How to remove a password on Windows

How to Remove Password on Windows 7

The method of resetting a password in Windows 7 depends on whether the desktop computer belongs to a workgroup or a domain. By default, all user accounts created for personal use on home computers are included in a workgroup. User accounts that belong to a domain are typically used on devices in organizations or educational institutions where multiple people can use the computers.

Method #1

Domains in Windows OS are a security center with administrator rights to which other controlled computers are connected. Domains, in turn, are controlled by servers. Thanks to domains, organizations and educational institutions can remotely access connected devices.

To reset the password in this case, you need to:

1. Login using an administrator account on the device acting as the domain controller.
2. Click on the “Start” menu, go to “Control Panel”. Then, go to “User Accounts”, the management section.
3. Enter the administrator password to access the management section.
4. Select the section “User Accounts”, tab “Users”.
5. Select the desired user account for which you want to reset the password.
6. Enter a new password and save the changes.

With the administrator account that manages the domain, you can reset and change passwords for all user accounts on managed computers. However, if encrypted data is present on controlled devices, users will lose access to them after the passwords are changed.

You can disable the password after waking the computer from sleep mode in the system settings, under “User Accounts”, the option “Sign-in options”. In the right part, look for “When you are not around...” and set the condition to “Never”.

Method #2

A workgroup is a set of devices running Windows that are connected to a single network. This allows computers to quickly exchange data and use network printers.

To reset the password in Windows 7 under these conditions, you will need to:

1. Boot up the PC, press “Reset password” at the password input stage.
2. Insert a disk or a flash drive with the Windows distribution. Boot from the inserted drive. It is important that the installed system version and the version of Windows (Home/Professional) on the drive match.
3. After the installer shell boots up, select “System Restore”.
4. The installed OS version will be checked, click “Next”, select “Command Prompt”.
5. In the command prompt, enter - regedit.
6. In the registry editor window, go to - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Click on this folder, then click “File” and select “Load Hive”.
7. Go to the “Windows” folder, then “System32” and “Config”. Find and open the “SYSTEM” file.
8. Enter an arbitrary name for the section. For example, a date or a username. After that, go back to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and find the created section.
9. Click on “Setup”, parameter - CmdLine, right-click on it and select “Modify”. In the new window, enter - cmd.exe and confirm the input.
10. Similarly, change the value to “2” for “SetupType”. Click on the created section, select the “File” tab, select the action “Unload Hive”.
11. Restart the PC.

When the operating system boots up, a command prompt will appear. Enter - net user and confirm the input. You can specify any username. After entering the username, leave the field blank, indicating that no password is set. Exit the command prompt by entering the command - exit. Restart the computer.

Method #3

In general, for home computers, you can reset the password through a user account or control panel. In the first case, go to the “Run” function using the key combination “Win + R”. Enter the command control userpasswords2 in the input field and confirm.

By default, the “Users” tab will be selected. Double-click on the username from the list with the left mouse button. Clear the values in the “Password” and “Confirm Password” fields, then enter new data. Confirm the input by clicking the “OK” button. Uncheck the box for “Users must enter a user name and ...”.

To disable it through the control panel, go directly to the control panel through the “Start” menu. Then, go to “User Accounts”, the “Change/Remove your password” section. Enter a new password or remove the data.

How to Remove Password on Windows 10

The process of resetting a forgotten password in Windows 10 depends on the version of the system build. In general, there are two versions: pre-1803 and post-1803. In versions prior to 1803, resetting the password without affecting the system settings and installed programs is not possible. If the backup function was enabled in the system, deleted files can be recovered.

To reset the password in versions prior to 1803, you need to go to the “Start” menu. Then, press and hold “Shift” and click on the power button icon, followed by “Restart”. Wait for the restart, click on “Troubleshoot” and select “Reset this PC”. Click on “Remove everything”. The device will be restored to its original state, as with a fresh installation of Windows.

To reset the password in Windows versions 1803 and later, click on “Reset password” on the login screen and answer the security questions that were selected when setting the forgotten password. Then, enter a new password and log in to the system. After that, you can perform a full password reset by following the instructions below.

Method #1

Through “Windows Settings”, you can disable the password requirement when logging into the system and when waking the device from hibernation. First, you need to disable the PIN code sign-in to Windows. To do this, select “Accounts” in “Windows Settings”. Then, select “Sign-in options” and remove the PIN code.

