Resolved Cannot sign in, does not recognize old password

So I have my friend's desktop Gateway SX2865 that he had Win 8.1 on and dl Win 10 on it. He's had the same password and logged in and it says it's incorrect. Well it's not incorrect. I brought it home to help him out and find that the internet is full of discussion on this topic and it's confusing to say the least. I've tried entering the PW twice, leaving it blank and hitting enter, typing password and enter. He's nervous about losing info and I wonder if I can just take his hdd out and put in my cradle and get photos, etc off of it. Suggestions?
He's used the password on his other Win 7 computer to login with no problem.

 

Hi JAK, I cannot remember exactly, but I seem to recollect I had to create a new Password when I set up W10. Go to Settings > Accounts and follow the instructions.
I think I just changed 1 digit in my Password from W8.1 - no big deal. This I think is the added Security in W10. Once the change is made you're set to go. Check with your friend for his approval as I know I felt frustrated initially but once it's done and dusted all will work OK. Neil.

 

We can't get into the computer at all past the login screen. He's changed his MS password several times using his other comp but it still doesn't let him in.

Someone had suggested going back to previous build but it again required password which again said was incorrect.

 

Ok, so I guess I found my own answer with a tip another friend gave. I was able to get into the Bios and change the boot order to start with the usb drive by hitting the delete button (escape button didn't work for me) as it booted up. Then I dl Offline NT Password & Registry Editor and loaded it as an iso using the Rufus utility. I had booted several times and it wouldn't boot off of the usb flash drive at first, so I moved it to different usb ports with no luck. I had to disable Secure Boot first in Bios and change the Launch CSM from never to always before it booted from the flash drive. (I understand that on some computers you aren't even able to disable Secure Boot.)

This site then had excellent step by step instructions to go through on deleting the login password...
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ss/ontpre-screenshot-guide.htm#showall

Then it booted directly into Windows without the password login needed! And then I unchecked the settings box requiring a password for login by going to Run and typing in "netplwiz" and following the prompts. And now I've made a password reset drive.

 

Thanks for your reply. Nice to see you're all set to go.

 

I think, from what I've seen in this process, that it would be smart to turn off the password login to Windows before upgrading from Win 7 or 8 to Win 10. Seems to be many many people who have had their valid passwords not work after the upgrade, from the posts all over the internet. And it took me many hours of searching to find how to get around the problem. I'm sure a knowledgeable person would have done it much quicker.