8.1 corrupted my password

[jeeperz0]

Hi Guys, For some reason it seems that Pistonheads is the site that gives computer advice I can understand. I’ve learnt a lot over the years !
I now have my own problem, and would be very grateful for some help.
Toshiba satellite, 2 years and 6 months old, running Windows 8.1. Following the latest Microsoft update I am now locked out!! It won’t recognise my password. I know it’s the right password, I have the four digit option working and have used the same one ever since I had the machine.
I have looked it up on the net, keyboard works ok, is in English language, no caps lock, no num lock. It seems that the update has a habit of corrupting your personal details file and this causes the problem. It keeps asking me for my Microsoft account password, again I know it, I have not changed it and it still won’t accept it. I only have the one administrator account, there is no other on the machine so I can’t log in, in future I will always set two admin accounts as it seems that would have solved the problem.
Luckily my work files are all stored in the cloud so I have not lost them but I do have some ‘personal files’ I would like to get out if I could.
My idea is to get a SATA reader and set the hard drive up as another drive on another laptop running 8.1. Will this work ? Any other ideas?
Failing that how do I access the recovery part of the drive and reset it, I know this will lose all my files but if that is the only way then that is what I will have to do.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[jeeperz0]

Thanks for advice Fluffnik, had a look but that prog is nearly $500, might give it a miss.
TonyRPH, thank you too, I'll give that a go in the morning, don't want to fiddle after a glass of wine, just bound to go wrong!!

[jeeperz0]

Thanks everyone. I finally cracked it.
I'm afraid I could not get any of the suggestions on here to work. That could well be down to my computer skills though.
I bought a SATA hard drive reader from Maplins, £25ish. Took the hard drive out of the laptop and hooked it upto the reader. Then on another Windows 8.1 laptop it was just like another drive, all my files were there and easy to take off.
Lots of places say 8.1 files are encrypted, they certainly were not on mine although using another laptop on 8.1 might have helped there.
Having taken all the files off the hard drive I put it back in the original laptop, started it in safe mode and did a factory reset, very easy in 8.1.
Everything sprang to life and I'm away again.