The password reset is performed as follows:

1. Go to “Windows Settings” -> “Accounts”.
2. Click on “Sign-in options” and next to “Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts”, switch the toggle to the off position.
3. Below in “Require sign-in”, set the parameter to “Never”. In “Dynamic lock”, disallow the system from locking the device in sleep and hibernation mode.
4. In “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart”, switch the toggle to the on position.

Method #2

The password reset via user accounts is similar to the method described for Windows 7. For Windows 10, go to “Run” through the “Start” menu or the key combination “Win + R”. Enter the command netplwiz. In the “User Accounts” window, click the username with the left mouse button to make changes. Uncheck the box for “Users must enter a user name and password”.

Method #3

To disable the password requirement when waking from a sleep mode, you can use the “Registry Editor”. This method is suitable for Windows 10 Professional/Enterprise users. In the Home version, this cannot be done due to some removed features.

To disable the password, perform the following steps:

• Enter “Run” in the search bar on the taskbar and go to the function. In the input field, enter - gpedit.msc and confirm.
• Go to “Computer Configuration”, folder “Administrative Templates” -> “System”. Then, look for “Power Management” and “Sleep Settings”.
• In the service window, select the two lines “Require a password when a computer wakes ...”. Open each of them by double-clicking with the left mouse button. Select “Disabled”.
• Confirm the change and click the “OK” button.

In Windows 10 Home, the process looks slightly different. You can use the “Registry Editor” to reset it, which can be accessed through the search on the taskbar. Then, follow the path shown in the image above. In the root folder, there should be “ACSettingIndex” and “DCSettingIndex”. If they are not present, create them by right-clicking and selecting “Create DWORD (32-bit)”. Set the value to “0” in both files. Confirm the change by clicking the “OK” button. As a result, the OS will not require a password when logging in.

How to Remove Password on Windows 11

The process of disabling the password in Windows 11 is similar to the tenth version of the system. The main difference is the updated interface and changes in the operation of certain system functions. Any of the methods described below can be chosen.

Method #1

This method allows you to skip entering a PIN code and password for the user account when logging into the system. In some cases, the system may require a password for user verification, but this is extremely rare.

To remove the password in Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. Go to the settings of the system through the “Start” menu or the key combination “Win + I”.
2. In the left part, select the section “Accounts”, then in the right part, the item “Sign-in options”.
3. In the “Additional settings” section, next to the item “To increase security, allow ...”, switch the toggle to the off position.
4. For some users, this option may be unavailable. In that case, go to the command prompt by using “Run” and entering the commands - cmd.
5. In the command prompt, enter - reg ADD "HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionPasswordLessDevice" /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f.
6. After that, run “Run” again.

Method #2

Resetting the password through user accounts is similar in many ways to the method described for Windows 7. For Windows 11, go to “Run” through the “Start” menu or the key combination “Win + R”. Enter the command netplwiz. In the “User Accounts” window, click with the left mouse button on the username to make changes. Uncheck the box for “Users must enter a user name and password”.

Method #3

To disable the password requirement when waking from sleep mode, you can use the “Registry Editor”. This method is suitable for Windows 11 Professional/Enterprise users. In the Home version, this cannot be done due to some removed features.

To disable the password, follow these steps:

• Open the taskbar search and enter “Run”. Go to the function. Enter - gpedit.msc and confirm.
• Go to “Computer Configuration”, then “Administrative Templates” -> “System”. Then, look for “Power Management” and “Sleep Settings”.
• In the service window, select the two lines “Require a password when a computer wakes ...”. Open each of them by double-clicking with the left mouse button. Select “Disabled”.
• Confirm the change and click the “OK” button.

In Windows 11 Home, the process looks slightly different. You can use the “Registry Editor” to reset it, which can be accessed through the search on the taskbar. Then, follow the path shown in the image above. In the root folder, there should be “ACSettingIndex” and “DCSettingIndex”. If they are not present, create them by right-clicking and selecting “Create DWORD (32-bit)”. Set the value to “0” in both files. Confirm the change by clicking the “OK” button. As a result, the OS will not require a password when logging in.

Move the program to a convenient location on the hard drive or SSD, launch it and allow the program to be used on the device. In the Sysinternals Autologon window, enter the password for the current user account and click on the “Enable” button. The utility works for both local accounts and authorized users.