Problem with suddenly changed password on windows 11 start up.

Hello friends!

I wasn't totally sure this question goes in this sub-forum, but I couldn't find a more proper one. If it indeed the wrong sub forum, mods feel free to move my question.

OK, so here goes a (kind of) long story. I guess I should start when years ago I accidently installed windows 11 on two different SSDs. I was told by a tech that it wasn't possible, then he read a little and said under certain circumstances that it is.

Anyway I have been using the same windows login password for years, it is a 4 digit pin that I use at a lot of places. There is no way I changed this password. Well, one day my condo had a power blip and it rebooted my PC. So I logged into windows, my name pops up with the bar below to enter my pin/password, but it was telling me it was not valid. I was flabbergasted, knowing theres no way I changed it, and not a soul but he have access to this particuar desktop gaming computer. It is very important to me because I have a lot of games installed, some I can't get back by just starting over. Plus my invauable pictures and personal documents ,some of clients that I need to reference soon.

Here is the somewhat weird catch. I had installed win 11 on BOTH of my SSDs. Was told it was impossible unless i had a certain build or something ofthat nature, not sure if its true or not. I tried going into CMOS and making the other SSD boot first, which it did with no problems, except my games and programs are installed on ther other SSD for the most part. I try to keep this one cleaner with not as much data. But I have many video games I paid for on my other installation, and also things that I cannot get back should I have to reformat the offending drive. I tried doing what windows suggested I do if I couldnt remember the password, to no avail. I cant remember exactly what it said.

Then I went into CMOs and set my 2nd SSD to boot first, so I am able to get into windows to write you this plea for assistance. I cannot get into many video games , programs, documents and pictures, old hard to find tv shows and movies in digital format that you just cant find these days.

I did all the command line stuff and proceeded to do the steps to remove the password altogether, BUT it only works on THIS windows installation, on this SSD.

It would mean the world if someone can help me access either my password from my 1st SSD and windows install (hence ALL my digital stuff)... I spent 4 hours yesterday and while the soultions worked, they only worked as far as on the SSD and windows install I was currently logged into.

I hope someone more intelligent than myself can figure out this conundrum, as I just spent money for games for my kids xmas and now they cannot login to them. They are PC kids too, not console gamers so it kind of broke their heart.

tl;dr : I have 2 SSDs, one of which requires a password that I never change and use it for multiple tasks and it isnt an easy crackable one. I have never changed this pass , so you can imagine my shock when windows would not let me into that install. Is there anyway I can go back and change the password or bypass the password altogether? I've gotten advice, but they didn't take into factor the fact that I have two win 11 installations, and the things that worked in the windows I can get into work well , but I need it to work in my main windows installation.

Thank you so much, my son was so happy to get new world and another game I got him as early xmas presents but we cannot now access them due to what used to be a 4 digit windows password system. Bless any kind folks who can walk me thru this or explain how I can beat this nasty problem! -P.J. Brown

Look below the PIN text box.

• If you see I forgot my PIN, select it and follow the instructions to reset your PIN. If there are multiple accounts on the device, choose the one you need to reset.
• If you don't see I forgot my PIN, select Sign-in options and then select Enter your password.

FreeBooter said:

Look below the PIN text box.

• If you see I forgot my PIN, select it and follow the instructions to reset your PIN. If there are multiple accounts on the device, choose the one you need to reset.
• If you don't see I forgot my PIN, select Sign-in options and then select Enter your password.

Click to expand...

Hi FreeBooter! Thank you much for replying. I did see this option, but no matter what I could not make windows recognize it was me. Can't remember the exact reason why, but I tried over 10 times. I know i should have written down the exact error I got, but I have to admit I lost my cool after several hours trying to make something work that has worked fine for over 5+ years.

However, I will take your advice and boot up the faulty win 11 installation, and document everything and post it back here. Sorry I wasn't able to be more clear on what this "advice" was and why no matter what it didnt work for me.I must say frustration got the best of me.

