart , and hold down the Shift key. However, this should be the absolute last resort.

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Internet of Things. See all Security articles. IP Address. See all Privacy articles. See all Performance articles. Select language. Link Copied. This article contains:. Unfortunately, there is a lot of support documentation to comb through to use the tool effectively. That said, once you understand how it works, it has several advanced functions.

Ophcrack is also excellent if you have a password that is less than 14 characters. If your password is shorter than Ophcrack might be able to use its brute force ability to recover your lost password quickly. If your password is longer than 14 characters, we still recommend PassFab 4WinKey. Our advice: use this every time you change your password or install Windows on a new computer. Ophcrack is great for shorter passwords but does not work so well on long passwords.