Windows 10 2004: ‘Credentials Manager’ broken [Workaround]

[German]The Credentials Manager has a bug in the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004). The Credentials Manager forgets to save the credentials and is unusable.


Advertising

The Credentials Manager

Windows  allows credentials to be stored in the credentials manager. The stored credentials can be used to log on to Web sites, connected applications, and networks. Credentials Manager allows you to view and delete these credentials. Microsoft has published this article that shows the scope with this feature.

Credentials Manager broken

However, in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004), the credential manager is simply broken. Because a bug causes the credential management to forget the credentials. Already in mid-June 2020, someone complained about this bug on TenForums.

Is anybody else having problems with savings passwords. I'm using Edge chromium.
They were ok before the 2004 upgrade. I kept thinking I am doing something wrong.
I've checked Edge settings, and although I just logged on for the umpteenth time to this forum I see that it doesn't show as saved in Edge passwords.
I do not have it optioned to clear passwords on exit, and I am checking save password at the log ins.
Doesn't look like it's anything to do with Edge Chromium, as my E-mail (outlook express) is doing the same thing:forgetting my password.
Should Windows credentials startup be starting automatic ?
Optioned Credentials startup to auto, and it looks like my problem is cured.
It's driving me crazy. Thought I had it fixed. Looks like it worked for one restart, now it not saving passwords again.

This thread, can be found at Microsoft Answers, where affected people report forgotten passwords after upgrading to Windows 10 version 2004 in June 2020

I'm having similar issues with the Windows 10 Home Edition v2004. After the update my computer just won't keep login and password credentials on several applications including Windows Email, Drive and the Chrome Browser. In the words of a MS tech, my computer has amnesia :) MS Tech Assistance Level 2 has looked at this and says nothing is wrong, it's this way now for security reasons but that does just not seem right.

And in the Microsoft Answers Forum there is this post  from July 8, 2020, where someone reports Outlook password problems after upgrading to Windows 10 version 2004 There, a moderator posts a workaround that helped the affected person. The same case is discussed with Outlook in this forum thread, and the workaround helps with Outlook there as well.

Workaround could help

Then I came across this article and the post from Latest, which describes the issue of the credential management in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) not storing passwords. The automatic login to websites and services like Outlook, Adobe Creative Cloud, OneDrive, in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or in VPN networks fails afterwards.


Advertising

In general, a workaround is described as removing the Microsoft account from the settings page and then creating a local user account. After a restart, the local user account can be changed to a Microsoft account. Then the login should work and the login data will be saved. Anyone affected?

Article series:
Windows 10 2004/20H2 and the broken 'Credentials Manager': Root Cause and Workaround – Part 1
Windows 10 2004/20H2 and the broken 'Credentials Manager': Cause and Workaround – Part 2

Similar articles:
Windows 10 2004: 'Credentials Manager' broken [Workaround]
Windows 10 forgets certificates during upgrade
Microsoft confirms certificate loss on Windows 10 upgrades


Cookies helps to fund this blog: Cookie settings
Advertising


##1

This entry was posted in issue, Windows and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

24 Responses to Windows 10 2004: ‘Credentials Manager’ broken [Workaround]

  1. Mark Peretti says:

    Yes, had all the problems as described in your article. Rolled back from Version 2004 to previous version of Win 10 and all works well again.

    • Ranner says:

      Same problems with 2 PCs running W10-pro, only using local accounts, mainly Chrome user/pass and also cookies vanished, sporadically back but not all, and MS Office 365 Outlook forgot passwords of mail providers, same with Outlook plugins accessing CalDAV servers.

      Rollback with Windows standard function to 1909 was successful, passwords are back again.

  2. Derek says:

    Eh… Staying on 1909 even longer. Can anyone confirm if this is fixed in the September cumulative update for build 2004?

  3. EP says:

    more v2004 credential/password "amnesia" problems recently mentioned on Askwoody:

    https://www.askwoody.com/2020/win10-version-2004-systemwide-password-amnesia/

  4. Advertising

  5. Brian Morris says:

    Thanks for posting this summary! I have a client with the issue and nothing has worked so far. I'm hoping for a fix out of Microsoft, but information is so scarce..

