password

[bgreenage]

For some unknown reason my password in no longer accepted to log onto my Dell desktop. It worked without a problem until yesterday. Apparently Dell has a basic warranty that only covers hardware not software. Yeah crazy. So I would have to pay for Dell to help me reset my password. Is it something i could do myself.

[kerft]

First of all, you mean a windows user password, not a bios password, true? What exactly does the error message say?
Since you did not intentionally change the password, if you do not suspect a virus or a prank by someone who knows your password I wonder if this is just a sign of corruption in your windows install or failed windows updates and not really anything to do with the password.
Do you have multiple accounts, are you clicking on the right one, can you try logging in to the administrator account instead with its administrator password which should be different?
If it really is a password problem, that may be fairly easy to fix, however, if you have used encryption or bitlocker, resetting the password means you will LOSE ALL OF YOUR DATA. You create a bootable CD or USB from here https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

If you have a full backup of your system, the fix is easy. Restore the full backup, done.
If you have your data backed up, but not your programs, it is harder but not too bad. Make sure you really have all your data and it is valid. Then, attempt a repair install of Windows by booting from a windows install USB key. You can create a install USB for free with your chosen version of Windows 10 - 1903 has been out for only a few days, 1809 and 1803 also exist and I think are still security supported. If the repair install does not fix everything, you would need to do a clean install, and then copy your data from your backup.

If you do not have your data backed up, preserving the data that may still be on your computer is the priority, far above anything to do with fixing the computer. Buy enough "stuff" - drives, enclosures, cables, etc to make a full image of what is "now" on your computer, which if you are lucky will still contain your data. If you have not used encryption or bitlocker, after you make this backup you can use your other computer to look at that backup drive and see if your data is really there.

As you can tell from what I have said, if you have used full-disk encryption or bitlocker, you may be in a whole lot of hot water.

[bgreenage]

Yes a windows password.The password is incorrect. Try again.I received an email from Xfinity my ISP saying there was an attempt at a login that failed because they used the wrong password. They gave me the IP address and city and state where it originated.But I was still able to log in after that.Then I received a letter form xfinity saying my preferred password had been changed. But when I logged in to my account the preferred email had not changed.I only have the one account as I'm the only one who uses that machine. No encryption. No bit locker.So how do I set a new password?

[kerft]

Your reply talks about xfinity and email. Are you entirely unable to log in to your windows user to run the computer? If so, you may be using a microsoft account as your method of login. All of what I said before applies to users who are not using microsoft accounts to login, instead using a local account and a local password. Basically it does not apply if you use a microsoft account to log in.

If you are unable to access your windows user and use the computer at all - not some other problem - you can attempt to log in to your microsoft account not as a windows user, but from another computer, using a browser - to view your profile and check the password is working. A microsoft account can be accessed from any computer, including one that you know has a good keyboard and does not have caps lock pressed. Or, if you have to, you can reset the password using information and email addresses that only you have access to. Using the other computer and a browser, go to https://account.microsoft.com/account/manage-my-account and try to view your profile.
If that does not work, password reset instructions are here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... gn-in-cant
You will need access to the email that is linked to the microsoft account. Check that access to it is working in a browser webmail, with the other computer, before you get started.

[bgreenage]

I am entirely unable to log onto the windows user to access the computer computer. i never linked that computer to my microsoft account. I logged onto my microsoft account and only my laptop is connected to it. I can access . I can see my profile from my laptop logging in. The desktop s not there.

[kerft]

A local account password should not change for no reason. Restart the computer using the icon in the lower right. Plug in a different usb keyboard and try logging in to make sure the keyboard is entering the password properly. Here is Dell's view on all of this: https://www.dell.com/support/article/us ... nt?lang=en
If using a good keyboard, checking caps lock is not on, does not work, the dell link mentions using security questions or a password hint to log in to a local account.
If that does not work, and somehow the problem actually is that the password changed, creating and booting from the software at https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/ is what you need.

[bgreenage]

It only supports up to win 8.1. In windows using F2 took me to a place where I can acess information including passwords. Amin password,system password,and master password. They are all blank. Does this mean I can create a password in either the blank admin field or system password in the blank fields