How to Reset the Password on Windows 10 Without a Disk or USB drive

Can't log into your Windows 10 account? Don't worry, you don't need to re-install the whole OS. Just reset the Windows 10 password. To do that, you can use a pre-made USB password reset disk. What do if you forgot your Windows 10 password and have no password reset disk created beforehand, however? There are a few things you can try.

How to reset your Windows 10 password with Security Questions

If you're using Windows 10 version 1803 or newer, you can add security questions to your local account. This way you can reset your Windows 10 password without the need for a password reset disk. Here's how:

1. When you try to log in, and you get the "The password is incorrect. Try again" message, press OK under this message.
2. You will be taken back to the login screen, and you will see a "Reset password" link just under the Password box. Press it.
3. After you click the Reset password link, it will immediately take you to a screen where you can answer the security questions and reset your Windows 10 password.

How to reset your Windows 10 password with other sign-in options

See if the login screen has other sign-in options for logging in. If you can still log in to Windows 10 with your PIN, Picture password or another administrator account, there is a good chance you can reset your Windows 10 password easily without a reset disk.

1. Log in to Windows 10 with another account/PIN/Picture password
2. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
3. Enter "net user user_name new_password" (use your username instead of "user_name" and your new password instead of "new_password") and press the Enter key to reset your Windows 10 password.

How to reset your Windows 10 password with an installation media

If nothing hasn't worked so far, don't panic, there are other options to explore. You can use a Windows 10 installation disk to reset your Windows 10 password without any data loss. If you do not have your Windows 10 installation disk, you can burn one to a disk or a flash drive. It takes a bit of time, but it's doable.

How to reset your Windows 10 password with Windows Password with third-party apps

If you cannot recall your Windows 10 password and have no password reset disk, you can try a third-party app like Windows Password Refixer. Here's how to use the app:

1. Download and install Windows Password Refixer on another PC.
2. Execute the app, then follow the on-screen instructions to burn it to a USB or CD/DVD flash drive to make a bootable password reset disk.
3. Now you need to boot the Windows 10 computer from the disk. This is what you need to do:
4. Connect the password reset disk you just created with Windows Password Refixer to your locked computer.
5. Start your PC and access the Boot Menu or BIOS setup to set the computer to boot from the disk (USB or CD flash drive).
6. Reset Windows 10 password.
7. Windows Password Refixer will appear on your computer's screen.
8. Choose your Windows 10 OS.
9. Select "password-forgotten user"
10. Press Reset Password to reset the user's password.

When you're done with the reset process disconnect your computer from the reset disk and reboot your machine. It should now be accessible.