How to Disable a Windows Password Policy

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Disabling a Windows password with the policy editor will disallow Windows to request your password, even if you enter a password into the user account setting.

You can disable a Windows password policy by editing the Local Group Policy Editor. The policy editor is only available to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise and Professional users. The Local Group Policy Editor is part of the Microsoft Management Console and works as a snap-in to edit your computer and user configuration data and settings. You must be logged on as a Windows administrator to access and edit policies in the Local Group Policy Editor.

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Log on as Administrator

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Step 1

Click on the "Start" orb on the lower left-hand corner of your screen, type "cmd" in search bar at the bottom and press "Enter."

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Step 2

Type "net user administrator /active:yes" without the quotations and press "Enter." Be sure to type the words exactly as shown, including spaces.

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Step 3

Click on the "Start" orb again and click the arrow next to "Shut Down" on the right-hand side. Click on "Log off" and choose the Administrator profile that shows up.

Open Policy Editor

Step 1

Click on the circular "Start" orb on the lower left-hand corner of your screen and type "gpedit.msc" without the quotations in the search bar at the bottom. Press "Enter."

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Step 2

Click "Yes" if you get a message prompting you for your permission to access the program.

Step 3

Right-click on the words "Default Domain Policy GPO" on the top left-hand panel, and then click on "Edit."

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Step 4

Double-click "Computer Configuration," "Windows Settings," "Security Settings," "Account Policies" and "Password Policy," in that order, from top to bottom.

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Step 5

Double-click on "Enforce password history" on the editor's right-hand panel under "Policy Setting," type 0 and click on "OK." Repeat this (by typing 0) for the "Maximum password age," "Minimum password age" and "Minimum password length."

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Step 6

Double-click "Password must meet complexity requirements" on the right-hand side under "Policy." Click on the "Disabled" option under "Policy Setting" and click on "OK."

Step 7

Click on the "X" button in the upper right-hand corner. Your Windows password policy is now fully disabled.

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