Local Account Password - Change or Remove in Windows 8

How to Change or Remove Password of a Local Account in Windows 8 and 8.1​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to change or remove the password of your or another local account in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

This tutorial does not apply to Microsoft accounts.

   Note

If Windows 8 is set to sign in to the local account automatically at startup that you are changing the password of, the you will also need to change the current password to the new password here as well.

Passwords in Windows 8: FAQ - Microsoft Windows Help

   Warning

If you change the password for a local account other than your own, then that account will lose access to it's EFS encrypted files, personal certificates, and stored passwords for websites or network resources.

If the local account doesn't have any of these, or doesn't mind losing them, then changing the password while logged in as an administrator is a fast and easy way to recover the other user account from a forgotten password.

OPTION ONE

To Change or Remove Password of your Local Account in PC settings

   Note

You will not be able change or remove the password of the Guest account using this option.

​

1. Open PC settings, and do step 2 or 3 below for what Windows 8 you have.​

​

2. In Windows 8 or Windows RT, click/tap on Users on the left side, click/tap on the Change your password button under Sign-in options on the right side, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

3. In Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, click/tap on Accounts on the left side. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

A) Click/tap on Sign-in options on the left side, click/tap on Change under Password on the right, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

4. Type in your current password, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

5. Do step 6 or 7 below for what you would like to do.​

​

​

6. To Change your Local User Account Password​

​

A) Type in your new password twice, type in a password hint, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 8)​

​

7. To Remove your Local User Account Password​

NOTE: If your local account is an administrator type of account, then it is strongly recommended to keep your account password protected for security purposes. Otherwise anyone will be able to use your account, and just be able to select your account and press Enter in a UAC prompt to run as administrator.​

​

A) Leave all password and password hint fields empty, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 8)​

​

8. Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

9. Click/tap on Finish. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

10. If you like, you can now close PC settings.​

​

11. If you set Windows to automatically sign in to this local account at startup, then you will need to go through the tutorial below again to enter the new password.​

​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

OPTION TWO

To Change or Remove Password of any Local Account in Control Panel

   Note

You will not be able change or remove the password of the Guest account using this option.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this option.

​

1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the User Accounts icon.​

​

2. Click/tap on the Manage another account link. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

3. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​

​

4. Click/tap on a password protected local user account that you want to change or remove the password for. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

​

5. Click/tap on the Change the password link. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

6. Do step 7 or 8 below for what you would like to do.​

​

​

7. To Change Local User Account's Password​

​

A) Type in a new password twice, type in an optional password hint if you like, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below step 6)​

​

8. To Remove Local User Account's Password​

NOTE: If this local account is an administrator type of account, then it is strongly recommended to keep the account password protected for security purposes. Otherwise anyone will be able to use this account, and just be able to select this account and press Enter in a UAC prompt to run as administrator.​

​

A) Leave all password and password hint fields empty, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below step 6)​

​

9. Click/tap on Change password. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

10. You can now close the "Change an Account" window if you like. (see screenshot below step 5)​

​

11. Remember to let the user know their new password.​

​

12. If you set Windows to automatically sign in to this local account at startup, then you will need to go through the tutorial below again to enter the new password.​

​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

OPTION THREE

Change/Remove Password of any Local Account in Local Users and Groups

   Note

You will be able change or remove the password of the Guest account using this option.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this option. Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) is only available in the Windows 8/RT/8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions.

​

1. Press the :winkey: + R keys to open the Run dialog, type lusrmgr.msc, and click/tap on OK.​

​

2. In the left pane, click/tap on Users. (see screenshot below step 3)​

​

3. In the middle pane of Users, right click on the local user account name that you want to create/change the password for, and click/tap on Set Password. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

​

4. Click/tap on Proceed. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

5. Do step 6 or 7 below for what you would like to do.​

​

​

6. To Change Local User Account's Password​

​

A) Type in a new password twice, click/tap on OK, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 7)​

​

7. To Remove Local User Account's Password​

NOTE: If this local account is an administrator type of account, then it is strongly recommended to keep the account password protected for security purposes. Otherwise anyone will be able to use this account, and just be able to select this account and press Enter in a UAC prompt to run as administrator.​

​

A) Leave all password fields empty, click/tap on OK, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

​

8. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

9. When finished, you can close Local Users and Groups now.​

​

10. If you set Windows to automatically sign in to this local account at startup, then you will need to go through the tutorial below again to enter the new password.​

​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

OPTION FOUR

To Change or Remove Password of any Local Account in Netplwiz

   Note

You will be able change or remove the password of the Guest account using this option.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this option.