Shortly after I do some family stuff, I will login to the other version on the other SSD and see what the message is and try it again, and should it fail on me like it did multiple times, at least I will be a little further on diagnosing the problem, or maybe someone more intelligent than myself can point something out that I didn't even thank of.

Thanks so much guys/gals! I will be back shortly and will dedicate some time for troubleshooting and let you all know what happened. :)

A pin is handled differently from a password. A password is transmitted to the server if you use a microsoft account (handled by the OS if using a local account)whereas a pin/Windows hello is tied to the specific device on which it was set up. I believe in Windows 10 (prior to TPM being required), the pin was handled by the OS whereas in Windows 11 the pin is handled by TPM. It may be that TPM in 11 sees a conflict when you use one ssd with a password and the other with a pin. Of course, I can't be sure of that, but it stands to reason.

@glasskuter That's great advice at the bottom of your post. I hope you don't mind me saying I find it hard to read black text as I am using dark mode. not a complaint :) as it's a brilliant idea

The-Hive said:

hard to read black text

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I tried every way in the world to make that text color but it never would stick using FF so I finally gave up. Today I tried it in Edge and it took. Does red look better?

@glasskuter That looks brilliant thanks. I really had really strain my eyes to see the black. Great advice

The-Hive said:

I really had really strain my eyes to see the black. Great advice

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What I do when users use dark text is highlight the text with the mouse and I can read it that way.
Just a tip from a fellow dark mode user.

So is there anything I can do? If I can't login to my other installation of win 11, I will lose a lot of software/games/kids games. I don't quite understand the technical answers, I am looking to fix a very specific problem without ruining christmas by paying a tech to come out (he charges 250$ an hour, no telling how long it would take, and my pc is held hostage until I pay them. Even if it is the most common sense answer and it goes over the top of my head. Also, I was reluctant to share that I suffer from crippling anxiety with panic attacks,and Iwas diagnosed bi polar more than a decade ago. I just hope and pray someone will able to share with me something I missed, or my tech skills are obsolete. That's my greatest fear. Again, I beseech you to help me with this rare problem. I've been using PCs since the late 90's, and I would hate for this to "whoop"me.

FatPat said:

So is there anything I can do? If I can't login to my other installation of win 11, I will lose a lot of software/games/kids games. I don't quite understand the technical answers, I am looking to fix a very specific problem without ruining christmas by paying a tech to come out (he charges 250$ an hour, no telling how long it would take, and my pc is held hostage until I pay them. Even if it is the most common sense answer and it goes over the top of my head. Also, I was reluctant to share that I suffer from crippling anxiety with panic attacks,and Iwas diagnosed bi polar more than a decade ago. I just hope and pray someone will able to share with me something I missed, or my tech skills are obsolete. That's my greatest fear. Again, I beseech you to help me with this rare problem. I've been using PCs since the late 90's, and I would hate for this to "whoop"me.

Click to expand...

Do you know your actual full MS account password? NOT the PIN.

glasskuter said:

A pin is handled differently from a password. A password is transmitted to the server if you use a microsoft account (handled by the OS if using a local account)whereas a pin/Windows hello is tied to the specific device on which it was set up. I believe in Windows 10 (prior to TPM being required), the pin was handled by the OS whereas in Windows 11 the pin is handled by TPM. It may be that TPM in 11 sees a conflict when you use one ssd with a password and the other with a pin. Of course, I can't be sure of that, but it stands to reason.

Click to expand...

Oh, I forgot to mention that this older windows 11 install does not require a PIN or password. Only the newer one. I have up plenty and have gotten canned answers like delete the windows im using now. That would only keep me out of win 11 until it can be proved. So only the installation password am I having trouble with.

Porthos said:

Do you know your actual full MS account password? NOT the PIN.

