Laptop Login Problems

Question

Can not get logged in on my laptop. When it boots up is has a error saying something was wrong

Tried to enter my pin and it doesn't give me a place to enter my pin. Tried to change my pin and it doesn't give me a place to change my pin. Tried logging in with my Microsoft account and it says wrong password. Went on my phone and changed my Microsoft password. Entered my new MS password still doesn't help. Tried safe mode and tried a recovery reload. Still same problem. How can I get signed on to my laptop?

Answer 1

Thanks for posting here in Microsoft Community, I understand that you are having concern about failure of the Windows Login System. Do you have received an error message displayed during boot up? and does the screen show an active internet connection icon Wi-Fi or Ethernet in the bottom right corner of the login Window?

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, based on what has already been tried:

1. Confirm internet connection at the sign-in screen
   On the lock/sign-in screen, select the Network icon and make sure the device is actually connected. If Wi‑Fi is weak or unreliable, connect an Ethernet cable directly to the router or modem and confirm it clicks into place. If possible, test the internet on another device to rule out a network issue.
2. Try signing in with a different account (if available)
   On the sign-in screen, in the lower-left corner, select any other account listed and try to sign in with that account’s credentials.
   If that works, once signed in:
   • Check for Windows updates.
   • Review the existing user accounts (requires admin rights) and ensure the main account is still present and enabled.
3. Use Safe Mode sign-in with password (not PIN)
   Because PIN and biometrics are not available in Safe Mode, sign in there with the account password:
   1. On the sign-in screen, select Power > Restart while holding Shift.
   2. At Choose an option, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
   3. After restart, press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
   4. At the sign-in screen, choose the affected account and enter the Microsoft account password (not the PIN).
      If sign-in succeeds, back up important data immediately.
4. If the profile is corrupted or you see temporary profile behavior
   If Windows signs in with a temporary profile or shows a message like “We can’t sign in to your account” or similar, do the following:
   1. Restart the device in Safe Mode and sign in with the original profile. Check if files and settings are back.
   2. Restart again in normal mode and sign in with the original profile. You may need to restart more than once.
   3. If repeated restarts do not help, temporarily disable any third‑party antivirus or security software that might be interfering with sign-in.
   4. If the issue persists, create a new local administrator account, sign in with it, and then follow the guidance in Fix a corrupted user profile to copy personal data from the old profile to the new one.
5. If the Microsoft account password is not accepted anywhere
   Since the password was already changed and confirmed on another device, use the official recovery flow if the username or password still “stopped working” on the PC:
   1. Go to Recover your account and follow the steps to reset the password again.
   2. Make sure the correct email domain is used (for example, outlook.com vs outlook.co.uk) and that the email name is typed correctly.
   3. If the account still cannot be found or signed in, use Contact support from that page and explain that the username has stopped working.
6. If none of the above works
   If Safe Mode sign-in with password fails, no other account can sign in, and recovery/reset options on the device do not complete successfully, the remaining options are:
   • Use the Windows sign-in helper for Microsoft account issues to identify and resolve account-specific problems.
   • As a last resort, back up any accessible data (for example, by removing the drive and copying files from another PC, if possible) and perform a clean reinstall of Windows.

---

References:

• Troubleshoot Problems Signing In to Windows
• User Account Access in Windows
• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• My username and password have stopped working
• "We can't sign in to your account" error message