Hi! I’m in this loop now, haha, on Windows 10, and wondering how to get back in…there is no way for me to use system restore or command prompt, because my Microsoft password will not work now. I’d appreciate any help or info, before I throw this computer out the window…
You can boot separately to bypass the password restriction, and use the Recovery Environment provided in a bootable Windows installer. Use a different computer to download and run Rufus. Click the dropdown besides the Select button, and choose Download. Then, click the Download button, and choose Windows 10 21H2.
Once it finishes downloading, choose a USB pen drive or SD card to apply the Windows installer to. This will erase and overwrite the chosen removable storage. Leave Rufus in GPT mode for UEFI (non CSM).
After that finishes, safely remove the pen drive or memory card, and insert into the problematic computer. Enter the Recovery Environment as you did already, and instead of choosing Command Prompt, choose Troubleshoot > Use a Device > EFI USB Device. Once the bootable Windows installer loads, click Next, then click Repair Your Computer.
To backup your files from the bootable Windows installer, insert an external HDD and input
C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe
in Command Prompt to open Notepad from the internal Windows HDD. Note that the letter of the internal Windows from this environment is often D or something else, C is just an example. Once Notepad opens, choose File > Open and use the File Picker to copy files onto the external HDD. There will be no progress bar, only the hourglass cursor.