How to Reset Windows 10 Password with USB Flash Drive

If you are locked out of your Windows 10 computer and looking to reset Windows 10 password with USB flash driver, read this post. Forgetting your Windows login would have been compared to losing your car keys, but unlike with the car, getting locked out of Windows is not final. The system offers functions to let users reset the passwords via a Windows 10 login password reset USB.

In this article, we will show you how to make this Windows 10 password reset disk/USB and various great methods with which you can reset your Windows 10. Without further ado, let’s look at how to reset your Windows 10 password with a password reset disk.

Part 1. Reset Windows 10 Password with USB (Windows 10 Password Reset Disk)

The Windows operating system features a utility to help any user can reset his or her machine, and Windows 10 is no exception. Although tricky, all you need to get started is a Windows 10 password reset disk.

Thankfully, Windows also lets you create this disk without additional software. If you are not sure how to do this, please refer to the tips at the end of this post. Once you have a Windows 10 password reset disk, follow the instructions below to reset your Windows 10.

NOTE: You cannot create this disk if you lose your Windows password because you will not have access to the system. In this case, you can create a Windows 10 password reset USB with Windows Password Recovery, please refer to Part 2.

Step 1. Boot the computer and let it get to the Windows logon screen. Type an incorrect password now and hit Enter. On entering the wrong password, Windows prompts you, saying, “The password is incorrect. Try again.” Hit OK.

Step 2. Next, you will see a “Reset password” link below the password field. Click on this link to trigger the Password Reset Wizard.

Step 3. With the “Password Reset Wizard” open, insert the USB stick you wish to use for the Windows 10 password reset disk and follow through with the Password Reset Wizard to reset your user account password. Create a new password by entering the password, confirming it, and then setting a hint in case you forget this password again.

Step 4: You have successfully reset Windows 10 login password with USB. Now, use the newly created password to log in to the Windows environment.

For the solution that follows, we treat resetting the computer with the use of the Windows Password Recovery USB.

Part 2. Reset Windows 10 Password with Windows Password Recovery USB

Besides the in-built option, users can also create the Windows 10 password reset USB using Windows Password Recovery and then use it to reset Windows 10 password with USB. Creating the Windows 10 login password reset USB using Windows Password Recovery is more straightforward, and you are at a lower risk of ruining your system. This program is fast and the easiest method for novices and tech-savvy users alike. In the following sections, we will explore the key features and how to use Windows Password Recovery.

Key Features:

• Only three simple steps to reset Windows 10 password with USB. All that is involved in creating the Windows 10 password reset tool USB, booting the PC using the disk, and then resetting the password.
• Regarding the Windows 10 login password reset USB, Windows Password Recovery can create a Windows 10 password reset USB on your USB stick or disk, in one click.
• Windows Password Recovery allows other methods of regaining access into the computer. You can create a new user as well as delete user accounts without logging in.
• It supports all editions of the Windows operating system, including Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Windows 2000, NT, and more.
• Windows Password Recovery also supports all Windows Server versions, including Windows Server 2016, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2003 (R2), 2000, NT, and more.
• It has knowledgeable and fast technical support teams to guide you through difficulties.

How to use Windows Password Recovery USB

Step 1. Make a Windows 10 password reset USB

Note: Create the Windows 10 password reset USB using a computer you are not locked out of. From the next step, you go over to the locked PC.

Launch Windows Password Recovery and then select the media on which you will create the Windows 10 login password reset USB. For USB, click on the “USB device” button, and for a disk, use the “CD/DVD” button.

After selecting your media type, insert it into your machine. Next, from the dropdown on the screen that follows, choose your connected device and hit the “Begin burning” button to start creating the Windows 10 password reset USB.

Give Windows Password Recovery some time, and if successful, you will be told so via a prompt saying “Burning Successfully!” like in the image below.

Step 2. Boot your machine from the created Windows 10 password reset USB

At this point, you now have a working Windows 10 login password reset USB. Remove it from the computer on which you created it and insert the Windows 10 password reset tool USB into the locked computer. Next, reboot the machine.

As the computer is booting, look out for the manufacturer’s logo. When the logo appears, continuously press the key combination to enter the boot menu. The key combination is usually displayed at the bottom of your screen before the computer starts to boot. Press it correctly, and you will find yourself in a menu where you are to select a boot device.

