So you forgot your Windows passwort? This is how you can fix it:

Prerequisites

• No full disk encryption (BitLocker)
• No online account (use the Microsoft services to reset the password)

Reset

1. Download the latest edition of the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor at pogostick.net (click on Bootdisk and scroll to Download). If you have another Windows computer available, you can do the USB stick version although the site notices that CDs are more reliable
2. Burn/copy the software to a CD/USB stick
3. Make sure your BIOS can boot from the medium (search the for a guide for the specific vendor)
4. Start Windows, click Restart but enter the BIOS on restart. Doing a shutdown actually doesn’t really shut down in most cases on modern systems (it’s called hibernation ).
5. Boot from the medium and follow the instructions to reset the password (the walkthrough is apparently outdated but worked great in my case). I recommend clearing the password as that’s supposed to be most reliable.
6. Boot windows again and login!