​

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box, type netplwiz or control userpasswords2, and press Enter.​

​

2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​

​

3. Check the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer box, select a local account (Test-Brink), and click/tap on the Reset Password button. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: Local accounts will show as HomeUsers; Users under Group.​

​

​

​

​

4. Do step 5 or 6 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​

​

​

​

​

5. To Change Local User Account's Password​

​

A) Type in a new password twice, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below step 4)​

​

​

6. To Remove Local User Account's Password​

NOTE: If this local account is an administrator type of account, then it is strongly recommended to keep the account password protected for security purposes. Otherwise anyone will be able to use this account, and just be able to select this account and press Enter in a UAC prompt to run as administrator.​

​

A) Leave all password fields empty, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below step 4)​

​

7. If you had Windows set to automatically sign in to a user account at startup, then you will need to set this again.​

​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

​

8. When finished, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below step 3)​

OPTION FIVE

Change/Remove Password of any Local Account in a Command Prompt

   Note

You will be able change or remove the password of the Guest account using this option.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this option.

​

1. Open an elevated command prompt.​

​

2. Do step 3 or 4 below for which command you would prefer to use.​

​

​

3. To Change Local User Account's Password​

​

A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: Substitute UserName in the command below with the actual user name of the local account that you want to change/remove the password for. Substitute NewPassword in the command below with the password you want for this local account.​

​

net user UserName NewPassword​

​

​

For example: My user account's name is Brink and I want to change the password to MyPassword, so I would type this below exactly and press Enter.​

​

​

net user Brink MyPassword​

​

​

​

​

4. To Change or Remove Local User Account's Password​

​

   Note

To Change Password = Enter a password when prompted.

   Note

​

To Remove Password = Press Enter without entering a password when prompted.​

​

​

​

​

​

A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: Substitute UserName in the command below with the actual user name of the local account that you want to change/remove the password for.​

​

net user UserName *​

​

​

For example: My user account's name is Brink, so I would type this below exactly and press Enter.​

​

​

net user Brink *​

​

​

​

​

B) When prompted, enter a password twice, press Enter after each time, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot above)​

NOTE: You will not see the password as you are typing it.​

​

5. If sucessfully changed, then you can close the elevated command prompt.​

​

6. If you set Windows to automatically sign in to this local account at startup, then you will need to go through the tutorial below again to enter the new password.​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

OPTION SIX

Change Password of Your Local Account at Sign-in with Password Reset Disk

​

1. For how, see: Reset Your Local User Account Password with the Password Reset Disk in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

​

​

​

2. If you set Windows to automatically sign in to this local account at startup, then you will need to go through the tutorial below again to enter the new password.​

​

How to Automatically Sign in to User Account at Startup in Windows 8 and 8.1​

​

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create an Accounts Sign-in Options Shortcut in Windows 8.1
• How to Create a Password for a Local User Account in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Enable or Disable Password History Enforcement in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Change or Reset Password of Your Microsoft Account in Windows 8.1
• How to Create a Password Reset Disk on a USB Flash Drive in Windows 8 and 8.1
• Reset Your Local User Account Password with the Password Reset Disk in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Create, Change, or Remove a Picture Password in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Create, Change, or Remove a PIN for Your Account in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Enable or Disable the Password Reveal Button in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Have Windows 8 Log On to a User Account Automatically at Startup
• How to Set Account Lockout Threshold for Invalid Logon Attempts
• How to Set Account Lockout Duration for Locked Out User Accounts
• How to Set the Reset Account Lockout Counter After Setting
• How to Set an Audit Policy for an Account Lockout
• How to Unlock a Locked Out User Account in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Enable or Disable Password Expiration for a User in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Change Maximum and Minimum Password Age in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Change the Time to Warn a User to Change Password Before Expiration
• How to View Detailed Information About All User Accounts on a Windows PC

 

[elbmek]

excellent but - I followed the instructions, first error, I did not see any 'password hint' and second - no changes where made, I am still stuck on a password.

