Windows 10 brought with it a lot of new features, among others, Windows Hello. This function offers us several ways to log into our computer, both by means of the usual password, and by means of an image, by means of facial recognition, with a fingerprint and, most commonly, with a PIN code. The Windows PIN is a 4-digit code, similar to that of mobile phones, that we must enter to start the session or unlock the equipment. This code is much faster than the password, and more secure in case we want to give permission to other people to enter the PC.
When we turn on the computer, or lock the session on the PC, Windows asks us for the PIN code before continuing. Of course, in order to use it we must have previously configured it, either during the installation of the operating system (since it will ask us if we want to configure it from here) or later, from the Configuration menu of the equipment.
If we do not know the PIN, or it does not work, we can still log in using the password of our account from the login options.
The operation of Windows Hello has no mystery: either we enter the code correctly to enter the PC, or we do not enter. That simple However, there are times when users may encounter problems when logging into the PC, and one of the most common is that the PIN, for whatever reason, is not available.
Reasons why the PIN is not available
There are several reasons why we may have trouble logging into the PC using our Windows Hello PIN code. The most frequent is usually related to Windows updates. An update may have failed to install, or even installed incorrectly, and therefore the use of this code has been blocked.
It is also common for it to fail due to a permissions problem. Windows uses a fairly complex system of internal permissions where SYSTEM has the highest level of privilege but cannot be accessed by anyone. Therefore, if something goes wrong with any directory created by SYSTEM, we may not be able to read its contents. And if it happens with the directory where the Windows Hello information is saved, then we won’t be able to use it.
Of course, it may also be that the reason we cannot log in is that we have malware on the PC. And even that a person has tried to start many times by entering the code wrong and, therefore, in the end the computer has crashed.
For whatever reason, it is almost always solved by resetting the Windows 10 PIN files. And then we explain how to do it.
How to fix the error
In order to solve this error we must log in to the PC with Administrator permissions. Otherwise, we will not be able to do anything. If our account has Administrator permissions, we can use another login method (for example, the Microsoft account password) to enter without having to go through Windows Hello.
Once inside, we will open a Windows File Explorer window, and first of all, we will open the “View” tab to check the box to show hidden items on the hard drive.
Once these files are displayed, we must enter our main hard drive and go to the Windows> ServiceProfiles> LocalService> AppData> Local> Microsoft directory. Here we will find a folder called “Ngc”, which stores the information related to the Windows 10 PIN.
For security reasons, we will not be able to enter or delete this folder. This is due to the fact that their level of privileges is SYSTEM, higher than that of our Administrator Account. What we will be able to do is modify its permissions so that all users can read the information that is in it so that the Windows PIN works again. To do this, we click with the right mouse button on it to open the ” Properties ” window. Once in it, we go to the ” Security ” tab, and there we click on the ” Advanced options ” button.
Now we can see the folder’s advanced security configuration window. This is where the user’s permissions on it and its owner are shown. In the ” Owner ” section we click on “Change”.
Then we can see the Windows user and group options window. The first thing we will do is select ” Object type ” to make sure that all the elements there are marked. Now, we will write the name at the bottom and click on ” Check names ” so that Windows detects the internal name of the user and we can work with it.
We click on accept and that’s it. Now, going back to the previous window, we will see how Windows has detected the change in the owner’s name. Next we must make sure to check the box ” Replace owner in subcontainers and objects ” that appears just below.
Finally, we click on Apply and OK so that all the changes are saved and applied to our PC.
We have already changed the permissions of the Ngc folder that we talked about earlier. Therefore, since we are now the authors of it, we will be able to edit it. We simply have to enter by double clicking and delete everything that is inside this folder. This will erase everything related to the PIN of our Windows. And then we restart the computer.
Finally, we simply have to return to the Windows 10 Settings menu and create a new PIN from the Windows Hello options. This new PIN will save your new information back into the Ngc directory. Thus, when we close or block the session, we can start it again without problems.