Solved: How do I reset the user password without admin privileges in Windows?

This article describes the procedure to reset a windows local admin user password when we don’t know any admin password.

Step 1: Boot the system with a Windows installation media

Step 2: Once booted from Windows installation media, press the Shift + F10 key on the first setup screen to open the command prompt window (CMD).

Step 3: Enter the following command in the CMD window:

Note: assuming C: as the Windows installation volume.

C: cd \Windows\System32
ren utilman.exe utilman1.exe
ren cmd.exe utilman.exe

Step 4: Remove Windows installation media and restart the computer.

Step 5: Click on the Accessibility icon on the login screen to open the command prompt (CMD) window.

Step 6: Enter the following command in the CMD window:

net user (it will show all local users)
net user User-we-want-to-change-password *

Step 7: Enter the new user password and press the Enter key.

Step 8: Log in to the desired user with the new password.

Step 9: Execute the below command to roll back changes made otherwise you won’t be able to use CMD nor Accessibility with the original names.

C: cd \Windows\System32
ren utilman.exe cmd.exe
ren utilman1.exe utilman.exe