How to Reset Your Local Administrator Password in Windows 10

Graphic showing instructions to reset the built-in Windows Administrator's password, featuring an illustration of a person at a computer with a blue background.

A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user’s identity. In this article, we shall discuss how to reset your built-in Local Administrator password in Windows 10. In this article, we shall discuss “Sysmon from SysInternal: What is System Monitor and how to install and use it”. Please see Viewing Scheduled Events on AW using the Command Line (CLI), and Sysinternals: Installing from the Microsoft Store Guide.

Typically, passwords are expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services that typical individuals access can make the memorization of unique passwords for each service impractical. Using the terminology of the NIST Digital Identity Guidelines, the secret is held by a party called the claimant while the party verifying the identity of the claimant is called the verifier.

When the claimant successfully demonstrates knowledge of the password to the verifier through an established authentication protocol, the verifier is able to infer the claimant’s identity. In general, a password is an arbitrary string of characters including letters, digits, or other symbols. If the permissible characters are constrained to be numeric, the corresponding secret is sometimes called a personal identification number (PIN).

It is worth noting that, there is a great difference between changing passwords for accounts residing directly on your computer, not for Active Directory passwords. For forgotten or lost passwords, see the following link.

Here are some related guides: How to reset your lost or forgotten Windows 10 Password, and How to reset your built-in (Local) Administrator’s password in Windows 10.

Local Admin Password Reset Via Computer Management

In this method, you will have to launch the “computer Management tool”. Launch the “Computer Management” with the windows shortcut “compmgmt.msc” or type Computer Management from the search window.

For more Windows short keys, see the following link, and also for Windows Active Directory Short Keys – Windows Administrative Shortcut.

Windows search bar displaying 'Computer Management' as the best match for the search term 'computer manage'.

– Press Enter
– Double-click the “Local Users and Groups” folder.
– On the right pane of the Window (in the list of local users)
– Right-click the account name for the Administrator account,
– Then select “Set Password” for the account named “Administrator” as shown below.

Screenshot of the Computer Management interface showing Local Users and Groups with the Administrator account highlighted, including options to set a password and view descriptions of user accounts.

Note: This name can be changed by some administrators to some other names for security reasons (best practice). If this is the case, you will need to find the right (designated Administrator account).

Via the Control Panel

The administrator’s account can as well be changed via the control panel. Launch the control panel window, there are different ways to do this.

Type and search for Control Panel from the Search button below

Windows Control Panel showing the 'User Accounts' section with options to change account type.

– Click on Change account type as shown below

Windows Control Panel User Accounts section with options to give other users access and change account type.

This will open the User Account Window where you can reset your account.

			
If you have multiple accounts on the device, ensure the right account is selected

Then click on Reset Password as shown below

User Accounts window showing the Administrator account details, including the username, domain, and group. Includes an option to reset the password for the Administrator.

			
You will be prompted with the Rest Password Window as shown below in order to reset your password.

Enter the new passwords as shown below. When you are done, click on okay

Password reset dialog box with fields for entering a new password and confirming it, featuring OK and Cancel buttons.

Reset Built-in Password Via Command Prompt

Ensure to launch the Command Prompt with the Administrators’s privilege as shown below.

Screenshot of the Windows search interface showing 'Command Prompt' as the best match with options to run as administrator and other settings.

To reset a forgotten password, type the following command and Press Enter.

net user Account(UserAccount) NewPassword

Replace Account(UserAccount) and NewPassword with your username and desired password respectively.

Windows Command Prompt showing a command to change the Administrator password.

Ensure to replace the NewPassword above with your desired password 🙂 I hope you found this useful If you have any questions, kindly let me know via the comment session.

I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to reset your built-in Local Administrator password in Windows 10. Please let me know in the comment section if you have any questions.