In addition, the issue can also occur if you use Rufus to create a local account on your computer with the same name as an existing user account. In this article, we will guide you through several methods that can be used to resolve the login issue with AtlasOS.
1. Enter the default AtlasOS password.
The first thing you should do when troubleshooting the login issue with AtlasOS is to enter a different password. If your normal password is not allowing you to log in, it is very likely that the password has been changed by AtlasOS during the installation process. In such a scenario, you will have to enter the default password of AtlasOS to see if that resolves the issue. To do this, boot up your computer and wait for the login screen to appear. On the login screen, enter ‘atlas‘ as the password and press Enter. If this does not let you in, leave the password field empty on the login screen and press the Enter key. See if that resolves the issue. If these passwords do not allow you to log in to your user account either, proceed to the next method below.
2. Enable the Default Administrator Account.
Another way to gain access to your user account is by enabling the administrator account. Windows has a default admin account that is automatically created by the operating system, which can be used when you are locked out of your account or experiencing any other related issues. This admin account is hidden or disabled by default, which is why you are not able to see it on the login screen. Therefore, you must enable the account first via the command prompt in order to use it. Since you are locked out of your account, you need to use the Windows Recovery Environment to enable the admin account instead of the typical means. You can access the Windows Recovery Environment by holding down the Shift key on the login screen and navigating to the Power icon to perform a restart. If that does not allow you to access the Windows Recovery Environment, you can force multiple failed boots on your computer to compel the operating system to start in the Windows Recovery Environment. To do this, simply power off your computer while the PC is booting up at least 2-3 times. If you are unable to access the Windows Recovery Environment even after forcing failed boots, your last resort would be to use a Windows bootable flash drive. Boot into the Windows bootable USB drive and select the ‘Repair your computer‘ option on the Setup screen. This will take you to the WinRE screen. This procedure can differ depending on how you access the Windows Recovery Environment. If you are able to access WinRE without using a bootable USB drive, you can directly enable the administrator account through the command prompt. If you had to use a bootable USB drive to access the Windows Recovery Environment, the process and commands would differ. Follow the instructions below for your respective scenario.
Using the Windows Recovery Environment.
If you can access WinRE without a bootable USB drive, follow the instructions below to enable the administrator account:
Using a Windows bootable USB.
In case you used a Windows bootable USB drive to access the Windows Recovery Environment via the ‘Repair your computer’ option, the process will differ slightly. This is because the Command Prompt opened in this case does not have administrator rights on your operating system, and you will need to replace the Ease of Access utilities on the login screen with a Command Prompt to enable the admin account. Follow the instructions below to do this:
3. Disable ‘Create Local Account’ in Rufus.
If nothing works out for you, the problem is likely due to a Rufus feature. Rufus allows you to create a local user account when you are creating a bootable USB drive. If you selected that option while creating the AtlasOS bootable drive, that might be causing the issue. In such a scenario, you will need to deselect that option and reinstall the operating system on your computer. To do this, follow the instructions below:
