To reset a Windows 10/11 password (if you cannot login to your local user account), the Accessibility utility can be exploited.

This method does not require an external installation media, but only works for local accounts. If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, it’s key will be required (this method does not reset the key).

Source: https://dev.to/jackscott7/reset-windows-1011-password-without-usb-or-reinstall-43m6

Online Microsoft accounts require internet access to login; passwords are tied to this account and cannot be reset locally.

Boot into Windows Recovery

  • Press the power button once the Windows/Computer logo appears on startup
  • Repeat 3 times; the next boot should show a “Recovery” screen
  • Click on “See advanced repair options”

Some sources recommend pressing F11 on startup to enter “Recovery”, but this is not reliable; some machines may use F10 or F12 instead. Use the force shutdown method above instead.

Open cmd session

Select “Troubleshoot”

Select “Advanced options”

Select “Command Prompt”

This will open a command prompt window.

Overwrite utilman with cmd

Identify the operating system partition (value for “osdevice”). This is typically “C:\”, but it may be different.

bcdedit

Create a backup of “Utilman.exe”, and then replace it with “cmd.exe”:

copy C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.bak
copy C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe     C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe

If prompted to overwrite, accept by typing “Yes”.

Windows is not case sensitive. If you experience difficulty due to keyboard layout issues, special symbols (like “\”) can be copied from the terminal prompt.

The command prompt window can be closed and the system can now be rebooted.

Reset Password

After startup, select the “Accessibility” icon at the bottom right of the screen. This will open a command prompt window.

List the users (to verify username) and change the password:

net user
net user "UserNameHere" "NewPasswordHere"

Although the next step is not necessary, it it recommended for security. Once logged in, open a command prompt and restore the Accessibility utility:

copy C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.bak C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe

If this returns access denied errors like above (even with admin privileges), boot back into recovery mode to restore.