[Resolved] Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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spflanze
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Joined: 4. Sep 2016, 05:37

[Resolved] Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by spflanze »

In 64 bit Ubuntu 18.04 I am running Windows 10 inside VirtualBox 6.0. Ever since I expanded the Windows 10's screen resolution to be greater than default, so I could see more of its desktop, and applications, at once, I have been unable to type letters in the Windows 10 password field to login to my user account. The feedback asterisks that show a character has been typed appear only for numbers. They do not appear for letters. I have attempted to ignore the absence of asterisks for letters, and type in the password anyway, but this did not work to get logged in.

The inability to log in has prevented me from changing the screen resolution to what it was right after Windows 10 was first installed in VirtualBox 6.0. I am hoping there is a solution short of the drastic measure of removing and reinstalling Windows 10. Is there one?
Last edited by socratis on 27. Sep 2019, 09:09, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Marked as [Resolved].
socratis
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Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by socratis »

I would like to see the recipe of the VM, the ".vbox" file. Right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager, select "Show in Finder/Explorer/FileManager/Whatever". ZIP the selected ".vbox" file and attach it to your response.

Image
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spflanze
Posts: 29
Joined: 4. Sep 2016, 05:37

Re: Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by spflanze »

The requested file is attached
Attachments
Windows 10.zip
(1.47 KiB) Downloaded 51 times
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by socratis »

With the VM completely shutdown (i.e. not saved or paused), open up Terminal, enter the following commands:
  • 
    VBoxManage setextradata "Windows 10" "GUI/Fullscreen"
    VBoxManage setextradata "Windows 10" "GUI/LastNormalWindowPosition"
    VBoxManage setextradata "Windows 10" "GUI/LastGuestSizeHint" value="1280,1024"
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
spflanze
Posts: 29
Joined: 4. Sep 2016, 05:37

Re: Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by spflanze »

Thanks for your reply. This did work to set the screen resolution to a more desirable one for my screen.

But it still accepts only numbers. But I noticed that it was not a password it was asking for, as I expected. It was asking for a PIN. So I entered my numeric PIN and was able to loggin to Windows 10.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by socratis »

spflanze wrote:But I noticed that it was not a password it was asking for, as I expected. It was asking for a PIN.
:shock: what does that mean? What "PIN" are you referring to? Obviously this is not a VirtualBox question, but you got my curiosity going... It's OK, I found the answer: Windows 10: Use a PIN Instead of a Password to Sign In. Interesting... they took a numeric-only password login option, and they called it a new feature! :)
spflanze wrote:So I entered my numeric PIN and was able to loggin to Windows 10.
Glad you were able to get the screen size and login. Marking as [Resolved].
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
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VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: [Resolved] Cannot type letters in Windows 10 boot up password field.

Post by fth0 »

spflanze wrote:But it still accepts only numbers. But I noticed that it was not a password it was asking for, as I expected. It was asking for a PIN. So I entered my numeric PIN and was able to loggin to Windows 10.
Additional info for future readers:

If the Windows 10 PIN is configured to allow non-numeric characters and if at least one non-numeric character is used in the PIN, then you can enter all characters at the PIN login prompt.
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