For your own devices only (or systems you have explicit permission to work on).

Sometimes you lose the password to a local Windows account but still have access to Windows recovery. One classic method is to boot into recovery, temporarily replace utilman.exe with cmd.exe, then use that elevated CMD from the login screen to reset the password.

Steps (high‑level)

1. Boot into Windows setup or recovery and open Command Prompt.
2. Identify the Windows drive (usually C:), then run:

X:> C: C:>cd \Windows\System32

3. Back up utilman.exe and replace it with cmd.exe:

C:\Windows\System32>ren utilman.exe utilman1.exe C:\Windows\System32>ren cmd.exe utilman.exe C:\Windows\System32>exit

4. Reboot to the normal login screen and click the Ease of Access icon.
   An elevated command prompt should open instead of the usual accessibility tools.

5. Reset the local account password:

C:\Windows\System32>control userpasswords2

In the User Accounts window, select the locked account → Reset Password… and set a new strong password.
If needed, you can also use:

net user net user USERNAME NEW_STRONG_PASSWORD

6. After logging in successfully, restore the original files:

cd %SystemRoot%\System32 ren utilman.exe cmd.exe ren utilman1.exe utilman.exe

This keeps the trick purely for recovery while returning your system to a secure, default state once you’re back in.