Windows has two completely different kinds of account, and which one you've got determines how this gets solved. Get that wrong and you can waste an hour trying the wrong recovery method entirely.
Microsoft account or local account?
If you sign in with an email address, that's a Microsoft account, and it's the easier case by far. Microsoft's own account recovery page can reset it in minutes, from any device with internet access, no technician required. If you sign in with just a username and no email involved, that's a local account, tied only to that specific machine, and recovering it is a more involved process.
Why local accounts are different
A local account's password isn't stored anywhere except on that machine, which is exactly what makes it secure and exactly what makes it harder to recover. Legitimate recovery normally needs a password reset disk made in advance, an administrator account on the same machine, or physical access to run proper recovery tools. This isn't something we can do over a remote session, since the whole safeguard exists to stop precisely that.
How we help
-
Work out which account type it is
Usually a thirty-second conversation settles it.
-
Microsoft account: guided remotely
Walked through Microsoft's own official recovery process, no on-site visit needed.
-
Local account: on-site visit
Proper recovery tools and a verification of ownership before anything is reset.
What it costs
A Microsoft account recovery is usually a short remote session at $150 per hour. A local account recovery needs a technician on-site, same rate, and we'll confirm ownership of the device before doing any work.
Common questions
How do I know which type of account I've got?
If you sign in with an email address, particularly an outlook.com, hotmail.com, or live.com one, or if you remember setting up the computer by signing into a Microsoft account, that's a Microsoft account. If you sign in with just a short username and no email, it's almost always a local account.
Can you reset a local account password remotely?
Not safely, no, and we wouldn't want to even if we could. Resetting a local account without the original password normally needs physical access to the machine, partly because that same protection is what stops someone else doing it to your computer without your knowledge.
Will resetting my password delete my files?
A Microsoft account reset never touches your files. A local account reset, depending on the method used, occasionally does, and we'll always tell you which situation you're in before doing anything.
What if I'm not sure it's really my computer I'm trying to get into?
We'll need to confirm you're the owner before doing any password recovery work, the same way any legitimate service would. That's not us being difficult, it's the whole reason this kind of protection exists.