↓Skip to main content

Windows 10 - Reset lost password: Boot from Windows ISO, replace utilman.exe with cmd.exe, set new PW

202 words·
Windows CMD Diskpart
Table of Contents

Note: This tutorial works only when Bitlocker is not enabled. I used it to recover administrator privileges on a Windows 10 VM with missing local administrator password, that lost the communication to the Domain Controller.

Restore Windows 10 Password
#

  • Boot from Windows 10 ISO

  • Open CMD Shell: Shift + F10

  • Start Diskpart: diskpart

  • Find the drive letter of the Windows partition : list volume

  • Exit Diskpart: exit

  • Create a backup of Utilman.exe and replace it with cmd.exe

# Create Backup of Utilman.exe
move C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe.bak

# Replace Utilman.exe with CMD.exe
copy C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe

  • Close cmd.exe

  • Shut down the Windows installation setup

  • Boot back into the regular Windows 10

  • At login screen press: win + u to open the UtilManager (Now cmd.exe)

  • Define a new password
# Reset the user PW: Syntax
net user [username] [newpassword]

# Reset the user PW: example
net user local_admin newpassword

  • Login with the new password

  • Start CMD as Admin and restore the original UtilMan

# Restore UtilManager from the backup created earlier
move C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe.bak C:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe

US Keyboard Layout
#

This can be helpful if you use an US Windows ISO:

  • : = Shift + ö

  • \ = #

  • - = \

  • _ = Shift + \