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There was no option that I could see, and I would never create a full password with the caveat that if I "forget"(no way that happened). So. no.I have only used a PIN a total once on any PC. Which is why im so sure I didn't changed to a password. I'm 99% sure I did not change my PIN, as I use it for several things and I have memory issues. Plus I had zero reason to change it. As i'm sure some of you realize not only does it make no sense, but I can no longer use many programs,It's not just a matter of"reinstall all your stuff. Don't even the time to do such endeavors. All your thoughts , no matter how out of the box are appreciated! -Pat

FatPat said:

and I would never create a full password

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The password that you very first created when you originally created your MS account.
For example, if you log in here Sign in to your Microsoft account
This is the password needed to get into Windows if the email matches the one used on the computer.

@FatPat I am sorry to hear of the issues you are battling. I can see how all this would be extra stressful for you. This is fairly detailed so if you don't feel comfortable tackling it, maybe you have someone who can help you.

I am assuming that you do not have a backup of that drive that you can restore. I am also assuming that you have been using a local account as opposed to a Microsoft account to access that second SSD.

Yes, you can use Windows 11 installation media to enable the hidden administrator account to get access to that OS installation. Enable or Disable Elevated Administrator account in Windows 10. You will use option 5. Print these instructions.

Note: Disconnect the SSD that you CAN log into before you begin so as not to chance messing it up.
Also to stop any conflict happening later on in this procedure, disable the internet if possible.

Print these instructions
Once you enable the hidden administrator account as per above: login to it. TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE DO NOT ASSIGN A PASSWORD TO THIS ACCOUNT.
1. Once its desktop boots up go to settings-accounts and create a new local user account but it will have to be a different user name than the locked account. (Make sure you give the new account admin priviledges NOT a standard account.) To do this establish the account, then double click on it in the acount list and click the little down arrow to change account type to administrator.
2. While logged into the hidden administrator account, copy (Not move) all personal files from the locked account into the Public user folder or to external media. (You can do this by going to C:\Users) NOTE: IF THIS DRIVE IS ENCRYPTED WITH BITLOCKER THERE IS NO WAY TO ACCESS THE FILES WITHOUT THE ENCRYPTION KEY. They are unrecoverable.
4. Log out of the administrator account and log in the newly created account from the login screen. It will show OOBE for the new user at first use and ask you to make a password.

Once you're satisfied the new user account works without issues by restarting and logging in several times:
1. copy (NOT MOVE) your files back in from where ever you saved them if you were able to access them.
2. remove the old locked user account
3. disable the hidden administrator account by opening a command prompt as administrator and entering net user administrator /active:no (note the space after administrator)
Reconnect the 2nd SSD. Enable internet.
If you wish to use a Microsoft account, you can change in account settings. You will then have the option of setting up a pin. If you use a pin BOTH SSDs need to use the same pin.

Finally, if you copied the files into the Public folder, delete them from that folder.

FatPat, just what are you asking ? Are you wanting to login without using a pin or password ??

Chuck

@flashh4 From what I can tell she has Windows 11 installed on 2 separate drives and switches back and forth between them using the UEFI boot menu. She can no longer login to her account on the drive that has all her games, files and apps on it because it won't take her password or pin. From some of her statements I believe there is some confusion about the differences in a pin and a password that uses numbers. According to one statement, the OS installation she can login to has neither password nor pin. So far, she has not told us if she uses a Microsoft account or not as Porthos asked. What I resolved to do is get her access back into the problem drive by going through the hidden administrator account. She could then make a new user account. So, if anyone else reading her posts reads her situation another way, please clarify it for me.

Couldn't @FatPat do a repair installation and "Keep Everything"?

Scott said:

repair installation and "Keep Everything"?

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No. She cannot login to her account. To do a non-destructive reinstall (aka repair install aka inplace upgrade) you have to be logged in to Windows. By the same token she cannot do a reset because her password does not work. A reset would just take her right back to where she already is. After reading her posts numerous times, we still don't know if she was using a Microsoft account which would give her a means to reset her password, but several things in her posts lead me to believe she was not. Hopefully she will finally answer the question about a MS account before she tackles this.

Thanks @glasskuter, makes sense.