  6. John Bielot says:

    Still broken for me. All up to date on updates. Win 10 2004 Build 19041.508 Home Edition. Logon w/Local account. Office 365, Google Chrome (and all visited web sites) affected. Ran SFC. No issue found.

  7. EP says:

    might possibly be fixed with upcoming KB4577063 update (currently in the beta & RP channels):

    https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2020/09/22/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-19042-541-20h2/

  8. Neal Fildes says:

    So try 57 different things and maybe it will be better. what a horribly complex system microsoft has created, held together with string and chewing gum. And no clear admission on their part. how much time / money spent trying all these things? Pathetic! Anyone consider moving to linux?

  9. Jeremy Boulton says:

    Speaking as a 64 year old normal user, the latest Windows 10 September update essentially destroyed the ability of my £1,000 PC to remember or save passwords. All one wants from a PC is that it works properly, and does not go on the blink through no fault of one's own. I had to roll back to a previous version, as other users have done. However, since updates can only be delayed by 35 days, this error will soon be forced upon me again. One symptom of this was a TPM error message but, to me as a simple user, online suggestions for fixes read like contradictory gobbledegook.

  10. BigAussie says:

    Call me paranoid, but many of the users I support are not part of any domain and log into their Win10 computer with a local account. Is this an attempt by Microsoft to "force" users to login with a known Microsoft account — for easier tracking ;D

    My laptop uses a Microsoft account login and has had no problems after the May v2004 update. It does have newer hardware than this desktop; surely there isn't a subtle push to upgrade all hardware too.

    None of these fixes works for me. I have resorted to making sure all passwords are saved (inc. 5 exchange accounts in Outlook) and network traversal. Inside Credential Manager I created a backup. Now when I login I go straight to Credential Manager and restore the backup — everything works. A few extra steps to begin my day; but until M$ get this fixed; this is my life.

    Almost like they're trying to force users to a Linux distro . . . liking the latest Linux Mint too.

  11. 3D Scanner says:

    I can add my voice to the comments above and the other 100's of pages on the web of people that are experiencing this issue.
    I have several expensive and high performance workstations that I use for my company. I have many years under my belt in commercial software development and software support. I have never seen an issue before that is so painful and frustrating for so many and yet so ignored by the company that created the problem. It's as if they are telling us that we are not smart enough to report problems with their software.
    I have completely re-installed Windows 10 a total of 7 times now on one of my systems. Every time was after a complete wipe of all data and partitions on the OS drive. In every time MS Office and credential manager work on build 1909. In every case if I install build 2004 fresh on my system I am running into password amnesia. In every case as soon as I update from 1909 to 2004 the password amnesia starts. Oh, and the dreaded TPM error.
    I have been trying all the registry hacks, all the new profile hacks, and all the other hacks I can find on the web. Nothing works. And no amount of time on the phone with MS Support or chat with MS Support has actually accomplished the simple task of reaching someone who can even log the issue.
    How can we as users fix a company so hopelessly broken as Microsoft? It's as if they are so big that they don't need to care anymore.

  12. Richard says:

    This is not a bug folks! All the issues described by many above, went away for me after I changed to using my Microsoft account to log in to my computer instead of my local account. This is Microsoft's way of forcing all Windows 10 users to use a Microsoft account to login to their own computers so they can sync all your devices whether you want that done or NOT! I can only imagine what all else they get access to and deposit in the cloud?

    This little deception, trick or whatever seems like it might be illegal in some manner or another, but that's for smarter people than me to discover. I certainly have tried every suggestion on this board and others to fix all these issues and none was permanent until I started logging it with my Microsoft account then all the Credential Manager amnesia went away.

    I have been on Windows 10 2004 for months but my troubles only started with the Sept. 9th updates. Maybe others can expound on my thoughts?

  13. Kevin says:

    if your issue still persists, try to run the utility from https://github.com/AyrA/DPAPITest

    If the output looks like this image, your data protection API is broken: https://i.imgur.com/iYYMQwU.png

    As a temporary fix, you can create a new account on your computer and use that account from now on.

