Windows 10 secondary account forgotten password. The reset password gives message "This feature requires removable media, such as USB flash drive". Please help

Question

I gifted this Spectre laptop and created an account for it. I thought I created a Admin account, but it looks like I may not have. The issue is that my niece was able to use the laptop before without needing to log in as the password I created for her got lost and forgotten.

Now that the laptop lost power she is prompted to use the password to log in. She does not have the option to log in with the Administrator account (I have the password for that account). I am not seeing options on how she can log in, and when she tries to reset the password she gets the message above.

Will it be easier to find a way to log in as administrator or should she find a way to reset the password?

Thanks for the assistance,

Kind regards.

Answer 1

Hello. If it prompts that error message it means it’s a local user.

Hold down Shift key while you choose Windows restart, then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings, click on restart, then choose option 4.

When prompted for password, enter the admin credential you said you know

When you are in safe mode, hold down windows + r keys, type in netplwiz and press enter.

Then double click on her username, go to Group Membership tab, make it admin. You can also reset her password there

Restart, log back into her user. she should now have admin access.

Answer 2

To address the issue of your niece being unable to log in due to a forgotten password on her secondary account, you have a couple of options:

1. Log in as Administrator: Since you have the password for the Administrator account, it may be easier to log in using that account. Once logged in, you can reset the password for your niece's account through the User Accounts settings in the Control Panel. This would allow her to regain access without needing to go through the password reset process.
2. Reset the Password: If you prefer to reset the password for her account, you may need to use a USB flash drive for the reset process, as indicated by the error message. This typically involves creating a password reset disk beforehand, which may not be possible now since the password is forgotten. If you do not have a reset disk, you might need to consider using the Administrator account option instead.

Given the circumstances, logging in as the Administrator seems to be the most straightforward solution. After logging in, you can easily manage the user accounts and reset the password as needed.

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References:

• How to use System Restore to log on when you lose access to an account
• Enable Microsoft Entra self-service password reset on the Windows sign-in screen