Wonder how to unlock the computer if you forgot Windows 11 password? This post offers some possible ways to let you reset Windows 11 password. Check the detailed guides below.
Also read: Learn the best tips and tricks for data recovery hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7.
Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Password in Windows 11
To reset the forgotten Windows 11 login password, you can try the 6 ways below, namely, using Microsoft Account, CMD, Windows password reset disk/USB, etc.
Way 1. Answer the Security Questions to Log in Windows 11
If you’ve added security questions when you set up your Windows 11 local account, you can log in by answering the security questions.
- On Windows sign-in screen, you can type an incorrect login password and you will see a Reset password link. Click Reset password link.
- Then you can answer the security questions. Windows will then let you enter a new password for your local account. Set a new Windows 11 account password and remember it.
- Log into your computer with the new password.
Way 2. Reset Password in Windows 11 with Microsoft Account
- Start your computer and get into the Windows sign-in screen. Type your Microsoft account name if it is not displayed. Click I forgot my password option below the password box.
- On the next screen, you can enter your Microsoft account email address and press Enter.
- Then you should see the “Verify your identity” screen. Select how you want to get your security code. If you choose to verify with your phone number, you can enter the last 4 digits of your phone number and click Send code.
- Enter the security code once you receive it. Then you are allowed to enter a new password for your Windows 11 computer local account.
- Log into your Windows 11 computer with the new password.
Way 3. Reset Windows 11 Password with Command Prompt
You can also reset Windows 11 administrator password by using Windows Command Prompt (CMD). Check how to do it below.
- Log into your Windows 11 computer with another user account.
- Press Windows + S to open Windows search box. Type cmd, right-click Command Prompt app and select Run as administrator.
- In Windows Command Prompt screen, you can type the command: net user accountname newpassword, and press Enter. Replace “accountname” with the exact user account name that you forgot the login password. Replace “newpassword” with the new password you want to set for the account.
- Then you can log out of the current account, and log into your Windows 11 computer with the account you have just changed the password.
This way works only if you have another user account with administrative privileges on your Windows 11 computer. However, if you don’t have another user account, you can boot your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt and reset Windows 11 password. Check the steps below.
- On the sign-in screen, you can click Power icon at the bottom-right corner. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart. This will boot your computer into Windows Recovery Environment.
- Click Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Startup Settings -> Restart.
- Press F6 to boot your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt screen.
- In Command Prompt screen, type the command: net user username newpassword, and press Enter. Still, replace “username” and “newpassword” with the exact account name and password you set for the account.
- You have changed the password for the Windows 11 local account. You can boot your computer to normal mode and log in with the new password.
Tip: If you want to create a new administrator user account with CMD in Windows 11, you can type the command lines below. Replace “username” and “password” in the command lines with the exact username and password you want to set for the new account.
- net user username password /add
- net localgroup Administrators username /add
Way 4. Fix Forgot Windows 11 Password with Windows Password Reset USB/Disk
If you’ve ever created a password reset USB or disk for your Windows 11 computer, you can use it to reset Windows 11 password if you forgot your password.
- Connect the Windows 11 password reset USB or disk to your PC.
- Start your computer to access the login screen.
- Click Reset password and click Next.
- Click the drop-down icon and select the password reset USB/disk device.
- Then type a new password and type a password hint to reset your password in Windows 11.
How to create a password reset USB/disk for Windows 11 local account:
- Connect a blank USB flash drive or disk to your computer.
- Press Windows + R, type control panel, and press Enter to open Control Panel.
- In the search box of Control Panel, you can type create password reset and select Create a password reset disk Follow the instructions to create a password reset USB/disk for your Windows 11 local account.
You don’t have to create a new password reset USB/disk even if you change your password many times. If you forgot your login password in Windows 11 in the future, you can use the Windows 11 password reset USB/disk to follow the steps above to reset your password.
Way 5. Reset Windows 11 Password with Password Reset Software
To bypass Windows 11 password, you may also try some professional Windows password reset programs. You may try PassFab 4WinKey, Lazesoft Recover My Password, Passware Kit, Ophcrack, etc.
Way 6. Reset PC or Restore System to Unlock Windows 11 Computer
If you forgot Windows 11 password and can’t reset the password, you can try to restore the system to a previous state or reset your PC. Check how to do it below.
- On the login screen in Windows 11, you can click Power icon at the bottom-right corner, press Shift key and click Restart to boot your computer into WinRE.
- On the Choose an option screen, you can click Troubleshoot to enter Advanced Options screen.
- Then you can choose System Restore or Reset this PC The System Restore option reverts your computer to a previous state and does not affect your personal files on the computer. The Reset this PC option resets your computer to its default state, but you can choose to keep files or remove everything.
Note: It’s advised you to back up data and system in your Windows 11 computer before you restore system or reset the PC to avoid unexpected data loss. Since you forgot Windows 11 password and can’t access your data, you can use MiniTool ShadowMaker to create a bootable media to boot your computer into WinPE, then run MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up data and system to an external hard drive.
How to Change Password in Windows 11
If you can log in to your computer and want to change Windows 11 password to a new one, you can follow the steps below.
- Click Start -> Settings -> Accounts -> Sign-in options.
- Click Password and click Change button.
- Enter your current password and click Next.
- Then you can enter a new password and confirm the new password.
- Windows 11 also requires you to enter a password hint. You can randomly enter some characters, but make sure that others cannot guess your password.
- Click Finish button to change Windows 11 password. Then you can log in to Windows 11 with the new password.
How to Recover Lost Data from Windows 11/10 Computer
In case you mistakenly delete a file or unexpectedly lose some important data in your computer, here you also provide an easy data recovery method to help you easily recover deleted/lost files.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a professional data recovery program for Windows 11/10/8/7. You can use this application to recover any deleted or lost documents, photos, videos, and any other files from Windows PC or laptop, USB flash drive, memory card, external hard drive, SSD, and more.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery helps you deal with various data loss situations like mistaken file deletion, various computer problems like BSOD, hard drive failure, malware/virus infection, system crash, etc. It can even recover data when PC won’t boot thanks to its built-in Bootable Media Builder.
Download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery on your Windows PC or laptop, and check its simple guide below for data recovery.
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- Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Under Logical Drives, you can select the target drive and click Scan. If you don’t find the location, you can click Devices tab and click the whole device or disk and click Scan.
- When it finishes scan, you can check the scan result to find wanted files, check them and click Save button to select a new location to store the recovered files.
Back up Windows Data/System with MiniTool ShadowMaker
Always having a backup for needed data is a good habit. Here we also introduce a top free PC backup tool for your reference.
MiniTool ShadowMaker is a professional PC backup program that lets you easily back up your Windows system and data. It lets you select files and folders, partitions or the entire disk content and back up them to an external hard drive, USB drive, network drive, etc. Schedule automatic backup and incremental backup, file sync, and many other features are also included in this program.
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Best Free Disk Partition Manager for Windows 11/10
Sometimes you might want to repartition the hard disk or extend the C drive when it is full. It’s not a complex task when you have a professional disk partition manager at hand.
MiniTool Partition Wizard is a top disk partition manager for Windows. It lets you easily create, delete, resize, extend, format, wipe disk partitions, etc. This all-in-one partition manager also lets you convert disk or partition format like from FAT to NTFS, check and fix disk errors, benchmark disk, analyze disk space, and more.
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Conclusion
If you forgot Windows 11 password, this post provides 6 ways with detailed guides to let you reset Windows 11 password to unlock your computer. Hope it helps.
Also some useful programs from MiniTool Software are also introduced to help you keep your data safe. If you have any issues with using MiniTool Software products, you can contact [email protected]. You can also find MiniTool Video Repair, MiniTool MovieMaker, MiniTool Video Converter, etc. from MiniTool official website.
Also read: Learn about the common causes of hard drive data loss and the steps you can take to recover data from hard drive.