# Cannot change/create Picture Password.



## Jujung (Oct 26, 2012)

I've been using Picture password, and I tried to change the picture today. When I clicked "choose picture" in Picture Password menu, it showed this message:

"There was a failure during the enrolment process. Please try again later."

The current picture password was still available, but I could not change it. I tried removing(that I regret) the picture password and to set a new one, but it showed the same message. Now I cannot use picture password. I tested with new accounts, local and ms both, but those didn't work. 

What I don't understand is that I'd been using picture password(and was still able to log on with picture password before I removed it) without any problem, but suddenly it became corrupted or something. Refreshing is never an option, how can I solve this?


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

*Likeliest Solution is the Least Wanted Solution*
Sadly, the solution that has worked for those lucky enough to find a solution has been to use Windows 8's "System Refresh" feature, which saves your documents, but rather unfortunately not much else - and restores the system files. You'd have to reinstall programs and other personalizations afterwards.

But hey, we're a tech site, so we don't give up so easily.

Many posts are popping up on tech boards, with users having the exact same picture password trouble that you are facing. Exactly the same. Many have given up, and are hoping that Microsoft will have a hotfix or an update that will fix things. Others have been experimenting with strategies for repairing the problem - and very few have been successful.

*What usually doesn't work:*
_Creating new accounts_. The theory for this generally unsuccessful try is that the users profile is somehow corrupted. It seems to me that if the users profiles were that corrupted - then the pins and alphanumeric passwords wouldn't work either ... and I've yet to see a post where the problem was solved with by creating a new user & then moving data from the old account over.

_Trying different picture formats:_ The setup for the picture passwords is so straightforward, I haven't seen anyone yet whose problem was at all related to picture format. Most users experiencing the problem, in fact, simply had their picture password suddenly produce the "enrollment" error: they were not trying to change a picture password, they hadn't removed an older one or tried to add a new one -- the current working password just suddenly produced the error.

*Enabling Services ... what one user claims solved the picture password issue*
An enticing but extremely frustrating post in a picture-password thread over on the Microsoft Community forums mentions success ... by enabling services (I'll assume with the Computer Management "Services" app) ... but [heavens sakes!] the user didn't keep track off the changes & doesn't know (or can't remember) which one (or ones) fixed the issue.
Here's a quote of the post:


> Alright, so I dont know exactly what I did, but I went into SERVICES on my laptop and just started turning on any SERVICE that was disabled that seemed like a service picture password would need. Anything that dealt with user accounts, passwords, touchscreen services, etc. After that, I was able to set up both picture password and a pin. I wish I remembered which service I thought it was I started that allowed me to enroll. Sorry, I was on a mission due to the lack of response from Microsoft. I swear they posted the same sorry directions on every thread. Cya.


And here's a link to the entire thread:
NEED HELP! Windows 8 Picture Password Enrollment Failure and PIN - Microsoft Community

Following that lead, I looked around for likely suspects in the Services list. One that caught my eye was *Credential Manager*. I was a little surprised to see that it is not an Automatic service - by default it apparently is set to Manual. Some login programs and services depend on Credential Manager, such as those systems that come with fingerprint readers, or facial recognition readers. Such login systems require *Windows Biometric Services* to be running ... and one of the services it depends on is Credential Manager. --- While I couldn't find anything linking either of those services to the Picture Password feature, I imagine that it shouldn't hurt to try turning one or both of those services on - at least just long enough for testing purposes - and see if Picture Password works again. 

*Group Policy*
For those in corporate settings, there is a Group Policy entry "*Turn off picture password sign-in*". That, of course, means a call to your IT help-desk. If you are not in a corporate setting, and suspect that somehow a group policy or security policy including such a setting is present on your computer, the Group Policy Management path to the setting is --- Computer Configuration -- Policies -- Administrative Templates -- System -- Logon -- Turn off picture password sign-in.

*Windows 8 email app & Security Policies*
It appears that adding certain types of accounts to the Windows 8 email app will create a mobile security policy that disables picture-passwords. In such cases, should the user prefer to have their picture-passwords more than the Windows 8 email account with the issue, one solution is to reset security policies on the PC. A clever tech Jayson has a post on how he navigated to that --- Removing Security Policies on Windows 8 | Jayson's Adventures

*Windows Update as a suspect?*
It wouldn't be the first time an update caused things to break. Since this is easy to try (though time-consuming), you can temporarily disable Automatic Windows Updates, and use the Programs & Features app in Control Panel (with the Show Updates box enabled) and uninstall the Windows updates from the present to just before the picture-password trouble started. If it fixes things, you can download the updates individually from the Microsoft Download site - until you find the culprit that breaks picture-password. At which point you post your discovery here & help the multitude of other users who have been pulling their hair out over this issue. If it turns out not to be a Windows update that caused the trouble, you can report that finding (and barbers and wig-vendors will experience a growth industry).

*System Restore?*
Strangely enough, while I saw many posts who reported success using the more-extreme "System Refresh" feature of Windows 8, I didn't see many at all who tried using the "System Restore" feature. Couldn't hurt to try, perhaps. At least it is a faster try than undoing and redoing updates individually.
_______________

Sorry this is such a lengthy post. The problem is an interesting one, so I was curious.
Best of luck
. . . Gary


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## Jujung (Oct 26, 2012)

OldGrayGary said:


> *Likeliest Solution is the Least Wanted Solution*
> Sadly, the solution that has worked for those lucky enough to find a solution has been to use Windows 8's "System Refresh" feature, which saves your documents, but rather unfortunately not much else - and restores the system files. You'd have to reinstall programs and other personalizations afterwards.
> 
> But hey, we're a tech site, so we don't give up so easily.
> ...



Thank you for your kindness. I tried all your advice except update checking and system restore(I cannot use this atm). Resetting security policies looked so promising but sadly didn't work. So I guess I'll have to live with this till the fix from microsoft comes out. I regret sooo much removing previous picture password :/


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