The problem

I recently needed to create a new local Windows 10 machine running under Hyper-V. The OS installation wizard worked fine and prompted me among others to:

  1. Create a new Account (non-skippable option)
  2. Set a PIN (non-skippable option)

Then, after the installation was complete and the final reboot I landed on the well-known “login” screen (with the blurred image background). I wrote “login” in quotes because…there was no option to login!

Usually one would expect to get a PIN input box or maybe a password input box, some buttons to switch between login methods and so on. In my case though…nothing! I still had the two lower-right buttons allowing me to restart or shut down as well as turn on some accessibility options, but no login. What to do?!

I personally experienced this problem on Windows 10 Pro, however scouring the internet for a solution I found people having the same issue on other Windows versions

The cause

It turns out that those non-skippable steps during the installation process contribute to the issue. The root issue itself is that PIN login does not work with Hyper-V enhanced session mode.

Since setting the PIN was required during installation, I was led into the pit of failure. What’s strange is that normally one can change the login method on the login screen, e.g. from PIN to account password. Yet, in this case, that’s not possible.

The solution

Armed with this knowledge, we can now work toward a solution: disable PIN login.

To do this, one must have access to the machine though, so we need to get that first. This step is the easiest, yet took me a log to get. I tried RDP-in to the machine, logging in via the on-screen keyboard and various other things that didn’t work. In the end the solution is straightforward: from the VM-s window -> View -> uncheck Enhanced session :wink:

You should now have full access to the machine and can disable the PIN sign-in: Settings -> Accounts -> Sign-In Options -> PIN -> Remove. However, if you like me created a Microsoft account during the installation, the “Remove” option will be grayed out :scream: Turns out, you need to create a local account in order to be able to remove the PIN sign-in. To do this go back to Accounts and in the right pane you should have an option to sign in with a local account. Select it, enter the needed info and you’re done!

That’s it. If you have any feedback or better suggestions, please leave a comment to help others below.

Written by:
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Adrian Hara

Managing partner and geek wannabe