Can't sign in on laptop

Can't sign in on my laptop says user unknown can't request new password says capchca not done but isn't one, can't send general email says error help

Do you have a local account, or you login with your Microsoft account? If you login with your Microsoft account, you can use another computer or your smartphone to reset the password. Here is the link:


If it is a local account you can download Sergei Strelec WinPE or other similar ISO that has many tools including password reset tools. After you boot from the Strelec USB (which you can create from the ISO with Rufus) there is a list of options. One of them is to load a Windows 10 or 11 live system with the tools. Wait for the live system to load and then click on the start button to open the start menu. Find the password reset tools and load one of them. Let it scan your Windows disk and it will show you the users. Click on your user name and select to change or remove the password. I don't remember which, but one tool can also convert a Microsoft account to a local account before changing or removing the password. When you boot into your desktop you can convert it back to a Microsoft account, but you will need the forgotten password, so if it is a Microsoft account it is preferable to reset the password via Microsoft's support site, otherwise you may leave it permanently converted to a local account.

I was able to login on my laptop only last week , a new 2 step system has been introduced and the capchca says not done but it's not there, I tried to contact support but says there's been an error....
Is the world about to end

The world is not about to end but if you aren't willing to try the suggestions that spapakons has graciously offered you might find yourself looking at a world reset. If you have valuable data on the drive you will need to establish some way to access it first if and when you reset. There are ways of doing this. One way of doing this is to access the data via a separate OS. Spapakons has suggested a method whereby you can avoid doing that. There are other methods as well but generally you would need software specific to the purpose so it really depends on what sort of resources you have. I am old school so I tend to 'cut to the chase' as it were. If it were my laptop I would retrieve all my personal data from the drive and opt for a factory reset. Then again, I have the resources to do this. Not everyone does. Have you tried accessing your laptop in SAFE MODE?

Or you may have been bitten by this.

One more reason NOT to use One Drive.

Brink said:

Improvements​

This OOB contains quality improvements from KB5079473 (released March 10, 2026). The following summary outlines key issues addressed by this update. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change.

• [Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive.
  
  Note: Only sign ins using Microsoft accounts are affected. Businesses using Microsoft Entra ID for app authentication will not experience this issue.

Click to expand...

Another reason to use a local Administrator account and reserve your Microsoft account only for specific applications and games.

I am confused
I can access my laptop perfectly, I just can't sign in to the 11 forum, that's all

Not as confused as I am. Where did you mention this site?

I didn't it's my fault entirely, I knew what I meant in my O.P. but obviously didn't explain my problem properly, I'm sorry for all the confusion.

It seems 11 forum has added a new level of security to logging in '2step' that's the issue I assume
Sorry again

JAK said:

It seems 11 forum has added a new level of security to logging in '2step' that's the issue I assume
Sorry again

Click to expand...

We've not added anything extra, looking at your account details it seems you enabled two factor authentication on Feb 28, I've turned it off for you - hopefully that will fix your issue.

You didn't specify you cannot login to the forum, you just said you cannot login on your laptop, so I naturally assumed you cannot login to Windows. What browser are you using? I can login successfully from Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox (Windows 11), and R3DFOX (Windows 7). Also from Chrome on my Android smartphone. Try another browser. Also if you use two or more keyboard layouts, such as I use US and Greek, make sure you type at the appropriate layout for the password symbols.

Well hey! It certainly could have been worse. 2FA can really mess things up some times. I know this goes against the status quo but I always write down my passwords in a little black book which I keep tucked away in a discrete place and this system has worked well for me for nearly 30 years. This method ensures that when a screw up occurs I know for a fact it ain't me. Ha! And now I just had another one of those horrendous "one drive" memories where I made the gross error of using a Microsoft email account for my second factor of authentication. Ooops! Don't do this if you want to keep a local account. They will hound you forever to get on One Drive if you choose an MS email account for backup authentication.

Scannerman said:

They will hound you forever...

Click to expand...

Every damn day!!!

an update just went into my laptop and - nothing. It was stuck for half an hour on Restarting. Had to crash it to restart