  14. MottoAFP says:

    Currently running new ""October" Build, new clean install from MS.
    Version 20H2 (Build 19042.572).

    Have same issues as described in this article.

    Currently on a local AD account – not tested on a Windows Online account, as I'm not interested in doing that.

    Odly my chrome account remembers all credentials after I'm logged into Chrome browser, but after every reboot I have to login to Chrome again.. :'D

  15. Alan says:

    I've had the same problems in the last few weeks since the update. In a way, I'm glad I came across the comments here because I now know it's not just me.
    In my case my chrome browser, yahoo email and a few other websites will require two step authentication each time I log in, even though I have the box checked for the credentials to be remembered on the device. Also, with me, this has been mercurial, as I am sometimes able to get right on Chrome and email without having to re-enter my credentials and confirm them with my phone, and other times it will 'forget' and I have to use my two-step authentication again! Thinking it might be a chrome or even google problem, I tried using ms edge to access my yahoo email and it did the same thing.
    The comments here confirm that it is a microsoft problem.
    Luckily, I do have a chromebook so I have started using it more often, especially for internet access, when my windows laptop acts up in this way and I never have a problem using the chromebook, which also confirmed that it was not a chrome or google problem.
    In fact, I've used my chromebook more and more as it can do most of what I need to do online. I do use my windows laptop for those things that only windows can do, such as using windows only compatible programs and games. I find my Chromebook provides a good workaround when these microsoft problems come up.
    Hope this helps and that there is a fix soon as it can be a pain to always have to 'renew' one's credentials on the same machine. It must be hell for those businesses with large networks.

  16. Моханад says:

    I have the same problem. MS Outlook forgets all passwords and can't connect to server. OS build 19041.610

    However, when Outlook forgets the passwords (and the passwords fields are empty), simply putting the machine to sleep and then waking it up, solves everything. And the passwords magically reappear.

    So what is the system doing when put to sleep and then back on? Any ideas?

  17. Stu says:

    I can confirm another case here i think. A clients laptop would not accept Microsoft account password after a feature update. We managed to switch it to a local account but then Outlook 2013 and two network drives refused to save passwords.

    I've been banging my head against a brick wall for weeks with it and trawling the internet for anyone experiencing a similar issue ever since and finally found this page.

    I will try switching him back to a Microsoft account tomorrow but i'm reluctant to considering the problems we had with it at the start of this mess.

    Thank you to all the above posters sharing their experiences.

  18. Griff_L says:

    I am suffering the same, together with Outlook losing it server logins

  19. Lars says:

    Thank you for investigating and reporting these issues.

    I thought I was going crazy with Chrome, Office, MATLAB, and other apps forgetting my credentials and throwing license issues.

    I'll be attempting a Windows rollback per other commenters' feedback. Let's see.

  20. Pingback: Windows 10 password problems: Microsoft says it’s fixing bad ‘password amnesia’ bug | ZDnet

  21. Kelly J. says:

    Can't keep with the rollback. Computer prompts after 35 days to update. Still having problems with credentials (logins & passwords) remembered. Have to login EVERY TIME to a site, my OneDrive, MS account, Outlook, ugh…

  22. ed_hunter says:

    1. Select Windows Powershell (as admin) from the Windows 10 start button after a right-click.

    2. Paste the following into Powershell:

    Get-ScheduledTask | foreach { If (([xml](Export-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath)).GetElementsByTagName("LogonType").'#text' -eq "S4U") { $_.TaskName } }

    3. Press enter and note any Tasks that are listed in the output that follows.

    4. Open Windows Task Scheduler and disable those tasks by right-clicking on each one.

    5. Restart Windows 10.

    And that should be it, although Microsoft does state that the missing passwords may need to be entered one final time, after which they should be saved OK.

  23. Brackman says:

    Thank you for your solution. It worked on the PCs we tried it and we found on all of them the HP Customer Participation Program. As soon as we disabled it the "password amnesia" bug was gone

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *