Windows 10: Create Password Reset Disk on USB Flash Drive in Windows 10

How to: Create Password Reset Disk on USB Flash Drive in Windows 10

How to Create a Password Reset Disk on USB Flash Drive in Windows 10


If you forget your Windows password, you can use a password reset disk to create a new one. It is recommend that you create a password reset disk when you create a password for your local account before you forget the password to avoid losing access to your files and information. It will be to late to create a password reset disk after you forgot your password.

This tutorial will show you how to create a password reset disk on a USB flash drive that you can use to reset your local account's password afterwards in Windows 10.

If you type in an incorrect password for your local account on the sign in screen and click/tap on OK, you will then have a Reset password option available to use the password reset disk (USB) to reset and create a new password with.




A password reset disk can only be created for local accounts, and not for Microsoft accounts.

When you create a password reset disk on a USB flash drive, it will create and add a userkey.psw file to root directory of the USB flash drive for the specific local user account. You can move the userkey.psw file to the root directory of another USB flash drive if you like, but you can only have one userkey.psw file on a USB flash drive.

The password reset disk can be used to reset your local account's password no matter how many times you reset it with the password reset disk.






Here's How:

1. Sign in to your local account on the PC.

2. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the User Accounts icon.

3. Connect a USB flash drive that you want to use as your password reset disk.

*note The USB flash drive will not be formatted during the creation of the password reset disk, so you can use one that already has data on it without worry.

4. Click/tap on the Create a password reset disk link on the left side. (see screenshot below)

*note You can also enter rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,PRShowSaveWizardExW into Run (Win+R) and click/tap on OK to open the Forgotten Password Wizard.



5. Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



6. Select the USB flash drive you connected from step 3 above, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



7. Type in the current password for your local user account, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



8. If the USB flash drive already has a userkey.psw file in it's root directory, then click/tap on Yes to replace it. (see screenshot below)



9. When it's finished, click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



10. Click/tap on Finish. (see screenshot below)



11. Keep your password reset disk in a safe and secure location to have available to you as needed.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Add Password to Local Account in Windows 10
• How to Change Password of Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10
• How to Reset Password of Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10

:)

 

Create password reset disk

How to Create a Password Reset Disk on USB Flash Drive in Windows 10

Create Password Reset Disk on USB Flash Drive in Windows 10

 

Create password reset disk

I clicked on password reset and nothing happened

 

Did you read this note?
NOTE
A password reset disk can only be created for local accounts, and not for Microsoft accounts.

 

I have signed into my local account and tried to create a password reset disc, when I click the link nothing happens.

I have run SFC and CHKDSK to clear any background problems.

Is there anything else I can do to get the password reset disc link to function?

 

Same here.

In Windows 10 Home 1607 build 14394.187 (x64) and signed in with a local administrator account, clicking ' create a password reset disk' has no effect (with or without a USB stick plugged in).

Does work on Windows 10 Pro build 10586.589 (x86) though.

Update: @Brink on investigation, Task Manager shows that 1607 does indeed run the Forgotten Password Wizard and Task View shows it too. If you try to switch to it the window briefly flashes up then disappears again. If started without a USB plugged in Task View shows that it's running correctly and displaying (well, invisibly actually) the 'No Drive' message.

 

Hello @Bree and toolman59, *Smile

I just tested in build 14926, and it worked for me.

Do you think the Forgotten Password Wizard window may be offscreen?

Offscreen Window - Move Back to Desktop - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

Can't tell, I can't use step 1 in that tutorial...

In build 14393 there is no icon for the Forgotten Password Wizard on the taskbar!

 

That sounds like a "no" then.

As a test, see if you may be able to directly open the Forgotten Password Wizard using the shortcut below.

Forgotten Password Wizard Shortcut - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

I've put your shortcut on my desktop and pinned it to Start and the taskbar too. It always remains visible if I use File Explorer and click on the shortcut to open it. When clicking on the Desktop at first it ran invisibly, but after a few cycles of ending the task with Task Manager and trying again that too now works. The ones pinned to taskbar/Start consistently launch an invisible Wizard. Oh, and even when fully visible, there's no icon on the taskbar.

 

Hello Brink

After I posted my query, I tried it in my VirtualBox O/S and that worked OK. Back in my main O/S I ran a Windows Defender scan which came up with a clean bill of health and I shutdown for several hours.

On restart I logged into your reply and and launched the disc wizard to follow your off screen tip and out of nowhere it worked perfectly for the first time in ages.

I am grateful your tip, but I am puzzled why it should come to life, I had done a repair install recently and run SFC and CHKDSK several times which had no effect on the password reset disk wizard which remained stubbornly inactive or invisible. I must admit I did not check the task manager to see if it was running.

 

As per toolman59's suggestion I have done a full shutdown and restart. Starting it from Control Panel now works too. The ones pinned to Start/taskbar still launch invisibly. One unusual event at startup, the Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel opened and asked me to choose between Basic/Advanced/Wizard mode. It's never done that on previous restarts.

Still no icon on the taskbar while it's running, I guess it's one of those apps that doesn't want one.

 

I'm glad to hear it's working properly for your two now. *Party

Yeah, the wizard doesn't have an icon on the taskbar by default. It would be nice if it did.

 

Do bear in mind that a Password reset disk does no more for you than writing the password down does. In either case you will end up with something you need to keep securely [a file or a piece of paper].

 

This is what my User Accounts page looks like. The Password Reset Link isn't there.