 

[Brink]

Hello Mike,

Is this for the local account that you are currently signed in with, or for another local account on the PC?

What option in the tutorial did you try, and at what step did you have trouble at?

What's your situation, and what were you trying to do?

 

[elbmek]

When I upgraded to Win 8.1, it asked me for my microsoft log in, I did not see any option to use local account, so I signed in and it said this is your password to sign into your user account every time. Oh great said I, not what I want. I have 4 users in my pc, three are local accounts and they do not require a pass, mine is now password protected and I dont want this, there is not need for my pc to have this and I did not have it in Win 8.

As a test I created a new account and was able to give that admin & local status, but none of my files etc were in this account, but took it out later. Too much messing about. WHat I want to do, without having to create a new account is simply remove the password option to allow the user account to be opened at any time by the normal route.

The option of strting again did cross my mind, but would have to revert to Win 8 and reload 8.1, cant see how to do that either. May create new account, then kill this one? If it wil let me.

 

[Brink]

The account in question is considered to be a "Microsoft account" (email address and password roaming acccount) instead of a "local account" (only on local PC like in Windows 7).

You cannot remove the password for a Microsoft account, but you could switch it to be a local account instead though, then remove the now local account's password.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4842-local-account-switch-windows-8-a.html
​

Do note that a local account will not be able to use the Windows Store, or open apps that use Microsoft services since those require that you are signed in to the PC (Windows 8/8.1) with a Microsoft account.

 

[elbmek]

bloody annoying isnt it? I was able to access MS Store etc when in 8; on a local account. Why dont they make things simple? They should give you the access and then the option to change.

 

[Brink]

You can still access the Store while signed in with a local account. It's just that you will only be able install app updates for the default apps, and not be able to install any other apps.

 

[elbmek]

Sorry about delay, went back to bed for a while. I have created a local account and copied all my settings across, except passwords!! (I hate that word today!) - As soon as I have it sorted out will reduce the other account to bare bones and use for those app duties. In the meantime I will see how this goes.

 

[robmar0se]

Unable to reset password on Acer E1-572

The first 5 options assume that you are in WIndows 8/8.1 (or you have a MS ID) which in all probability will not be the problem. The last solution didn't work for me as the utility could not find the system.

I have a problem in that my uncle has relapsed in a local rest home, and we want to retrieve the data therein, wills, contacts etc.

I have tried the utility you suggested but it appears to be unable to "see" the windows system. Is this to do with the AHCI format or the Uefi Bios, and the fact that the utility uses Windows XP PE where AHCI is not native? Is there a way to resolve this? Incidentally there is no option in the Acer BIOS to change AHCI.

I also tried the offline NT password and registry editor, this at least found the system, and located the windows/system32/config folder, identified the user name, but for some reason blanking password still didn't allow us in.

 

[Brink]

Hello Rob,

Are you sure that he's not using a Microsoft account instead?

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/12206-microsoft-account-password-change-reset-windows-8-a.html

 

[robmar0se]

Thank you. The fact that he can't remember the password (there is no hint) means that even if there was a MS account, we are in no position to provide any details that would satisfy resetting via MS. Thats the reason why we tried the external reset.

Are you implying that the external reset won't work either, our only choice is the remove the hdd and try and access the data through another system. Then eventually we could do a clean re-install.

 

[Brink]

If it's a Microsoft account, then the tutorial on the first page here won't work with it. It's only for a local account (like in Windows 7) instead.

 

[elbmek]

Having just set up a new pc I was asked for a microsoft account and refused to give it, I hate having to sign in my own pc with passwords. So I clicked on continue without an account which took me to the local account option, log in - no pass.

 

[Brink]

Hey Mike,

If you like, you could set Windows to automatically sign in to a Microsoft account at startup.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2894-log-user-account-automatically-windows-8-startup.html

 

[elbmek]

I am happy with it now thanks. I have three users on my machine so have it set to open either on a logged in, or the choice screen

 

[huey714]

WOW!!!! When you put help out there you put help out there!! Thanks for the info. Changed my password in seconds.