Dell laptop won t accept my password

A Microsoft Account is a "connected account" that is not tied to the device itself. A Microsoft Account can be used on any number of devices. Windows Store apps, settings, and data can be accessed from any device you sign in to using cloud storage. To purchase apps from the Windows Store, you must have a Microsoft Account.

If you lose or forget your Microsoft Account password, you can recover it from any other device with access to the Internet.

A local computer account is an account that is created for a particular device. Information that is created or stored in that account is tied to that computer and cannot be accessed from other devices.

If you lose or forget your local computer account password, you must remember the password hint to regain access to the account (in Windows 10 version 1803 this is changed to security questions.) Alternately, another administrator account on the computer can reset the password. If you do not remember your password hint or security questions, you must reset Windows

Dell recommends that customers create Microsoft Accounts for their devices to avoid reinstalling the operating system if the password hint is forgotten.

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Reset your Account Password in Windows 10

Duration: 02:14
Closed captions: (English-only video, with subtitles available for several languages, but only in Fullscreen mode.)

To reset your Microsoft Account, browse the Microsoft Reset Your Password

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To update the security questions for a local account in Windows 10 version 1803 or higher, follow these steps:

1. At the desktop, press the Windows key and type "sign." Select Sign-in options from the menu.
    
2. Under the Password section, click Update security questions below the Change button and follow the instructions.

To add or remove a password from a Windows 10 local account, follow these steps:

1. At the desktop, press the Windows key and type "sign." Select Sign-in options from the menu.
    
2. Under the Password section, click Change and follow the instructions to add a password. To remove a password, enter the current password and leave all other fields blank.

Video (English Only) - Local Password Reset Windows 10

If you have lost or forgotten your local account password hint or security questions, resetting or reinstalling the operating system is the only solution that is supported by Dell.

To restore Windows to its original factory settings, see Dell Knowledge Base article, "Reset or reinstall Windows 10 on a Dell computer."

To seek alternative support for lost passwords, search using your favorite search engine:

Search Dell    |   Search Microsoft   

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If the user profile fails to load, the SAM won't load the password.  When this happens, there's a very good chance a failing hard drive is at fault.

Power the system up, press F12 a couple of times and boot to the Dell diagnostics.  Run the tests, and then boot to the full 32-bit diagnostics and run an extended hard drive test - you will likely find the drive has developed bad sectors where the user profile is stored, in which case you'll need a new, 2.5" 7 or 9.5 mm SATA notebook hard drive.

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