Can I Reset Windows 10 Local Admin Password with BitLocke Enabled?

Scenario: How to reset Windows 10 password when locked out?

As you know, when BitLocker is turned on on the disk partition containing your Windows 10 operating system, you must enter the BitLocker password at every Windows 10 startup. BitLocker improves the security of your machine.

Now comes one question: most password resetting techniques don't work when BitLocker is active if you forget Windows 10 local admin password and cannot sign in; so, what should you do in this regard?

Not to worry. Now on this page will present two methods you can reset Windows 10 local admin password with BitLocker installed, both of which won't cause any data loss on your machine but need you to have your BitLocker password or recovery key.

Solution 1. Reset the Windows password with BitLocker encrypted with a Windows bootable USB

Part 1. Create Windows bootable USB via MediaCreationTool

Step 1. Download MediaCreationTool and run it as an administrator.

Step 2. Select ”Accept” in the license terms screen.

Step 3. Select “Create installation media for another PC”, and then select Next.

Step 4. Choose the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows.

Step 5. Choose “USB flash drive” and click “Next”.

Step 6. Choose your prepared USB drive from the list, then “Next”.

Step 7. Once done, the tool will start to download the latest Windows 10 installation files to your device.

Part 2. Boot into Bootable USB to use CMD unlock BitLocker drive

Step 1. Plug the prepared USB into the PC and start it. Then enter BIOS and change the USB as the first boot order. Save the change and reboot the computer.

Step 2. When the Windows Setup window shows up, press “Shift”+ “f10” to summon CMD.

Step 3. Run the following command to check the BitLocker status of all drives and disk volumes on your computer.

You can see your system drive (Volume D in my case) is locked by BitLocker.

Step 3. Now you can use your BitLocker recovery key to unlock the encrypted system drive. Type the following command and press Enter key. Replace D with your operating system drive letter and replace "Your_BitLocker_Recovery_Key" with your BitLocker recovery key.

manage-bde -unlock D: -RecoveryPassword Your_BitLocker_Recover_Key

Alternatively, you may utilize your BitLocker password to access the encrypted system drive. Enter the command "manage-bde -unlock D: -Password" and press the Enter key. Please replace "D:" with the drive letter of your operating system. Just input your BitLocker password and press input to unlock the volume. You will be prompted to enter the password. The operating system volume will be successfully unlocked.

Step 4. Next, type manage-bde -off D: and press Enter key to decrypt the system drive.

When the "Percentage Encrypted" drops to 0.0%, that means the system drive is fully decrypted and BitLocker is turned off on the system drive.

Part 3. Reset Windows 10 local password

Now, we can use CMD to reset Windows password.

Step 1. In the command prompt window, run the following two command lines. Replace e with your operating system drive letter. That will replace the Ease of Access utility on Windows 10 sign-in screen with Command Prompt.

move d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe e:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.bak

copy d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe e:\windows\system32\utilman.exe

Step 2. Disconnect the Windows 10 installation media and restart your computer.

Step 3. After your computer restarts and arrives to the Windows 10 login screen, click the Ease of Access icon in the lower right corner of the login screen and a Command Prompt window will open.

Step 4. Run the following command to reset your local admin password. Replace "User_Name" with your local admin account's name and replace "New_Password" with the new password you want: net user User_Name New_Password

Step 5. Once the password is reset successfully, you can use the new password to sign in to Windows 10.

After you sign in, you can turn on BitLocker on your drive again if you want.

Solution 2. Select a handy tool to restore Windows password with BitLocker encrypted

The aforementioned method demonstrates the necessity of meticulously adhering to all CMD commands and preparing a multitude of items to ensure that your orders are accurate. If you enter an incorrect command, your system may be damaged, in addition to potentially failing. There is a significant risk associated with this for numerous users.

In this scenario, it is possible to select an instrument that is both convenient and efficient to streamline the entire process. We recommend that you collaborate with AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to resolve this issue:

Stage 1. Create a bootable USB

Step 1. Connect a USB with any Windows PC that can work normally, then download and open this unlock tool, and select "Tools"> "Reset Windows Password" on the main interface.

Step 2. You'll be asked to create a bootable USB, click "Next" to agree.

Step 3. In a new window, choose the target USB boot device and click "Proceed".

Step 4. Read the notes about creating a bootable USB, then click "Yes".

Stage 2. Unlock and turn off BitLocker drive

Step 1. Insert the bootable drive to your computer, and enter BIOS to boot the computer from it.

Step 2. In the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant, click the "Tools" main tab and select "BitLocker".

Step 2. Find the encrypted drive you would like to decrypt and click the option "Turn off BitLocker".

Step 3. There are 2 ways available to decrypt the drive: Use password to decrypt the drive and Use recovery key to decrypt the drive. Please select either way as per your need.

If you select "Use a password to decrypt the drive", please enter the right password and then click the "Decrypt" button.

If you select "Use a recovery key to decrypt the drive", please enter the recovery key saved in the TXT file or printed when you encrypted the drive, and then click the "Decrypt" button.

Step 4. Then, the decryption process will start and it might take time to decrypt the drive. Once the decryption process is finished, please click "Completed". Finally, the BitLocker on the drive is decrypted.

Stage 3. Reset Windows password

Then you need to restart the PC, and then, go to AOMEI Partition Assistant again.

Step 1. In the main interface, choose “Reset Password” and select the OS with clicking "Next".

Step 2. Select the target account and the feature you need. Click “Next”.

Step 3. Input the new password in the window and click “Yes” after confirmation.

Step 4. Click “Reboot Computer” to restart your PC after the operations.

Final lines

This post is intended to assist individuals who are unfamiliar with the process of resetting the local admin password on Windows 10 with BitLocker enabled. Sadly, we are unable to assist you if you do not possess a BitLocker password. If this occurs, the sole viable alternative is to reset your Windows computer.

In contrast to the conventional CMD tool, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional provides simpler solutions for resetting the Windows password when BitLocker has secured your computer.

In addition, this multifunctional utility is capable of cloning disks, recovering lost data, and converting MBR to GPT without loss. It also offers a variety of convenient features to help users manage their Windows PCs efficiently.