Recover Windows Passwords With Free Password Recovery Tools
There are times when you forget your Windows password or someone changes it without your knowledge. In such situations, you will be locked out of Windows. To regain access, you can use some password recovery software to recover your Windows password. This article contains a list of some such password recovery software.
Note: Most of these software are available as Live CD’s. (For non technical readers, a Live CD is a compact disk that contains a bootable operating system that you can use from the CD itself, without having the need to install it.) If you can’t get them work, you can consider purchasing the excellent commercial software – Reset Windows Password.
1. Ophcrack
Ophcrack offers one of the best free Windows password recovery solutions in the market. Ophcrack comes in two versions: a stand alone installer and a Live CD. The stand alone installer requires you to additionally download separate rainbow tables whereas the Live CD already has them. As the stand alone installer uses about 1.5GB of rainbow tables, it offers much better recovery. However, the download size is certainly an issue. Also, the Live CD version is a bit easier to use for cracking Windows passwords.
So, I will discuss only the Live CD version. You must choose the right version of Ophcrack Live CD for your operating system. If you use Windows XP, the download (Ophcrack XP Live CD) is nearly 415MB whereas for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows 2008, it (Ophcrack Vista Live CD) is about 495MB. Ophcrack may be identified as a virus by your anti-virus software. That is a false alert and should be reported to the antivirus company.
To crack passwords with Ophcrack, download the iso file for the appropriate Live CD and burn it on a compact disk using an image burning software. If you use Windows 7, you can use your OS’s inbuilt image burning software.
Then boot the computer whose password you wish to recover using that disk. Ophcrack is fully automatic and you don’t need to do anything from your side. It will automatically detect users and start the password recovery process. Then, it will display their passwords on the screen. You can note them for logging in to the locked account.
Ophcrack recovers passwords nearly 99 times out of 100. Ophcrack is limited to recovering passwords up to 14 characters.
2. PC Login Now
If you mind downloading large amounts of data Ophcrack needs, then PC Login Now is an excellent alternative. In addition to its smaller size, its password recovery is one of the fastest and the easiest I have seen. However, PC Login Now does not actually recovers your password. It resets it.
To get started, you will need to download a nearly 60MB exe file from the PC Login Now website. Open the downloaded file to extract the ISO image of the Live CD. Burn the ISO file to a compact disk and then, boot your computer using the burned disk. PC Login Now will automatically load. Follow the on-screen instructions to choose your operating system and then the username whose password you wish to reset.
Then, choose the Password is empty checkbox to remove your password. Then, PC Login Now will ask you to reset another user’s password. Choose No and then OK to restart your PC. Use a blank password while logging in and you are good to go. PC Login Now works on Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
3. Offline NT Password Recovery & Registry Editor
Another open source recovery software that resets forgotten Windows passwords. Offline NT Password Recovery is also needed to be installed on a CD before working. However, there is also a version that can be installed on USB drives to create a bootable usb drive (if your motherboard supports it). Its small size (nearly 3MB) makes it an excellent alternative to other bulky recovery options.
4. Cain & Abel
Cain & Abel is another free password recovery software. Unlike the software mentioned above, Cain & Abel needs to be installed on another administrator account on the computer containing the locked account. It also requires separate downloading of rainbow tables. Since, you can use inbuilt Windows functions to reset a password if you have access to a working admin account on the computer, I see no use for this software unless you are desperate about recovering Windows password. Cain & Abel works only on Windows XP.
How to Time Limit Users in Windows 7
If your children spend a lot of time in front of the computer, you might wish to check them more closely in order to limit the amount of time they use the PC or surf the Web. This quick trick will let you put a time limit in Windows 7 which, after a certain amount of time will lock the computer!
- Before starting with this tutorial you need to have full admin rights on the PC you want to set the Time Limit feature.
- Also, you need to create an account. On such account we will apply the Time Limit feature.
- Click Start.
- Click Control Panel.
- Click Set up parental controls for any user located under User Accounts and Family Safety.
- Now, choose the account you want to control.
