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Hello, fellow goons! I have created something of a computer problem for myself, and I was hoping to ask some folks with more knowledge/experience than myself before I start taking any drastic action. Problem description: My laptop computer is showing its age, and beginning to have all sorts of little problems. While attempting to fix (a likely unrelated) flickering screen, I set it to boot in Diagnostic Startup. The problem is that diagnostic mode seems to have turned off my PIN, and I don't remember my old password from before Windows switched me to PIN login. If the computer is disconnected from the internet, I'm not sure that switching my Windows account password on a different computer will change what I need to enter in order to regain control of my machine. It might even erase the password I need to regain access and change back to a normal boot. Attempted fixes: After googling my options, I saw a number of tricks you can use when you are stuck on the login screen if you hold Shift when you restart or rapidly power off until you reach repair mode. You can access Command Prompt, go to a Restore Point before your mistake, even do a full Windows reset that leaves your files intact but deletes apps. Unfortunately, all of these ask for my password when I try them. That obstacle is stopping me from trying any of the above tricks. I tried accessing the Credential Manager on a different Windows computer I have an account on. I was hoping that I could look up my password on that. Unfortunately, the Windows password there did not have the expected Reveal button, so all I could copy-paste was a string of dots. I briefly tried logging into my Windows account online, but all I managed to find was an option to change my password. I have looked into more in-depth customer support from Microsoft, but from what I've heard they will charge $99 for a phone call and probably won't be able to tell me my current or old password. Seems unlikely that the technicians there would have access to the password servers, though it certainly is possible. Depends on how they view customer privacy, identity theft risks, etc. Recent changes: The flickering screen cropped up midway through playing a bunch of YouTube videos on FireFox. I closed all my tabs, put all my desktop clutter into folders to reduce system load, installed all my pending Windows updates and double checked that my graphics drivers were current. Then I upgraded to Windows 11, found that the screen flicker remained, and then reverted back to Windows 10. That's what happened prior to my Diagnostic Startup mistake creating a bigger problem. -- Operating system: Windows 10. I think it was 64-bit? Computer was only a few years old. System specs: I'll copy the title from the Amazon product page I ordered the computer from. "Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop, 14" Full HD IPS, AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core with Radeon Graphics, 8GB LPDDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Backlit KB, Fingerprint Reader, Alexa Built-in" Location: USA, San Francisco Bay Area. I have Googled and read the FAQ: Yes. In retrospect, I probably should have googled Diagnostic Startup and looked for problems it might cause. But then again, I wouldn't have known about the option then either. -- So, with the formals out of the way, I can see three possible fixes. 1. Go to a computer shop, ask them to remove the hard drive, and then try to pull the files out by plugging into it with a SATA-USB adaptor. Pitfalls: I didn't even know what a SATA-USB adaptor was before today, and I don't know if it will be compatible. I have heard that some hard drives are "encrypted". Is mine? I have no idea, but if it is that will probably make accessing the files on my hard drive externally a problem. 2. See if a white-hat hacker of some kind can magically force my laptop to boot in normal mode instead of diagnostic mode. That would presumably let me use my PIN login once more. Pitfalls: likely pretty expensive. I have googled my way to the point where vivisection seems like the most promising next step, so a softer solution is probably going to involve tools/knowledge that command a hefty reward. 3. Try wrangling with Windows customer support, explain my situation, and see if they can tell me my current password instead of simply resetting. Pitfalls: This is likely to be a truly miserable experience, and I hear I'll be handing over a hundred dollars whether it solves the problem or not. The odds that they have access to my password, admit they have access to my password, and hand it over to somebody claiming to be me over phone or email seem very very slim.
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Mar 6, 2022 23:13
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 04:40 |
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Your over thinking this. Just take it to a local repair shop and stop loving with it. The more you gently caress with it, the more likely your going to break it more. Have them pull the drive, copy the data off, reinstall Windows fresh and copy data back. At the very least they can verify if the drive is encrypted or not, maybe even do the password recovery if they know their poo poo.
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Mar 22, 2022 06:06
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Thanks, I appreciate the second opinion! I called a local place, seems like getting the hard drive out should be fairly straightforward. Now I just need to wait for my next day off to run it over there.
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Mar 23, 2022 22:25
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The local repair place resolved it quite handily. Removing the hard drive and putting it in an adaptor didn't work, resetting the password didn't work, but he copied all the files onto my external hard drive without getting blocked by diagnostic mode and he says he can probably reset the computer for me if I decide I want to keep using it. Wasn't even all that expensive, since he only charged me for the most expensive step of the process. Thanks again to Slayerjerman for the advice, you saved me from wasting even more time on steps that probably wouldn't have worked.
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Mar 26, 2022 20:09
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