8.1 Pro-x64 to 10 Pro-x64 locked out after upgrade cannot downgrade

I was running 8.1 Pro on a cheap Acer box (i3 + 8gb ddr3 + 512gb SSD) as Administrator. I had forgotten that once upon a time I had the machine hooked up to a TV --which means that I had created a user "TV User" probably with the password in the "hint" or "forgot password" box on 8.1 because it was being used as a public/open to the family/friends machine.

So when I upgraded from 8.1 to 10 it locked/disabled the Administrator account (which I know the password for) and it enabled this "TV User" account which I DO NOT know the password for.

I tried all the usuals... booted to install/ISO and tried to repair... error could not repair. Tried to revert back to 8.1... error with partition, could not revert. Tried to "reset" or wipe the box... error with partition. Booted with the install ISO and tried to activate the administrator account via command line (net user administrator /active:yes) but as soon as the machine reboots the administrator account is back hidden.

I don't really care about the machine. I can reinstall very easily. What I am concerned about is the licensing for 10. I have a legit 8.1 license but I think that means I'll miss out on my "free upgrade" if I put 8.1 back on it... and I do not have a 10 license nor do I want to pay for one.

What are my choices? Are there any ways to either create a new user or activate the Administrator account so I can get back in? OR... nuke the machine and reinstall but still keep my 10 licensing? This is my **ONLY** bare-metal Windows box and I'm in a bit of a hurry because I want it asap to do some admin tasks (upgrade firmware on SSD's and RAID cards, etc.)

Thanks. I did search/Google for this for a few hours before I posted.

10userNYC said:

I don't really care about the machine. I can reinstall very easily. What I am concerned about is the licensing for 10. I have a legit 8.1 license but I think that means I'll miss out on my "free upgrade" if I put 8.1 back on it... and I do not have a 10 license nor do I want to pay for one.

Why would you miss out on the free upgrade? Reinstall Windows 8.1 make sure it is activated. Make sure you have an administrator account created and that you can log into other than the built in "Administrator" account. Then upgrade to Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool - no need to even run any updates for Windows 8.1 beforehand.

Media Creation Tool:
Windows 10

NavyLCDR said:

Why would you miss out on the free upgrade? Reinstall Windows 8.1 make sure it is activated. Make sure you have an administrator account created and that you can log into other than the built in "Administrator" account. Then upgrade to Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool - no need to even run any updates for Windows 8.1 beforehand.

Media Creation Tool:
Windows 10

Thanks. I wasn't sure about the 10 upgrade program. I thought that you needed to have 8 or 8.1 running and licensed a few months ago and get an invite and then upgrade within a set window... or something like that. I'm reinstalling 8.1 right now. Thanks again.

10userNYC said:

Thanks. I wasn't sure about the 10 upgrade program. I thought that you needed to have 8 or 8.1 running and licensed a few months ago and get an invite and then upgrade within a set window... or something like that. I'm reinstalling 8.1 right now. Thanks again.

Nope. You can do the Media Creation Tool upgrade at your convenience!