- Click On, enforce current settings to turn on Parental Controls for that user.
- Click the Time Limits option.
- A kind of week-planner will appear on your screen. Set the amount of time per day you wish to lock.
- Click OK.
Ultimate Ways to Break Windows 7 Password
I forgot my Windows password and I want to upgrade my OS from 7 to Windows 8. I have a Dell desktop and can’t log in. I can’t seem to upload the new system from startup. What do I need to do?
Forgot Windows 7 password? How to break Windows 7 password and regain access to your computer? It’s a common problem frequently appears in various forums. Since almost everyone has a different answer, it makes us quite confusing, especially for a computer green hand.
In this article we’ll make a conclusion according to the answers from all various forums. When you forgot Windows 7 password, please follow the tricks above one by one to break your Windows 7 password.
Break Windows 7 Password Using Other Administrative Accounts:
If you can log in using another administrative accounts, then you can easily reset any user account passwords. By default, there is a built-in but hidden administrator account with your system, the password is left as blank if you haven’t changed it. Try to boot your computer from Safe Mode, when the login screen appears, choose the administrator account and check if you can get in. If you can log in successfully, then you can reset any password easily.
Break Windows 7 Password Using A Password Reset Disc
If you’ve created a Windows password reset disk from Windows 7 Control Panel before you forgot Windows 7 password, then you can remove the forgotten password easily. When you type an invalid password in the Windows logon screen, the system will provide an option for you to reset your password. Insert your password reset disk and follow the on-screen instructions to remove the password instantly.
Break Windows 7 Password with Ophcrack
This option is not easy for average computer users as Ophcrack is a Linux-based bootdisk with DOS prompt interface. If you are a computer geek or expert, you can go to the official website of Ophcrack and download the Ophcrack LiveCD. Boot your Windows 7 computer from the disk, it allows you to break / crack Windows 7 password.
Break Windows 7 Password with Password Recovery Bundle
Still can’t break your Windows 7 password? Password Recovery Bundle can guarantee you to regain access to your computer by resetting Windows 7 password. Simply install Password Recovery Bundle on an accessible computer. Launch the program and click Windows Password button, the pop-up dialog will guide you to create a Windows password reset disk. Boot your locked computer from the password reset disk and it enables you to remove/reset Windows 7 password quickly and easily.
How to Disable Windows 7 Password Expiration
Windows 7 password expiring is not too common but it does happen. I received a computer from a program called California Connects in which by default they set the password to expire every 30 days. It’s a huge annoyance. Yes, I understand it’s the difference between security and convenience but if you have a strong password you should be ok. Now what if I don’t care about the password. How do I remove it?
1. Go to the start button and type in lusrmgr.msc into the Start menu Search box. (or the Run box on Windows XP).
2. You should get the Local Users and Groups Window. Click on the Users folder.
3. The right will populate with accounts. Select the proper account. In my case its CAconnects.
4. A pop should show up and just check the Password never expires box and click OK.
5. Now your set. Just close all the windows and restart Windows.
Additionally, we can also get Reset Windows Password utility to remove Windows 7 password expiration.
Forgot Windows 7 Password? How to Remove Windows 7 Password Easily?
Forgot Windows 7 password? How to remove Windows 7 password easily? There are many free password cracker software which are able to crack Windows 7 password. But if your password is longer than five characters, it may take you a few hours and days to recover your Windows password. Is there any quick way to recover Windows password?
With Password Recovery Bundle, we can remove forgotten Windows password quickly and easily no matter how strong your password is. This is very useful when we forgot Windows password and need to access the locked computer urgently. In some urgent situations, we can’t spend a few days to crack Windows 7 password and wait for an unpredicted result. So I think removing Windows password is much better and useful than cracking Windows password.
Let’s see how can we remove Windows password quickly:
- First download and install Password Recovery Bundle on another computer you have full control over, then launch the program.
- Click Windows Password button, the program will pop up a dialog which enables you to burn a Windows 7 password reset disk.
- Set your locked computer to boot from the Windows 7 password reset disk.
