Computer says something wrong with PIN

Hello clever computery people. I have a problem, but that's something between my doctor and me and not for this forum. I can not log into my Windows 11 I get the message something has happened and your PIN is not available. Unfortunately when I try to reset, the contact number for a verification text is NOT my number. So I got on the interwebnet using my husbands rather old Windows 1 steam powered computer and saw a great solve which involved holding down the shift key whilst restarting. Great I got to the screen that the clever interwebby person said. Now comes the tricky bit, are you still there? I went to click on Troubleshooting but instead in this screen my mouse and keyboard do not work. Unfortunately, the FORCE is not strong in this one and despite all my concentrated efforts, which did actually give me a nosebleed, I was unable to click on the Troubleshoot key. So ther you have it. A tale of woe and desperation. I just need to work a car chase in and perhaps a tricky misunderstanding with hilarious consequences. Can anybody suggest how I can get my computer to compute. It's just a box with a pretty picture on at at the moment.
Thank you for reading thus far.

Welcome to the forum. On the sign-in screen, directly below where you put in your pin, do you see "sign in options"?
If so, click it and you should see 2 icons, one of them allows you to sign in with your password.

glasskuter said:

i

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Ah, there's the rub. None of the passwords we have actually work.
Thank you for answering my question

If it's a Microsoft account, on another device you can go here to recover your account and change your password if you have 2 step verification set up for your MS account. Once you can get a valid password, you should be able to log in on your device. https://account.live.com/password/reset

Good to see some good old fashioned humour in a post

Is there an option to re-set pin on your lock screen? I think the pin can go like this if there are corrupted files on the windows 11 install (but I'm not sure about that exactly). Odd that keyboard and mouse don't work in troubleshooting - do you happen to have a keyboard and/or mouse you could plug in via usb and you could then maybe repair windows via the troubleshooting menu.

Great post by the way

Nope, no good. Nothing works. The world is against me.

Thanks for trying me ol' shiverin' matey heave ho!

Thanks again. I have a wireless mouse and have plugged in a wired mouse into the USB to no avail. Look at me, I know all the technical jargon. Mouse, plugged in, erm, other mouse.

NJW said:

None of the passwords we have actually work.

Click to expand...

Do you login in with a MS account or a local account? If it's a MS account, you should be able to follow the link I provided and change the password.

Without knowing your password, you can reset the PC from recovery but you will lose everything. You get into recovery using a windows install usb OR hold shift key down during boot process until you see the recovery screen where you select "troubleshoot" Choose reset PC- then select "reset and remove everything." You can not use reset and keep files without login credentials..
The machine will be put into the "out of box" state.
Note: If you have bitlocker or device encryption enabled, this option will do you no good without the bitlocker key which would be stored in the MS account you do not know the password for.

Otherwise, your only option is to clean install Windows.

I'm guessing it's a Microsoft account if they have a Pin. Sounds like trying to reset your password in your Microsoft account is the best option now, as Glasskutter says.

Could the OP not "repair" windows from inside troubleshooting? Or would that risk the files as well?

I guess the difficulty with re-setting the password in the MS account though, is if they want verification by sending a text or something - if it's the wrong number for text verification - mentioned earlier.

Assume you have a lot of personal files on there? You might need someone to help out if you can't change your password.

Either by taking the drive out and putting another drive in and reinstalling windows (the old drive will have all your files on and they can be got off later).

Or by booting linux from a usb and copying your files onto an external usb and then reinstalling windows.

Let us know if the password re-set link works.

Wait a minute - I think the think you were told to do before - pressing Shift when starting, was maybe to get into command prompt rather than troubleshooting. Was it Shift F10? And yes keyboard and mouse won't work in command prompt UNTIL YOU CLICK ON IT. So one click on the command prompt window and then you can type in it.

Or was it from the lock screen, hold the shift key and restart to get into troubleshooting - and then get to command prompt? Anyway if you use your spare plug in mouse try again - this video might help - how to get to troubleshooting and command prompt to sort your password.

Thank you WE really do appreciate all the suggestions. However when we get to the Troubleshoot screen neither the mouse or keyboard work at all. It's all a mystery.

Thank you all. Nothing short of dropping it from a high windows seems to have any effect. It is frustrating seeing the Trouble shoot option and not be able to click on it. Unfortunately me and computers is similar to giving a chimpanzee a motorbike. Neither of us are going very far without disastrous consequences So thank you all for trying.

It isn't necessarily a hardware issue if the keyboard and mouse aren't working. If the windows install has got corrupted that might cause it as well. It sounds like the main thing at the moment is to get your files off the computer and saved somewhere, then reinstall. To do that you could make a linux live usb on another computer. Boot that (press escape multiple times when you switch on with the usb stick in, select the boot menu and select the usb stick). From within there you can see all your files on the computer and copy them onto another external drive.

Once you've done that, you can reinstall Windows from a usb stick, set it up and assuming all is working fine, add your files back on.

Do you have your files backed up/saved anywhere?

So to make a linux usb - you can download any linux (maybe download linux mint - link below) on another computer. Download a program called Rufus (link below). Put the empty usb stick into the computer, open rufus, select the usb stick. Select GPT on the left. On the right where it says "select" click and choose the linux you've just downloaded, then click to start. Once it's finished:

Insert the usb stick with linux on on your computer with the issues, and boot it as described above. You'll need another external usb drive to copy your files onto.



From the rufus page, scroll down and select the top link - Rufus-4.11.exe Standard Windows X64

Once you've got your files off - on the other computer again, download Windows 11 ISO (link below). You'll need another empty usb stick 32gb maybe. Choose the second option down on the page "Create Windows 11 installation media". When running it just follow the instructions and it'll put windows onto your usb stick.

You can then boot from that (as above) and install windows again.


Above is the link to Microsoft to download Windows 11

Video here shows how to burn a usb in Rufus (for the Linux - you don't need it for the Windows usb - the Microsoft program will do it for you).