Here, scroll down using your arrow keys, and then select your newly created Windows 10 password reset USB by hitting enter.

Step 3. Reset Windows 10 password with USB

Allow the computer to boot up. If you boot from the Windows 10 login password reset USB, instead of the Windows logon screen, you will see the Windows Password Recovery interface. To complete the password reset, first select your operating system from the “Step 1: Select a Windows” field. This is only necessary if you have multiple operating systems on your machine.

Next, from the box in “Step 2: Select a User,” click on the user account that you wish to unlock and hit the “Reset Password” button below. The Windows password reset takes only but a few minutes. On successful completion, click “Reboot.”

You will have your computer back now. Make sure to remove the Windows 10 password reset tool USB before rebooting the computer, else, you will boot to the Windows Password Recovery screen again. Remove the Windows 10 password reset USB, and on rebooting, use the new password to enter your Windows account.

Part 3. Reset Windows 10 Password with Install USB Disk

Another type of media used to reset Windows 10 password is the install USB disk. For this method, the disk is all you need. If you don’t have the install USB disk, the good news is that its ISO file is available for free download in Microsoft’s website. Download this ISO file, burn it to a disk or USB and follow the steps below to reset your computer.

Step 1. Boot your Windows 10 computer from the Windows install disk

After burning the ISO onto your disk and creating the Windows 10 password reset disk, insert it in your computer and restart the machine. For this method to work, change the boot order to prioritize your Windows 10 password reset USB. You also need to disable UEFI secure boot temporarily to avoid complications.

On restarting the computer, you will get to a screen that asks you to “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD.” Just hit any key on your keyboard.

Step 2. Swap Sethc.exe for cmd.exe

The computer will open up the Windows setup wizard. Here, do not click any option; simply press the key combination, SHIFT + F10 to open Command Prompt.

In Command Prompt, type the following command to back up the sethc.exe file

copy d:\windows\system32\sethc.exe d:\

After typing the above command, press Enter. Next, input the command below and hit Enter also.

copy /y d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d: \windows\system32\sethc.exe

The above command replaces sethc.exe with cmd.exe.

After you enter the above commands and replace sethc.exe with cmd.exe, if you do not receive an error, you can now close Command Prompt to get back to the Windows setup wizard. Cancel the setup wizard also and restart the machine.

Note: Remember to remove or eject the Windows 10 password reset USB before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3. Reset Windows 10 password with the Windows 10 password reset USB

You are all set now to reset your password. On restarting, wait till you get to the Windows logon screen. Here, press “SHIFT” 5 times to launch Command Prompt as an administrator. In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command:

net user username newpassword

In the above command, replace “username” with the username of the user account, and change “newpassword” to your new user account password. After entering this command, hit Enter and close the Command Prompt window.

Tips: How to Create a Windows 10 Password Reset Disk in USB Flash Drive

All through this guide, we have talked about the Windows 10 password reset disk. Knowing that not all readers would be able to create one, here is a guide to walk you through the creation of a Windows 10 password reset USB quickly.

Note: This guide on creating a Windows 10 password reset disk cannot work on the locked computer because you need to access Windows. You need to carry out these steps on a computer you have access to.

Step 1. Insert your media you wish to use for creating the Windows 10 password reset USB into the machine. Next, press the Windows button and the “S” key on your keyboard to trigger the Windows search bar. In the search bar, search for “password reset disk” and select the Control Panel result for “Create a password reset disk.”

Step 2. After that, in Control Panel, click “Create a password reset disk” and hit “Next.” From the available dropdown menu, select the inserted device on which you want to create the Windows 10 password reset disk/USB.

Step 3. Here, you will be required to enter your local account password you use for logging in. Hit the “Next” button, and the operation begins. Note that your local account password is the regular password you use for logging in to Windows.

Step 4. When the progress is completed (100%), click “Next” once again. Finally, hit “Finish.”

Conclusion

In this post, we first treated resetting Windows 10 password using a password reset disk, and then went on to learn another way to reset the Windows passwords, this time with a recovery USB.

You might have come across Windows Password Recovery while searching for solutions to get back into your locked machine. Windows Password Recovery creates the Windows 10 password reset USB with no extra tool. Finally, you have also now learned how to create this USB flash drive. The post was relatively straightforward, but if anything is unclear, do well to get in touch.