Windows 10 on safe mode doesn't accept my password

Hello Igor,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

I understand the inconvenience you have experienced. Let us know few things to assist you in this regard.

Are you referring to PIN password or Microsoft account password?

Does it give any error message?

Did you tried On-screen Keyboard on Safe Mode to enter the password?

Are you accessing through Safe Mode with Networking?

Try with below steps and check if it helps you.

1. Restart your PC. When you reach the sign-in screen, hold the Shift key and select the Power button, and then select Restart.

2. After your PC restarts, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options >Startup settings > Restart. After your PC restarts, you should see a number of options. Press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with networking.

3. When you reach login screen, press Windows + U and select the On-Screen Keyboard from the Ease of Access list. or click on Ease of Access at bottom right and select On-Screen Keyboard from the list.

4. Then use you cursor to type the password with On-Screen Keyboard.

5. Before clicking the login, press the eye symbol (I.e. Reveal Password) option in the password field, to see the password is correct.

If the problem still persist, give us the above information to assist you in this regard.

Actually the beginning of the story is not working Start Menu button, which gives a message about a critical error and advises to sigh out and then Win 10 will fix it. Doesn't happened. As a fix from a forum it was suggested to go to the Safe mode, run
sfc /scannow and then switch back to a normal mode. When I switched to the Safe mode I met a problem which I already described: Win 10 refused to accept my PIN which worked in a standard mode. It was clear - I didn't have a network access even using a Safe
mode + networking option. My laptop doesn't have an Ethernet plug and apparently Windows in the Safe mode doesn't see network through USB. Eventually my old password worked for Microsoft account even without being connected to the network. However all fixes
didn't work. A fix from the post (Link Removed) removed an annoying Critical Error message but didn't revived the Start Menu button. More suggestions?

Thank you Yashwanth for your tips, they are might be helpful for those who got stuck in the safe mode. As i reported to you I got stuck in it not because I did something wrong with a password but because Windows in the Safe mode switches from PIN to the Microsoft password. I was trying my PIN desperately and it didn't work. My Microsoft password worked fine in the safe mode. 

However the main issue with the safe mode that it was indicated as possible cure for a critical error with the start menu button. The safe mode didn't help. I still have the problem as many other users with windows 10. I don't have a possibility to downgrade my laptop to Win 8 or 7 because I purchased my laptop recently with Win 10 pre-installed. 

If you can tell me how to fix the issue with the start menu button (by the way a calendar doesn't work as well) I would appreciate this a lot. 

Hi,

Thanks for the update on the issue.

In Safe Mode, you will be asked to type your password instead of the pin. However, to diagnose and resolve the issue you are facing with the Start menu and other apps, try.

Crete a new User account

To create a new user account, refer to the steps mentioned in the following Microsoft link:

Set up accounts

. If it does work fine, you may transfer all your data to the new account and delete the corrupt user account.

1.  Log on as a user other than the new user you just created or the user that you want to copy files from.
2. Open the My Documents folder  by Pressing Windows logo + Q and typing computer while highlighting settings Double-click the hard disk drive that Windows is installed on (it's usually your C: drive), double-click Users, double-click the folder with the name of your account, and then double-click My Documents.
3. Click the Tools menu, and then click Folder Options. If you don't see the Tools menu, press Alt.
4. Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
5. Clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, click Yes to confirm, and then click OK.
6. Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old_Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
7. Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
8. •Ntuser.dat
9. •Ntuser.dat.log

10.  •Ntuser.ini

11.  Click the Edit menu, and then click Copy. If you don't see the Edit menu, press Alt.

12.  Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New_Username is the name of the new user profile you created.

13.  Click the Edit menu, and then click Paste. If you don't see the Edit menu, press Alt.

14.  Log off, and then log back on as the new user.

Hope this information was Helpful

Same thing here! My OS is Win 10. Changed the System Boot settings to safe boot via msconfig and restarted the PC, however, not I cannot log in because I get "Password Incorrect".  It shows my Name, and Hotmail email account and I know I am using the correct Pin, which is 4-digits. Under the Shift + Restart button,  I've noticed, that I am NOT connected to the Network, hence the suggestion to reset my Microsoft keyword online doesn't seem to make sense. I will try the steps provided by Sahil Bali above again. He said: "In Safe Mode, you will be asked to type your password instead of the pin." 

