This video demonstrates how anyone can boot into Windows 11 Safe Mode and use the command prompt to reset passwords, even on admin accounts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK5mzXPlEHc
The process is:
- Boot into Safe Mode with either F8 on boot, or by starting Windows 11 and holding shift while clicking on “restart” on the log-in screen.
- In Safe Mode select “Troubleshooting”.
- Select “Advanced options”.
- Select “Command prompt”.
- Replace “Utilman.exe” with cmd.exe.
- Boot normally and a command prompt opens on the log-in screen.
- Use
net [user] *to reset that user’s password.
How can this be disabled? It seems that having your account linked to a Microsoft account does something that forces the user to enter an admin password when opening a command prompt in Safe Mode, but for people who do not want a Microsoft account, how can this be enforced?