- When the computer boots up from the bootdisk, you’ll arrive at the main interface of Reset Windows Password utility.
- Select the user account whose password you already forgot, then click Reset button and it will remove your Windows 7 password instantly.
Now reboot your PC and you’ll able to log in Windows 7 without a password. Removing Windows 7 password is so easy!
Create an Account Lockout Policy in Windows 7
How you can protect your computer against anonymous user account attacks? Now I am going to help your increase your level of protection with the Account Lockout Policy.
Creating an Account Lockout Policy will protect your account by limiting the number of time a remote application or attacker can try to guess your password. This works by automatically locking out your account after a designated number of incorrect passwords were entered. Your account will remain locked out for a designated period of time before it is automatically unlocked and it can be logged into again. This provides a valuable addition to your account security because it can render brute force password attacks useless. If you have your lockout threshold set to 4 bad attempts and the lockout duration to 15 minutes, an attacker can try to guess your password a maximum of 16 times per hour.
Now that you know how valuable an Account Lockout Policy is, let’s get it setup on your computer:
- Click on the Start button and type in Secpol.msc and hit Enter.
- Navigate through Account Policies and Account Lockout Policy.
- Right click on Account lockout threshold and select Properties.
- Enter in the value you want to use and hit OK to save. I like to use 4 here.
- Windows will set the default values for the lockout duration and Reset account lockout counter values. If you want to change these values from the defaults (30 minutes), right click on them and select Properties. After making your changes hit OK to save and exit.
If your account was locked out for whatever reason, you can unlock your Windows account using Reset Windows Password utility.
How to Make Windows 7 Run Faster
At this moment, you’re probably satisfied with how Windows 7 runs, but you probably want to squeeze as much juice as you can out of it. Despite the improvements, the operating system still takes up resources that didn’t necessarily have to be used for normal functions. Let’s have a look at a few of those you can turn off!
1. Disable Search Indexing
One of the most resource-hungry features of Windows 7 is search indexing, which creates a dictionary for your files, allowing you to perform faster searches. The problem is that, while it’s creating that dictionary, it consumes your hard drive’s read/write speeds significantly, making it difficult to navigate through applications while indexing is taking place. That’s why Microsoft included an option to turn this off.
To effectively disable this feature, follow through this path: Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Services. Once in that window, scroll down to Windows Search. Right-click the item and click Properties. Within the window, select Disable under Startup type, like so:
Click OK once finished. Once you reboot or stop the service manually, you won’t have to worry about your hard disk being eaten alive.
2. Disable Aero
If your computer gets kind of clunky while playing a movie or has difficulty emulating the graphics when you minimize or open a window, it’s probably time to sacrifice the pretty effects that Windows 7 Aero brings with it and just live with simple bland colors. The interface will function similarly to how Windows 7 Starter does. Removing Aero will give your computer a little more breathing room, especially if the display adapter uses some of the PC’s physical memory to perform.
Remove Aero by right-clicking your desktop, clicking Personalize, scrolling down the list of themes that appear, and selecting Windows Basic. You’re done!
3. Use MSConfig to Your Advantage!
MSConfig is an important tool to help you improve your boot time. There are several services and startup applications that take up tons of resources while Windows boots. For those of you who have to bear a sluggish boot process, this is the tool to use. Here are some services you should consider disabling:
- Application Experience
- Diagnostic Policy Service
- Distributed Link Tracking Client
- Offline Files
- Portable Device Enumerator Service
- Protected Storage
- Secondary Logon
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Service
- Windows Media Center Service Launcher
If you are aware of any other services that can be disabled without losing core system functionality, show them to us below in the comments section.
4. Disable Visual Effects
For many people, Windows works just fine without all the fancy visual hoopla that comes attached to it. Some would even consider it preferable! Visual effects are the kinds of things that make your computer hang when you minimize, maximize, open, and close a window. Windows 7 introduces a whole series of new visual effects that also can make a computer hang when hovering the cursor over an open window’s icon. If you don’t want these things to use up the visual resources on your computer, you can easily disable them.
