You just changed your password. Everything should be fine. Then Outlook pops up a sign-in box. You type the new password. It pops up again. And again. 😩
Sound familiar? This is one of the most common help desk tickets after a password change, and the fix usually isn't another reset. Windows (and your other devices) can keep the old password saved and quietly keep trying it.
Here's how to clean it up.
🔍 Step 1: Check Credential Manager
Windows stores saved sign-ins in Credential Manager.
- Press Start and type Credential Manager, then open it.
- Click Windows Credentials.
- Look under both Windows Credentials and Generic Credentials for entries tied to Office or Outlook (often starting with
MicrosoftOffice), your email address, or your company's file server. - Expand the stale entry and click Remove.
Only remove entries you recognize as related to the account that changed. You can always sign in again to recreate them.
⌨️ Step 2: Or use the command line
If you'd rather work fast (or you're helping someone over a remote session), cmdkey does the same job from Command Prompt or PowerShell.
List everything saved for the current user:
cmdkey /list
Find the target you want, then delete it:
cmdkey /delete:fileserver01
Swap fileserver01 for the exact target name shown in the list. If the target has spaces or special characters, wrap it in quotes.
🗂️ Step 3: Check mapped drives
A mapped network drive that was saved with the old password can keep failing in the background. See what's connected:
net use
If a drive shows as unavailable, you can disconnect it and map it again with the new password:
net use Z: /delete
📱 Step 4: Don't forget the phone
This one gets missed all the time. A mail app on a phone or tablet still using the old password can keep retrying. In many environments, enough failed attempts will lock the account again, and the user is back on the phone with the help desk an hour later.
Update the password on every device that checks email, or remove and re-add the account.
✅ Step 5: Sign in fresh
Close Outlook, Teams, and any Office apps. Reopen Outlook and sign in with the new password when prompted. In most cases, the endless prompts stop here.
💡 Takeaway
When the prompts won't quit after a password change, don't reach for another reset. Find the old password that's still saved, remove it, and sign in fresh. It's usually a five-minute fix.
What's the sneakiest place you've ever found an old password hiding? Drop it in the comments 👇
