Windows Hello PIN

Question

I'm stuck in an endless loop with this PIN. Windows Hello says I need to create a PIN, and when I go through the process it then says to enter my PIN, but I don't recall what it is and when I try to do anything with 'I forgot my PIN' there are no options to change it or reset it. It's like it recognizes that there is/was a PIN, but not really because it says I need to create one instead of being able to reset it and create a new one. Is there a way to reset the PIN through my Microsoft account and not have to go through system settings on the computer? For whatever it might be worth, the fingerprint option also isn't working; I can get to the point where it should recognize my fingerprint, but it does nothing. It was working last night, but it didn't save the fingerprint I added.

For some reason I can't attach any screenshots, but I'm running on Windows 10 (it's an older machine).

Answer 1

Hi, C. Ray

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I understand that you want to reset your computer's PIN code.  Before that, you need to create a new local administrator account.Restart your computer and press Shift during the boot process, this will take you to Advanced Boot and Command Prompt. Enter the following commands in order:bcdedit /enum allLook for the device entry, it will usually show the path to the boot disk. Like what:device partition=CIf you're D, type D in the first step.on the login screen, hold down the Shift key and select Power Options->Restart. On the "Choose an option" screen, select Troubleshoot >Advanced options-> Command Prompt. Then enter the following commands:C:cd \Windows\system32rename utilman.exe utilman-backup.execopy cmd.exe utilman.exeAfter executing the commands, close the terminal window and restart the computer.After restarting, select the accessibility options icon to open a terminal window and enter the following commands:net user /add user1 pass1net localgroup administrators user1 /add(Replace "user1" and "pass1" with the new user's username and password.)You can then try deleting the PIN from the PIN database in the newly created local administrator account.To do this, right-click Start->Terminal/PowerShell/Command Prompt (Admin) and enter the following commands:takeown /f %windir%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\NGC /r /d yicacls %windir%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\NGC /grant administrators:F /tThen open File Explorer->This PC->C->Windows->ServiceProfiles->LocalService->AppData->Local->Microsoft->NGC drive, back up the files in the folder elsewhere, and then delete everything in that folder (do not delete the NGC folder itself).Restart and see if you can log in to the account. If you can, set up the PIN code again.Then, restart the computer normally. Select the new user at the bottom left of the screen and log in. Reset the PIN database as mentioned above.When everything is done, go to file explorer->This PC->C->Windows->system32 drive, and rename it from "utilman-backup.exe" to "utilman.exe", overwriting the file.Thank you for your understanding and support! Please let me know if I have misunderstood. Tell us the results and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards

Nicholas.Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist