Once booted into linux launch the file manager and locate what would be the C: drive in Windows.

Enter the Windows folder.

Enter the system32 folder.

Locate utilman.exe and rename to utilman.exe.bak.

Locate cmd.exe and copy/paste it to the same folder. Rename the copy of cmd.exe to utilman.exe. At this point we are done with Linux, reboot the computer, change the Secure Boot settings back to default, then boot into Windows.

At the Windows login screen click the Ease of Access icon in the bottom left side of the screen and a command prompt window should pop up.

If the account is local enter the following command to reset the password changing owner to the username that needs to be reset. After the command has been run you will be prompted to enter a new password.

1

NET USER owner *

Close the command prompt window and login with your new password.

If the account is Windows Live integrated and the password cannot be recovered online a new local account with administrative privileges will need to be created. Enter the following commands into the command prompt substituting owner with a username of you liking to create a new administrative user with a blank password.


You should now be able to login with the newly created user account.
After you have verified the user can login to Windows the utilman.exe file should be reset to its previous state for security purposes.

Summary

  • Enter UEFI Setup
  • Enable Legacy Support
  • Disable Safe Boot
  • Boot to live Linux media
  • Rename utilman.exe to utilman.exe.bak
  • Make a copy of cmd.exe and name it utilman.exe
  • Boot into Windows
  • Click the Ease of Access button to open Command Prompt
  • Enter NET USER [username] *
  • Enter new password twice
  • Login to Windows
  • Replace original utilman.exe and restore UEFI Secure Boot settings.