How to fix expired computer password error

Your password has expired and must be changed is a common message when using Windows. Here’s how to fix it when you see “your password has expired and must be changed windows 10” appears on the screen.

Password expired and can’t log in to Windows? This often happens when you don’t use the computer for a long time and forget your password. Sometimes, even if you remember your old password, you still can’t change it and are still stuck at the login screen. In this guide, the article will explain how to fix the expired Windows password problem so you can log back into Windows.

Password expired and current password forgotten

If you forget your current password on your computer, you cannot change an expired password from the login screen. In this case, on older computers, Reset Windows Password software can help! Download Reset Windows Password and burn it to a blank CD from another computer, then boot from this CD and have a password removal program on it to reset your password. This program also helps you disable the password expiration feature of user accounts.

The password expires and you still remember the current password

When your local account password expires and you see the message “Your password has expired”, you will need to create a new password to log in. To create a new password, you must remember your current password. That is the necessary condition here. Here are step-by-step instructions:

1. When you see the expiration message on the login screen, click OK to open the password reset screen.
2. Enter your current password. Leave blank if your account does not have a login password.
3. Next, enter the new password and re-enter it in the field Confirm password. You can reuse your old password if you want. If you don’t want to set a password, leave the new password fields blank.
4. Click Next to continue.

When you see the password has been changed message, click OK to continue. Now, simply log in with your new password.

Turn off password expiration for local accounts

After logging in, you can turn off Windows password expiration using the Local Users and Groups snap-in. This is an advanced feature not available in Windows 11 Home version. If you own the Home edition, you first need to enable Local User and Groups Management on Windows Home. Once completed, follow these steps:

1. Click menu Startenter Computer Management and open it from the search results.
2. In the dialog box Computer Managementextend Local Users and Groups in the left bar.
3. Then, double-click the folder Users on the right. This will list all of your user accounts on your computer.
4. Right-click the user account for which you want to disable password expiration, then select Properties.
5. In the dialog box Propertiesclick options Password never expires. Then click OK and Apply to save changes.

Turn off password expiration for Microsoft accounts

This process is very easy to do. Detailed steps are as follows:

1. Access account.microsoft.com in your browser and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. Select Security in the left sidebar and click Change password in the upper right corner.

You can now sign in to your Microsoft account with your new password.

Using a Microsoft account as your primary sign-in method has some advantages, like automatic backups and synchronization. However, local user accounts are still a better choice for privacy and security reasons. Resetting passwords for local accounts is also much easier.

The password expiration feature in Windows is intended to keep your user accounts secure through password rotation. However, having to change your password every few weeks isn’t worth the trouble, especially since it’s still less effective than two-factor authentication.