Reformatted laptop to Windows 11, now can't log in

Question

Reformatted laptop to Windows 11, now can't log in

Thomas Lau 0

As the title says, I reformed the laptop to a clean install and now neither my old login, email, or phone number work. Neither pin nor actual windows account password work.

Also tried to find customer support and by god all I see is automated AI garbage that is not helpful.

4 answers

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Answer 1

If you are unable to log in to your Windows 11 laptop after a clean install, here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

Check for Correct Credentials: Ensure that you are using the correct email address and password associated with your Microsoft account. If you have multiple accounts, try each one.
Use the Password Reset Option: On the login screen, there should be an option to reset your password. Follow the prompts to reset it using your email or phone number.
Try Safe Mode: Boot your laptop in Safe Mode. This can sometimes allow you to log in with a local account or troubleshoot further.
Use a Local Account: If you previously set up a local account, try logging in with that. If you forgot the password, you may need to reset it using recovery tools.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps work, you may need to contact Microsoft Support for assistance. You can find the support contact information on the Microsoft website, but it may take some time to reach a human representative.
Access Recovery Options: If you have recovery options set up, you might be able to restore your system to a previous state where you could log in.

If you continue to experience issues, consider reaching out to a professional for help or checking online forums for similar experiences and solutions.

References:

Answer 2

Gunasekar N 46,430 Independent Advisor

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

May I please know if you're able to sign in with your Microsoft account normally here?

https://account.microsoft.com/

Open an incognito tab, and paste the link above.

See if you can sign in.

If your password isn't accepted, try resetting it.

Once the password has been reset successfully, sign in with your new Password on your Windows 11 system.

If you're experiencing any error during the sign in, let me know.

Thomas Lau 0 Reputation points

2025-11-03T16:02:13.9266667+00:00

I am logged into Microsoft, but the link you provided does not work.
My apologies for not clarifying this, but this is a personal laptop.I already reset my password and tried using my Gmail address and phone number to log into the laptop with the new password. Neither works.
Gunasekar N 46,430 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-11-03T16:18:46.54+00:00

What is the exact error message you receive during the sign-in?
Thomas Lau 0 Reputation points

2025-11-03T17:35:04.7233333+00:00

I changed my password to something simple and tried it again and I still get the following message:

"That password is incorrect. Make sure you're using the password for your Microsoft account. If you can't remember your password, you can reset it from the lock screen or at account.live.com/password.reset. image0.jpeg

Except in the current automatic reinstall of Windows there is no damn Reset button that is visible.

So did Microsoft brick my laptop?

Also, will an actual Microsoft person ever look at this or will I get volunteers and AI help only?

Answer 3

Gunasekar N 46,430 Independent Advisor

Hi, this clears everything.

It seems that you've used a local account. Resetting the password for Microsoft does not work as the local account password you set is for the specific device.

Do you have the option to reset your password on the Sign in screen itself?

Reference:

Change or reset your password in Windows

Gunasekar N 46,430 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-11-04T02:32:45.6166667+00:00

Please note that Microsoft Learn Q&A is a user-to-user public forum, where questions are often answered by community experts who have faced similar issues before. In some cases, responses may also come from AI or Microsoft experts directly.

However, our main goal here is to help you sign in and use your device normally. We’ll try all the available recovery options to fix the issue.

May I please know if you performed a complete factory reset on your device, or if you chose to keep your personal files during the reset process?

The reason I’m asking is because if you performed a full reset, Windows would have been set up from scratch. But since it’s now asking for your local account password, it’s possible that the reset wasn’t completed properly or that you selected the option to keep your personal files instead of doing a full reset.
Thomas Lau 0 Reputation points

2025-11-04T20:09:01.37+00:00

No, I just paid MicroCenter $150 to do the reinstallation since whatever reset the laptop defaulted to apparently locked me out of my own laptop. Forgot what the term was but somehow I suddenly was not the admin of my own laptop.

Great automatic default from Microsoft given I bought this laptop during the pandemic so I could work remotely. So this was a personal computer ever only and I never had the issue with reinstalling it during the Windows 10 years, Windows 11 really remains a piece of garbage.

Luckily since I wanted a clean reinstall I backed up my family pictures, art, and music. Otherwise I would be livid.

Still annoyed but at least Microsoft continues to work on retaining the "Microshit" title.

Answer 4

Thomas,

It sounds like a software change or reset has turned your Admin account user profile into a temporary one.

So, in this situation, we can set up your computer locally instead of signing in with your Microsoft account. To do that, on the screen where it says "let's connect your device to a network," just press Shift + F10 or Fn + Shift + F10 together on your keyboard to open the command prompt. Type the command here to set up your computer using a local account.

start ms-cxh:localonly

Once you're signed in with your local account, you can switch to a Microsoft account after completing the setup. Or at least, we can try some troubleshooting steps to resolve the error.

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Reformatted laptop to Windows 11, now can't log in

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