This article shows you how to change the login password on a Windows computer using the "Command Prompt" and a system administrator account. If you don't have administrator access to your computer, you will unfortunately not be able to change your login password. If you are a Mac owner, you can reset your login password using one of the methods described in this article.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Open a Command Prompt Window
Step 1. Go to your computer's "Start" menu
You can do this by selecting the Windows logo button in the lower left corner of the desktop or by pressing the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard. At this point you will see the "Start" menu appear where the text cursor will appear positioned inside the "Search" field.
Step 2. Type the keyword command prompt into the "Start" menu search bar
This will automatically launch a search for "Command Prompt" within your computer and its icon will appear in the list of results.
- If you are using a Windows 8 system, you can access the search bar by moving the mouse cursor to the upper right corner of the screen and selecting the "Search" icon with a magnifying glass.
- If you are using a machine with Windows XP, select the item Run located on the right side of the "Start" menu.
Step 3. Select the "Command Prompt" with the right mouse button
It features a black square icon where a command line prompt appears. This will bring up a context menu.
If you are using Windows XP, type the command cmd in the "Open" field of the "Run" window
Step 4. Choose the Run as administrator option
It is located at the top of the drop-down menu that appeared. This will open a "Command Prompt" window with the permissions of the computer administrator account.
- When prompted, you will need to confirm your choice by pressing the button Yup located inside the "User Account Control" window.
- If you are using a computer with Windows XP, press the button OK of the "Run" window to open the "Command Prompt".
Part 2 of 2: Change the Password
Step 1. Type the net user command into the "Command Prompt" window
Make sure you include the space between the two words that make up the command.
Step 2. Press the Enter key
A list of all user accounts on the system will be displayed.
Step 3. Find the name of the profile whose login password you want to change
If you are trying to change your user account login password, you will most likely find it listed in the "Administrator" column of the table that appears. In the case of a different account you will need to refer to the "Guest" column.
Step 4. Type the command net user [account_name] *
Remember to replace the [account_name] parameter with the name of the user profile whose login password you want to change.
Type the account name exactly as it appears in the table that appeared in the previous step
Step 5. Press the Enter key
This way the command entered will be executed and you should see the message "Type a password for the user:".
If, on the other hand, you see a series of lines of text appearing starting with the phrase "The syntax of this command is:", type the command net user Administrator * if you want to change the password of an administrator account or net user Guest * if you want to change the password of a "guest" account
Step 6. Enter the new password
While typing the text cursor will remain stationary and no characters will be shown on the screen, so it is good to type carefully and be sure that the ⇬ Caps Lock key is not active.
Step 7. Press the Enter key
For security reasons, you will be asked to enter the new password again.
Step 8. Retype your chosen password
Again, you will not see any characters appear on the screen, so type carefully.
Step 9. Press the Enter key again
If both passwords you entered match, you will see the message "The command completed successfully" appear on the screen. The next time you log into Windows using this user account you will need to use the newly created password.