All you have to do is follow this path: Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Advanced tab -> Settings (under Performance). Once there, select Custom. Now, just deselect anything you think might not be important and click OK after you’re done.
Disabling the majority of these items will still keep most of the capabilities in Windows without requiring that you sacrifice a certain amount of RAM as a tribute. As a downside, you’ll have a blander look on your computer which might take some getting used to.
5. Use ReadyBoost
Of all the features on Windows 7, ReadyBoost seems to be one that most people are oblivious about. The problem is that it’s also one of the most important features, allowing you to significantly boost your system memory using a USB flash drive. If you have a ReadyBoost-compatible USB drive, you can configure your operating system to use it as a RAM module, effectively increasing the amount of physical memory you have by the amount of memory available on the drive.
To configure ReadyBoost on your USB drive, right-click on its icon in Computer and click Properties. Once there, click on the ReadyBoost tab. If you don’t find one, your device is not compatible with this feature. Once in the tab, select Use this device. The slider below the area you selected allows you to configure exactly how much memory you’d like to dedicate to ReadyBoost.
Depending on the speed of the drive, and the speed of your USB port, you’ll be able to significantly increase the speed at which Windows interacts because of the sudden spike in the amount of memory available to it. You can run more programs at the same time. This also frees up the hard disk’s virtual memory a bit, since it doesn’t have to store so much data.
6. Get Rid of Features You Don’t Use
There’s one more way to get rid of things you don’t necessarily need in Windows: by turning Windows features off. Just go to your control panel, then go to Programs -> Programs and Features. Click on Turn Windows features on or off, found at the top left-hand corner of the Programs and Features window.
Follow the instructions at the top of the new window, and deselect features you’re absolutely sure you don’t need.
Set up Windows 7 to Login to an Account Automatically
Although Windows 7 offers a level of security not seen in previous versions of the operating system, there are times when it can be annoying to have to login every time the computer is reset. Luckily, Microsoft does offer a solution to having to log in every time. Learn how to set up Windows 7 to automatically login to an account.
A Word or Two of Warning
Obviously, by setting up Windows 7 to automatically login to an account, you give anyone with physical access to your computer the ability to use your computer. Setting up an administrator’s account as the default account is probably not a wise idea no matter how convenient it may be for you.
One way to combat this problem is to set it up so Window 7 automatically logs in to a guest or some other limited account. Remember that if you set up an account with administrative privileges to log in automatically, anyone could set a password for the account and completely lock you out of your own computer. Choose carefully the account you want Windows 7 to automatically log in to whenever the computer is reset.
Tips: If you already forgot Windows 7 password or you are locked out of your computer, you can still reset Windows 7 password using some password recovery software such as Password Recovery Bundle.
Set up and Automatic Login in Windows 7
To set up the automatic login in Windows 7, begin by logging into Windows 7 with an account that has administrative privileges and clicking on Start and then on Run. If you don’t have the Run command on your Start menu, you can alternatively hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press the R key.
Either method will bring up the Run dialogue box. Type the following line in the Run dialogue box and then click the OK button:
control userpasswords2
This opens the User Accounts window where you can control various aspects to users and user behavior. Click on the Users tab and locate an option titled Users Must Enter A User Name and Password To Use This Computer. This option is what makes it necessary to select a user and then type in a password to login to your computer.
Uncheck this box and click the OK button. Windows 7 will immediately opens another dialogue box asking if you want to choose an account into which the operating system will automatically login when Windows boots up.
Type in the username and password you want to use as the automatic login account. You have to confirm the password and then you can click the OK button.
Restart Windows 7 and verify that the operating system automatically logs in to the account you specified.
Although a convenient feature, there are some caveats to having Windows 7 automatically log in to an account. Some people use this feature temporarily to save some steps during a specific project. Others use a guest or other limited account as the default login account to set up a public or kiosk computer either in a public place or even in their homes.
Whatever your reasons, take care that you don’t accidentally give someone unrestricted access to your computer and invite the potential for someone to take your PC hostage from you.
