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Unlock Windows 11 without password for local account If I forgot?
If you re locked out of Windows 11 and don have a password reset disk or recovery media, a Linux boot drive offers a clever workaround.
The method involves booting from an Ubuntu boot drive, accessing Windows system files, and replacing the Ease of Access tool with a command prompt. This allows you to launch a command prompt directly from the Windows login screen and reset your password without needing any credentials.
For anyone looking to unlock Windows 11 without password, this method offers a reliable solution.
Instructions:
First, use a disk imaging tool to create a bootable Ubuntu live USB drive.
To boot the locked computer from the USB drive, you’ll need to access the boot menu and select the USB drive as the boot device. Once Ubuntu has finished loading, open a terminal window.
- You ll need to locate the Windows system drive, which is typically mounted at
/media/Windows/ or /mnt/
- but you can also browse File Explorer or use the lsblk command to find the correct partition. Navigate to the Windows System32 folder:
cd /media/Windows/Windows/System32
- Now, rename the Ease of Access tool for backup purposes, then replace it with the Command Prompt:
sudo mv Utilman.exe Utilman.bak
sudo cp cmd.exe Utilman.exe
- These commands will rename the original utility and copy the cmd.exe file to replace it.
- Restart the computer, remove the USB drive, and let Windows boot normally.
- On the login screen, click the Ease of Access button. This will open a Command Prompt with SYSTEM privileges instead of the Ease of Access menu.
- Now, you can use the net user command to reset any user password:
net user your_username new_password
- Replace your_username with your actual account name and new_password with the password you want to set. After executing the command, you can log in using the new password.
This method works because the Ease of Access button runs before the user is authenticated, and Windows executes the Utilman.exe file with system-level privileges. By replacing it with cmd.exe, you can obtain a command prompt with elevated privileges without having to log in.
This is one of the effective solutions for unlock Windows 11 without password, although it requires using another computer to create a Linux bootable USB drive.