How to factory reset windows 10 without password to new owner?

Using a bootable Linux USB to manually edit or remove password files is a legitimate method to regain access to a locked Windows computer, but it is not a factory reset Windows 10 without password.

The technique you are asking about uses a bootable Linux USB drive to access and modify the SAM (Security Account Manager) file on your Windows installation. The SAM file is where Windows stores local user account information, including password hashes. When Windows is running, this file is locked and cannot be touched. But when you boot from a different operating system, that file becomes just another file on a disk, readable and writable.

Using a tool called chntpw, you can blank out a user's password hash, remove it entirely, unlock disabled accounts, or even promote a standard user to administrator. After you do this and reboot into Windows, the account will have no password, and you can log in immediately.

Crucially, this is not factory reset Windows 10 without password. Your personal files, installed applications, settings, and everything else on the drive remain completely untouched. You are only changing the authentication data for a user account.