Beginners Guide – How to Reset Forgotten Windows Password
Hi. Please can someone help me? My daughter changed Windows password a few days ago on her laptop and now she has forgotten it! Tried in Safe mode but again was asked for password. I don’t create a password recovery disc when we set it up… thanks.
Forgot Windows login password? You know the password but still can’t get in Windows 7? or wonder how to recover or reset a forgotten password on Windows XP? This guide will help you get back into your computer no matter what reason your Windows password is forgot or locked out.
To get started, we need to get the most powerful Windows password recovery software – Reset Windows Password. It allows us to create an universal Windows password reset CD that can be used to reset forgotten administrator and user passwords on any computer. Let’s see how it works:
1. Create a Windows Password Reset Disk
To create a Windows password reset CD, we need to find another accessible computer with internet access and CD/DVD recorder.
- Click here to download and save the Reset Windows Password self-extracting Zip file to a folder on your hard drive, then extract the ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso from it.
- Insert a blank CD/DVD on your computer.
- Download and install the ISO2Disc utility, launch the program.
- Click the Browse button to locate your ISO image file, then click the Start Burnbutton to burn the ISO image to your CD/DVD.
2. Change BIOS Settings
To have your computer with a forgotten password to boot from the password reset CD, we need to make a change to the computer BIOS configuration.
- Boot your Windows XP computer. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
- Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to CD/DVD.
- Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer is able to boot from CD/DVD.
3. Reset Forgotten Windows Password
- Place the Windows password reset CD into the CD-ROM drive on the locked computer, then reboot your computer.
- The computer will boot from the password reset disk. Wait until the boot process is finished, you’ll see the main window of Reset Windows Passwordutility.
- The program will show the Windows SAM database and all Windows accounts in it.
- Choose the Windows account whose password you forgot, then click the Reset button to remove the password.
- Click the Restart button to reboot the computer, you are able to log into Windows without being asked for a password.
How about the password recovery procedure? It can’t be any easier! It’s appropriate for PC Beginners to reset forgotten Windows password on Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Windows Server.
3 Best Ways to Reset Windows 7 Password
It’s really a headache thing when you forgot Windows 7 password, especially there are important data stored on it, which stops you reinstalling the system. At this time, to access your computer and work normally with it, you need a Windows 7 password cracker, a tool that enables you to reset Windows 7 password and regain access to the computer.
For those who are good at computer, it will be a small cake as there is an effective resolution in their mind. But for those who lack computer skills, it may be a disaster. Here we will show you 3 best ways to help you reset Windows 7 password, no matter what level of your computing knowledge is.
Method 1: Use Windows 7 Password Reset Disk
A password reset disk could really come in handy if you ever forget Windows 7 password. The problem with this method is that you have to create the password reset disk before the password is lost. Assuming that you have created it in advance, then you can use this method to reset your Windows 7 password easily.
- Once you’ve typed the wrong password, Windows 7 will show a Reset password link below the login box.
- Click on Reset password. Make sure that password reset disk is plugged into the computer at this point.
- When the Password Reset Wizard appears, click Next to continue.
- Select the right password reset disk. Click Next.
- Type in a new password and a hint for the password. Click Next.
- Click Finish. Now you can log in to your PC with the new password.
Method 2: Reset Windows 7 Password from Command Prompt
Are you an administrator on the Windows 7 operating system with multiple user accounts? Have you forgotten the password to one of those accounts and you are locked out? Then, provided you are the administrator, you can reset the password from the command line.
- Click on the Start button.
- Click Run and type cmd into the box. Press Enter to open the command prompt.
- Type net user on it and press Enter. All the user accounts will be displayed.
- Type the following command line and press Enter to reset Windows 7 password. Replace username with your desired account and replace passwordwith your new password.
net user username password
Method 3: Reset Windows 7 Password by Third-party Software
- Download the self-extracting Zip file of Reset Windows Password package.
- Uncompress the package, there is a ISO image: ResetWindowsPwd.iso. Burn it onto a CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
- Boot your locked computer from the newly burned CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
- Wait until the boot process is finished. When a window pops up with all your Windows accounts, select the target one to reset its forgotten password.