Reset Windows password with CMD

REMOVEvirtual guard Your Windows computer with a password is a must. It’s a layer of security that neutralizes unauthorized strangers from using your computer. But there are times when your own layer of security restricts you from using your Windows operating system. You did not enter the correct password because you were absent-minded when you last changed your password. Or you can’t remember your password because you haven’t used your computer for months.

You may not have the help of the password hint on the login screen. But if it doesn’t help you. An effective solution to reset Windows password is to use a password reset disk. And like me, you didn’t create the disk in the first place. Now, you have to reinstall Windows on your computer again. Well, you can do so if you don’t have any important data stored on your computer.

Request

• My Windows drive is usually OLD
• Windows installation disc or Windows repair disc
• The most important thing, you should not reset the previous password for your Windows.

How to Reset Windows Password Using CMD?

1. Use the Windows repair disc to start your computer.
2. Choose the language you prefer to use. Note: This method has been tested on Windows 10. The repair disk option may be different for other versions of Windows.
3. Click Troubleshoot .
   
4. Click Command Prompt .
   
5. In the CMD window, type the following command and press Enter:

   copy C:\Windows\system32\sethc.exe C:\

6. Now, type the following command and press Enter:

   copy /y C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe

   Note: You will see the Overwrite c: sethc.exe confirm if you have done this method in the past. In this case, type all and press Enter .
   

7. To exit CMD, type exit and press Enter . Restart your computer.
8. At the login screen where you enter your password, press the Shift key five times. A CMD window will display.
9. Type the following command and press Enter:

   net user username password

   Important: Here, username is the user account name and password is the new password you want to set up. If your name is Ironman and the new password is Jarvis, the command will be: net user ironman Jarvis

10. Now, press Enter.
    
11. Exit the command prompt.
12. You can log in to your Windows computer using the new password.

So in this process, what you basically did was to exchange the SETHC.exe with Cmd.exe. The SETHC.exe is used to enable important accessibility features in Windows. Replace it with cmd.exe which starts the command prompt which can be used to change the administrator password.

Important: In our case, this method only works for local accounts. We are unable to reset the Windows password for the Microsoft account we use on our computer. We tested the above method on Windows 10.

How to return to what you did?

Now, you have successfully changed the password, but you do not want some other person to do the same. You can easily roll back the changes you’ve made:

1. Follow the procedures as described above until step 4.
2. In the command prompt window, type the following command:

   copy /y c:\sethc.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe

   

3. Press Enter and restart your computer.

4. Now, at the login screen, if you press the Shift key 5 times the option key will appear instead of the command line.

   

This way you can reset Windows password and have a sense of relief. If you are concerned that someone can type commands and gain access to your computer, you disable the USB ports on your computer.

Good luck!