With Windows 10, PC owners can either use a local user account or their Microsoft account to log in. A local account is an account you can use to access a single computer and it has significant differences with a Microsoft account. It’s basically just a key to your computer and nothing else. A Microsoft account, on the other hand, is a more complicated key that lets you have a more sophisticated experience with your Windows 10 computer. If you want to enjoy the full potential of your Windows 10 machine, we recommend that you use a Microsoft account to sign in.
Below are the itemized summary of the differences between them.
Signing in with your local account means:
- The account can only be used in this computer and you will have to create another local account for others.
- You’ll still need to create a Microsoft account later on if you want to download apps from Windows Store.
- PC and browser (Microsoft Edge) settings will not be synced to other PCs.
Signing in with your Microsoft account means:
- You’ll be able to download apps from Windows Store right away.
- Receive updates and online content from Microsoft apps automatically.
- PC and browser settings, account picture, color, themes, etc. will be carried over to other PCs.
Using a Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 10 PC makes it easier to access other Microsoft services like Skype, email, Windows apps via Store, Xbox services, among others. You’ll also have automatic access to a free cloud service which is an awesome backup alternative. At this time, Microsoft provides a free 5GB storage space for every new Microsoft account. While this may not be enough if you have lots of photos and videos to back up, it can still come in handy if you want to keep a copy of important documents. Having access to a free cloud service also means that it’s easier to share files to co-workers, family, and friends.
If you don’t want to associate your computer with your Microsoft account though, it’s best if you use a local account. The decision rests solely on you. However, when it comes to recovering your password, there’s a totally different way to perform for each one.
Before we proceed to the main topic though, we would like to remind you that we accept requests for assistance regarding their Windows computers. If you have a problem that you can’t seem to find a solution to, send us your issue by following the link at the bottom of this page. Just remember, windows problems can sometimes be difficult to diagnose so kindly make sure that you give us very detailed description of the problem. You want to mention relevant history that may have led to the issue. The more information that you can provide, the higher the chance of us diagnosing the issue more efficiently. We also expect that you mention whatever troubleshooting step/s that you may have done before contacting us in order to prevent repeating them in our article. Again, the more details you can give us, the faster it is for us to pinpoint the cause and its corresponding solution.
How to reset a local account password in your Windows 10 PC
Resetting a local account password requires a drastic solution because there’s no any other way to recover it. In this procedure, you’ll basically find yourself returning your computer back to its factory settings by doing a Reset this PC procedure. Since a factory reset will return all software settings back to their defaults, all user data, programs and customizations will also be erased, basically giving you a clean slate afterwards. Because there’s no other workarounds all your locally saved files are therefore good as gone the moment you forget your local account password.
To reset your local account password, follow these steps:
- Turn on your computer.
- Click on the Power icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the lock screen.
- Hold the Shift button, then click on Restart.
- Under the Boot option screen, click on Troubleshoot.
- Click on Reset this PC.
- Select Remove everything.
- Wait for your PC to restart and finish the reset.
How to reset your Microsoft account password in your Windows 10 PC
While using a local user account in a Windows 10 PC has its own advantages, the obvious downside to it is when you forget its associated password. As mentioned above, you’ll have no other choice but to perform a factory reset in your PC if that happens. This can be a hassle if you have plenty of locally saved files, or if you have a lot of things to set up again afterwards.
When it comes to your Microsoft account, you’ll never have to lose files unnecessarily or set your Windows 10 PC again afterwards, saving you a lot of trouble.
There can be several reasons why you won’t be able to access your Microsoft account. In a lot of cases, these are the common scenarios when you might need to have a password for your Microsoft account:
- you’ve forgotten your password
- two-step verification is enabled
- you’re using a new computer or device to access your account
- you can’t get a security code
- your profile it blocked temporarily
If you are currently locked out of your Windows 10 PC, try to use another computer or device to do the steps below:
- In your browser, open the password reset page.
- Pick the reason why you’re unable to sign in, then click Next.
- Put in your Microsoft account email address. Make sure that you put in the correct one without any excess or missing characters.
- Enter the CAPTCHA code.
- If you’ve set up security information in your account, Microsoft will send a one-time code to the associated phone number or email address. Make sure that you have access to the said phone number or email address.
- Once you have the code, enter it on the next screen so you’ll be able to create a new password.
Generally, resetting your Microsoft account by doing the steps above should be enough to allow you to log in to your Windows 10 machine. However, if you’ll be unable to do so, there may be other circumstances causing it. We suggest that you visit Microsoft’s official site to fix it.
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