But this combination of letters, numbers and special characters serves as a gateway to your entire device, so what happens if you forget it?
If this is a shared PC, you may be in luck. There’s a way to change the password via the administrator, providing an easy way to get back into your account.
How to change another user’s password on Windows 10
Before proceeding, we should mention that this tutorial will result in the loss of EFS-encrypted files, personal certificates and stored passwords. Many people don’t use EFS-encryption, and can easily re-enter those passwords (or click the forgotten password button?), but it’s worth being aware of.
The process below involves using the Control Panel, so will be roughly the same on Windows 8:
Ensure you log in to the administrator’s account. Any other account will not have the ability to change other users’ passwordsOpen Control Panel, the easiest way being by searching for it in the taskbarClick ‘User Accounts’ from the screen that appearsSelect ‘User Accounts’ once more and choose ‘Manage another account’ Click on the user for whom you’d like to change the password. If you don’t see ‘Password protected’ under their name, it should mean they can log in without entering a passwordIn the ‘Make changes to ……’s account’ screen, click ‘Change the password’. If you don’t see the option, you might need to reset your Microsoft account password insteadEnter the new password in both of the top two boxes, as well as a hint below, and then hit ‘Change password’
That’s it! Now, when you try to log in to the affected account, the new password will work.
However, that’s of little consolation if you’ve only got one user on your PC, or can’t log in to an administrator account. In that case, here’s how to access a laptop without the password. We also have tutorials on how to set a temporary password or remove it altogether.
As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.
