Hi,

I forgot my HP laptop password ad now I am locked out. I have tried to hold down the Shift button and restart my computer but that did not really work. I tried to do this because someone had asked a similar question to mine and that's what it said to do. It didn't work and I am very confused now.

Also when I click forgot PIN it asks to send a verification code to my email but it tries to send it to something that is not my email.

Please try to get back to me as quickly as possible.

Thank you very much!

I need a pin to unlock my ho laptop

Hello! I'm Manoel Barros!

Try resetting your PIN this way:

01 - Create Installation Media

1. To create an Installation Media, you will need the following items:

• A Flash Drive ("Pen Drive") of 8GB or more.
• Another computer with internet access.

ATTENTION: Back up the files on your Flash Drive to a safe location, as the Flash Drive will be formatted.

2. Download the Media Creation Tools from the link below.

Windows 11

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Windows 10

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

3. Open Media Creation Tools > In the Permission Window, select "Yes".
4. Accept the Terms > In the next window, check the option "Create installation media (USB Flash Drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC" > Continue.

OPTIONAL: Uncheck the option "Use recommended options for this PC" > Select your language, desired Windows Edition and Architecture > Continue.

5. In "Choose how the media will be used", select the option "USB Flash Drive" > Select the Flash Drive > Continue.
6. Wait for the Installation Media to be created.

02 - Enter WinRE

After creating the Installation Media, let's move on to the next step.

1. Connect the Installation Media to the PC that is not working properly.
2. Access your PC's BIOS and see if the boot order is correct.

• When turning on the PC, press the F2 keys without stopping until you access the BIOS. Also try the DELETE/DEL, F10, F8, ESC or F4 keys.
• Enter advanced mode (F7 key) > Go to the Boot > Boot Order option > Place the "UEFI: <Installation Media Brand>" option first.
• If you have any doubts about which device you should put in First Place (#1), take pictures of the Boot tab and attach them to this topic.

3. Save and exit (F10 key) > When you reach the Language and Keyboard Layout Selection Screen, press SHIFT + F10.

03 - Commands

Now let's find the Drive where Windows is installed.

1. Type the commands below.

C:

dir

• Usually, the system is installed on Drive C. The "C:" command navigates to Drive C, and the "Dir" command shows the folders on the Drive. If you have the Windows, Users, Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders, the system Drive is Drive C.
• If none of these folders appear, look in other Drives. For example:

D:

dir

NOTE: Do this only if Drive C is not the system drive.

2. Enter the following commands:

cd Windows/System32

ren utilman.exe utilman2.exe

copy cmd.exe utilman.exe

3. Exit Command Prompt and WinRE by clicking the X in the windows.

NOTE: If your Windows does not start, remove the USB Flash Drive.

4. On the Windows lock screen, click the accessibility icon, usually next to the Power button, Wi-Fi and Internet.
5. When Command Prompt appears again, type the following command:

control userpasswords2

6. Reset your password in the User Accounts Window.

04 - Revert changes

Once you have reset your password and are back in Windows, revert the changes you made in Terminal earlier.

1. Insert the USB Flash Drive and enter WinRE again (Step 01 and Step 02).
2. Enter the commands below:

cd c:\Windows\System32

del utilman.exe

ren utilman2.exe utilman.exe

3. Exit Terminal and WinRe and restart your PC.

I hope this information was useful! If your issue has been resolved, be sure to review the topic so you can help more users with the same issue.