I've followed the steps carefully.

PROBLEM is after F5 (Press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with networking) => there still is no Internet connection (Networks - No connections are available).

Can I please have step-by-step instructions from there, and also where to go to change the Microsoft password, including the login URL. I am using Hotmail. 

Thank you. 

Hi Danni,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community and we apologies for delay in responding.

It would be grateful if you can reply to this question in order to assist you further:

1. How exactly are you connected to your Internet Connection?
2. Is it through Wireless or Wired connection?
3. Do you have any other User account?
4. Did you recently changed the password for your Primary account login in through web?

I would like to inform you that if you are connected to Internet through Wi-Fi connection then it wont work in Safe mode with Networking. Safe mode with networking works only with Wired Internet connection. Also to know what is causing the internet connectivity issue we need to isolate it. I suggest you to remove all your internet connection wires reboot your system try to connect the internet and check if its working. If you are still not able to connect to internet then I suggest you contact you internet service provider to know the internet issue. Internet connection is necessary to login your Microsoft Account. Even if you change the password by accessing it online, still it need the new password to synchronize in your system and without internet connection it is not possible.

Let us know the status of the issue. We will be glad to assist you further. 

Thank you.

Hi Sangetaa!
Thank you for your response. In the meantime I have worked out my issues. When booting in Safe Mode I kept getting "wrong password". I misunderstood and out of habit I kept entering my 4-digit pin that I usually use. I forgot that there is a difference between login PIN and the password. I had both written down. They are two different things. Once I entered the password the PC booted up in Safe Mode. Networking, or Internet was not needed. I was able to switch back to normal boot mode from there and the computer has been running fine since then.

Maybe this kind of misunderstanding might have happened to others who had trouble logging in in Safe Mode also? So again, not your PIN but the password.

It is definitely worth a mention.

Danni

Hi Danni,

Thank you for updating us with the status of the issue.

 

We are glad to know your issue is resolved and I appreciate your efforts in resolving this issue. This might help other community members.

For further assistance related to Windows feel free to post your queries in Microsoft forums. We will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

I have this problem but nice to know you fixed it...

 Sadly I couldn't fix the problem for some kind of reason. No one has been answering me for the past 3 days. Well, when I reset my password for Microsoft, I used a old password that I used every day of my sign up passwords. It says I already used that one so I try a different one.. I used the password that I made, no luck. I used the password that said I already used the one, no luck again. I'm feeling like there is no use to fix this. Please help me.

Hello Marjorie,

Thank you for your response.

I appreciate your time.

I would suggest you to enable built-in administrator account using command prompt from Windows recovery environment and check if it helps. Please follow these steps:

a. Do one of the following, depending on whether you have installation media (such as a DVD or USB flash drive):

- If you have installation media for Windows, start (or boot) your computer from the installation media. Insert the DVD or USB flash drive and restart your computer. If you see a message asking you to "Press any key to boot from DVD", do so. If you don’t see the message, you might need to change the boot order in your computer's BIOS settings so that it first starts from the DVD or USB. When you see the "Install Windows" page, click "Repair your computer" to start the Windows recovery environment.

- If you don’t have installation media, use the power button to restart your computer three times. This will start the Windows recovery environment.

b. In the Windows recovery environment, on the "Choose an option" screen, click "Troubleshoot".

c. Click "Advanced options" and then click "Command Prompt".

d. In command prompt, type the following command and press Enter.

net user administrator /active:yes

After enabling built-in administrator account, you may logon and try resetting the password of the account which is not working.

You may later disable built-in administrator account. Type the following command in command prompt and press Enter.

net user administrator /active:no

Note: Modifying BIOS/ complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

You may create Windows 10 installation media from this link:

Please refer this article:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Please keep us updated.

Thank you