How to Factory Reset Lenovo Laptop without Password [Windows PC]

Using a laptop computer is meant to help you work more effectively. However, in many situations, people need to factory reset the laptops.

So do Lenovo users. There could be several reasons why someone may want to factory reset their Lenovo laptop without a password. One reason may be due to forgetting the login password, and no other user accounts are available. Another reason may be to remove any personal data or software that's causing performance issues on the device. Alternatively, it can be necessary if the laptop has been compromised by malware or viruses, and a factory reset is required to clean the system.

No matter you need it now or in the future, knowing how to factory reset Lenovo laptop without password can save many unnecessary problems. So, in this post, you can learn how to perform a factory reset Lenovo laptop without password.

4 methods for how to factory reset Lenovo laptop without password

From here, you can learn to factory reset Lenovo laptop via Lenovo OneKey Recovery, during Startup, and with the installation drive.

Method 1. Factory reset Lenovo (ThinkPad) laptop using Lenovo OneKey Recovery

Lenovo users can use the built-in software Lenovo OneKey Recovery to factory reset laptop without password.

Step 1. Turn off the Lenovo laptop.

Step 2. Press the Novo button (a small, curved arrow) located next to the power button on the laptop. If there's no Novo button on your laptop, press and hold the F11 key while powering it on.

Step 3. Select "System Recovery" from the Novo menu using the arrow keys, then press Enter.

Step 4. Choose the language and keyboard layout you prefer, then click "Next".

Step 5. Enter your administrator account credentials if prompted, then click "OK".

Step 6. Select "OneKey Recovery" from the options presented, then click "Next".

Step 7. Choose either "Restore from initial backup" or "Restore from user's backup" depending on your needs, then click "Next".

Step 8. Read and accept the license agreement, then click "Start" to begin the recovery process.

Step 9. Wait for Lenovo Onekey Recovery to restore your laptop to its factory settings. This may take some time.

Once the recovery process is completed, you'll be prompted to set up Windows as if it were a new laptop.

Method 2. Factory reset Lenovo laptop on Startup

When using the Windows 10 operating system, it's typically possible to factory reset a Lenovo laptop through the standard Recovery option found within the settings app. However, it's reasonable to assume that you may be unable to access your laptop and therefore require an alternative method.

In such cases, it is possible to perform a factory reset on your Lenovo laptop without a password by utilizing advanced startup options available within various versions of Windows, including Windows 11/10/8/7/XP.

By accessing advanced startup options, users can initiate a factory reset without requiring login credentials or access to their desktop.

Step 1. On the Windows 10 login screen, click the Power button. Then, click the “Restart” option and press the “Shift” key at the same time.

Step 2. On the “Choose an option” page, then choose the “Troubleshoot” option.

Step 3. On the “Troubleshoot” page, click the “Reset this PC” option.

Step 4. On the Reset this PC page, there are two options – Keep my files and Remove everything. Here, you need to choose Remove everything since you don’t have your admin password. Otherwise, if you choose to Keep my files, you still have to enter your Windows 10 admin password after resetting.

Step 5. Next, choose Cloud download or Local reinstall based on your needs.

Step 6. Then, you need to choose “Just remove my files” or “Full clean the drive”. If you want to sell or give away your Lenovo laptop, you had better select “Fully clean the drive”.

Step 7. Finally, click “Reset”. Your PC will immediately start resetting itself to factory settings. Just keep your Lenovo laptop on and wait for the reset to complete.

Once the reset is complete, you need to follow the on-screen steps to re-set up your Lenovo laptop.

Method 3. Factory reset Lenovo laptop using installation drive

If you have an installation USB or DVD, then you can use it to factory reset your Lenovo laptop. And if you have an empty USB, you can also create a Windows installation USB immediately on a working PC for your Lenovo laptop reset.

Step 1. Insert the Windows 10 USB drive into your Lenovo laptop. Start the PC and access its boot menu or BIOS menu to set the PC to boot from the USB.

Step 2. After the Lenovo laptop boots up and displays the Windows Setup screen, choose your language and keyboard, and then click Next.

Step 3. On the next page, click Install Now.

Step 4. On the Activate Windows page, click “I don’t have a product key”.

Step 5. Choose your Windows edition and click “Next”.

Step 6. Accept the Microsoft software license, and then click “Next”.

Step 7. Choose which type of installation you want. Choosing the upgrade option will keep your files including your admin password. It would be best if you chose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)” since you don’t have your admin password.

Step 8. Choose the drive partition where you want to install Windows, and then click “Next”. Windows will wipe your installation drive and install a fresh copy of the Windows on your computer.

Then you can follow the instructions to reset your Lenovo laptop.

Method 4. Factory reset Lenovo Windows 7 laptop without password

If your Lenovo laptop is installed Windows 7, then the operation is different from the Windows 8/10/11 users.

Step 1. Reboot your Lenovo laptop. When the logo comes out on the screen, repetitively press the F8 key until you enter the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Step 2. Select the Repair your Computer option and press Enter. Then the System Recovery Options screen comes up.

Step 3. Later, choose your keyboard's layout, and click Next.

Step 4. The System Recovery Options window will pop up, and click System Restore.

Then, it will check the data in your Restore Partition and automatically factory reset Lenovo laptop without password.

Further reading: Reset Lenovo laptop password without logging in

Some users have to choose to factory reset Lenovo laptop because they forget the password or the current password isn’t working. In fact, it’s very unnecessary to lose all data just because password problem. If you can reset or remove the password without logging into Windows, then you can save your data.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can achieve this target for you. The “Reset Password” function can create a password reset USB on any working PC, and help users reset or remove password on the target PC.

▶ Stage 1. Create Windows password reset USB for Lenovo laptop

Step 1. Connect a prepared USB to any running computer. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. In the taskbar, click "Tools"> "Reset Windows Password".

Step 2. In the pop-up window, you'll be noted to create a WinPE bootable media. Click "Next" to move on.

Step 3. Here we tick "USB Boot Device", choose your prepared USB for bootable USB creation, and click "Proceed".

Step 4. Note that the USB flash drive needs to be formatted and all data on it will be wiped. Please back up anything important on it and redo it.

▶ Stage 2. Remove/reset password on Lenovo laptop

Step 1. Boot the computer from this bootable USB, and you will see AOMEI Partition Assistant on the screen. Click "Reset Password", select the Windows system you would like to operate, and click "Next".

Step 2. Then, select the account you would like to operate, choose a feature: "Remove Account Password" or "Reset Account Password", and click "Next".

Then you can reboot the target Lenovo laptop normally and use the new password to log in.

To sum up

These 4 ways to solve how to factory reset Lenovo laptop without password are shown in detailed steps. However, if you just forgot the password, you’re not at the stage of factory reset. AOMEI Partition Assistant can solve your problem.

In addition, it’s an all-around Windows PC and disk manager. You can also use it to clone disks, convert disks to MBR/GPT without data loss, test disk speed, monitor disk health, move installed apps, resize drives, etc.