Reset a Forgotten Windows Password with the Utilman Trick

Every IT person eventually gets the call: "I forgot my Windows password and I'm locked out of my own PC." If it is a local account and there is no other admin on the machine, the Utilman trick is the method I fall back on. It swaps the Accessibility button on the sign-in screen for a Command Prompt, which lets you set a new password without any third-party tools.

Use this only on a computer you own or are responsible for. Getting into someone else's PC this way is illegal in most countries, including Nepal.

Quick answer

Boot into Windows Recovery, open Command Prompt, go to Windows\System32 on the Windows drive, run ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak and copy cmd.exe utilman.exe, then restart. On the sign-in screen, click the Accessibility icon and run net user USERNAME NEWPASSWORD. Sign in, then put Utilman back. It works for local accounts only, and if BitLocker is on you need the recovery key first.

Check these three things first

Question	Why it matters
Is it a Microsoft account (an email address on the sign-in screen)?	Then do not use this trick. Reset the password online at account.live.com/password/reset from any phone or PC, and sign in with the new one.
Is the drive encrypted with BitLocker or Device Encryption?	Recovery Command Prompt will ask for the 48-digit recovery key before it can touch C:. Find it at aka.ms/myrecoverykey in the Microsoft account linked to the PC.
Is it a work or school PC?	Do not do this. Contact your IT team; they can reset it, and the PC may be monitored.

Also try the easy options first: the Reset password link under the password box (if you set security questions), your PIN, or another administrator account on the same PC.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt in Windows Recovery

Use whichever of these works on your PC:

• From the sign-in screen: hold Shift, click the power icon and choose Restart. Then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
• From a Windows USB: boot from it, click Next, then Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > Command Prompt.
• Automatic Repair: if Windows fails to start twice in a row, it opens the recovery menu by itself.

Step 2: Find the Windows drive

In recovery, Windows is often not on C:. Check each letter until you find the Windows folder:

dir C:\Windows
dir D:\Windows

Then move into System32 on that drive, for example:

D:
cd Windows\System32

Step 3: Swap Utilman for Command Prompt

ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak
copy cmd.exe utilman.exe

The first line keeps the original so you can restore it. Close the window and choose Continue to start Windows.

Step 4: Reset the password from the sign-in screen

1. On the sign-in screen, click the Accessibility icon in the bottom-right corner. A Command Prompt opens instead.
2. List the accounts with net user.
3. Set a new password. Put quotes around names with spaces:

net user "Bikram" NewPassword123

If you prefer a window, control userpasswords2 opens the classic User Accounts dialog, where you can select the account and click Reset Password.

If the account is disabled, enable it with net user "Bikram" /active:yes. Close the window and sign in with the new password.

Step 5: Put Utilman back

Do not skip this. Anyone who walks up to the PC could otherwise open an administrator Command Prompt from the sign-in screen. Once you are signed in, open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

sfc /scannow

System File Checker replaces the fake utilman.exe with the original. You can then delete utilman.exe.bak from System32.

If it does not work

Problem	What to do
Access is denied when renaming	You are probably on X:, the recovery drive. Find the real Windows drive with dir as in Step 2.
Clicking Accessibility does nothing	Windows Defender may have caught the swap and blocked it. Check Protection history after signing in, or use a second admin account instead.
Recovery asks for a BitLocker key	Get it from aka.ms/myrecoverykey or your IT team. Without the key, the data cannot be reached.
Password reset but sign-in still fails	The account is a Microsoft account. Reset it at account.live.com instead.

Prevent this next time

• Set up a PIN and security questions for local accounts.
• Keep a second local administrator account with a password written down somewhere safe.
• Save your BitLocker recovery key in your Microsoft account or print it.

Related: fix "You've been signed in with a temporary profile" and set up Windows 11 with a local account.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Utilman trick still work on Windows 11?

On many Windows 10 and 11 PCs, yes, for local accounts. It can fail if BitLocker is on and you do not have the recovery key, or if Windows Defender blocks the swapped file.

Can I reset a Microsoft account password this way?

No. A Microsoft account password is stored online. Reset it at account.live.com/password/reset, then sign in with the new password while the PC is connected to the internet.

Will resetting the password delete my files?

No. Files stay where they are. The only exception is data encrypted with EFS, which can become unreadable after a forced password reset.

How do I undo the Utilman change?

Sign in, open Command Prompt as administrator and run sfc /scannow. It restores the original utilman.exe.

Is it legal to bypass a Windows password?

Only on a computer you own or are authorized to manage. Using it on someone else's computer without permission is unauthorized access.