Windows password recovery tools are used to recover or reset lost user and administrator passwords used to log on to Windows operating systems.
Password recovery tools are often called 'password cracker' tools because they are sometimes used to 'crack' passwords by hackers. Legally cracking or unlocking your own Windows password is certainly a legitimate practice!
If you have questions or concerns, see our Windows Password Recovery Programs FAQ. We also have an easy-to-read comparison of these programs that should help.
A Windows password recovery program is just one of several ways to find a lost Windows password. If you're using Windows 7 try using our guide on how to reset your password for Windows 7.
Cracking Other Passwords
See this list of free password crackers for free programs that crack PDF files, Word & Excel documents, RAR & ZIP archives, and more.
Below you'll find the best free Windows password recovery programs available, most of which work for Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP passwords:
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OphcrackWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
The Ophcrack Windows password cracker is by far the best freeware Windows password recovery tool available. It's fast and easy enough for a first time Windows password cracker with a basic knowledge of Windows.
With Ophcrack, you don't need any access to Windows to be able to recover your lost passwords. From another computer, visit the site, download the free ISO image, burn it to a CD or flash drive, and then boot from it.
The Ophcrack program starts, locates the Windows user accounts, and proceeds to recover (crack) the passwords — all automatically.
In a test on a Windows 8 PC, Ophcrack recovered the 8-character password (mixed letters and numbers) to my administrator account in 3 minutes and 29 seconds.
Ophcrack supports Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Though I tried Ophcrack against three very simple Windows 10 passwords, not one of them were found.
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Offline NT Password & Registry EditorWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Offline NT Password & Registry Editor (ONTP&RE) works differently than most password recovery programs in that it erases your Windows password instead of recovering it. You can think of it as more of a Windows password tool.
Like Ophcrack, you boot from a burned disc or flash drive created with the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor ISO file. After running the program, you can log in to your Windows account without entering a password at all, and then, of course, make a new password if that's what you want.
If you like this 'password deleting' strategy then I highly recommend this program. It requires some seemingly difficult command line work but I have a full walkthrough available. In other words: you can do this!
I've tested Offline NT Password & Registry Editor on 64-bit & 32-bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP PCs, and it reset the passwords immediately without a problem. It should work on Windows 2000 and Windows NT operating systems too.
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Kon-BootWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Kon-Boot is yet another free password reset program, much like ONTP&RE. Just burn the program to a disc or USB drive, boot from it, and you're off.
Kon-Boot works differently than the two password reset tools above, so if you have problems using them, give Kon-Boot a try. It's very, very easy to use and probably the fastest password reset, and certainly password recovery tool, available.
Unfortunately, Kon-Boot 1.0 does not work with 64-bit versions of Windows, nor any version of Windows 8 or Windows 10.
I used Kon-Boot v1.0 to successfully delete the password on a Windows Vista PC and then also on a Windows XP PC.
A commercial version of Kon-Boot supposedly works with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10/8, but I haven't tried it myself.
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Cain & AbelWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Cain & Abel is a free, fast and effective Windows password recovery tool.
Unlike Ophcrack and other popular Windows password hacking programs, Cain & Abel requires access to Windows under an administrator account. Due to this fact, Cain & Abel is a valuable resource to recover passwords to accounts other than the one you're using.
Add that to the fact that Cain & Abel is a bit more complicated to use than other password recovery apps and you have what is, in my book, a pretty advanced tool. Check it out if you think it might be useful to you.
Cain & Abel was able to recover the 10-character password to the Windows XP 'Administrator' account in 10 seconds. While it only officially supports Windows XP, 2000, and NT, some users have had luck getting it to work in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
I've tried it with Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista, and was unsuccessful each time.
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LCPWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
LCP is yet another free password recovery software tool for Windows.
Like Cain & Abel, LCP is a standard Windows program you download from LCPSoft's website and install inside of Windows, meaning you'll need access to a user account on the computer.
LCP can be a little intimidating to those new to Windows password recovery tools, so some prior knowledge is very helpful to avoid even bigger problems with your PC.
I haven't been able to get LCP to work for me in Windows XP, the newest version of Windows it supports. Please let me know if you've successfully used LCP and would like to share your experiences.
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Trinity Rescue KitWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
Trinity Rescue Kit needs to be booted from a disc or USB stick to work. It includes many different tools, one of which is for password recovery.
You can use Trinity Rescue Kit to clear a password entirely, making it blank, or to set a custom one.
Some of you may find this program difficult to use because there isn't a graphical interface. However, even if you're not used to a command line interface, most of the required keystrokes are just numbers for choosing different options for resetting a password.
Trinity Rescue Kit should work with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
The password resetting tool in Trinity Rescue Kit, called winpass, is actually just an automated script for the chntpw tool, which is what Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, listed above, is based on. If you tried that password tool and it didn't work, Trinity Rescue Kit probably won't either.
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John the RipperWhat We Like
What We Don't Like
John the Ripper is a popular free password recovery tool that can be used to find Windows account passwords.
While the password recovery application itself is free, the wordlists used by John the Ripper to discover passwords, do cost and are required for the software to work.
I'm told there are free word list alternatives that work with John the Ripper, which is why this Windows password recovery tool is still listed as free. However, I have not tested any of them.
John the Ripper is operated at the command line, which makes it a password cracking tool reserved for the very advanced user.
In theory, John the Ripper should support all popular versions of Windows like Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Windows Password Recovery Tools Aren't Necessary If You're Proactive!
These Windows password recovery tools are great if you need them, but there's a much easier way to access your account if you forget your password — a password reset disk!
A password reset disk is a special disk you can insert in your PC during the logon process that will allow you to change your Windows password without knowing your current password. You will need to create this disk before you lose access to your account!
We’ve all done it before. You sit down to log into your Windows machine, type in what you think is the password, and bang, you realize you forgot what it was! You scramble to try different combinations of letters and numbers to see what will fit, but nothing works. What do you do now?
Thankfully, the process of recovering your password in Windows 10 is much the same as it has been in Windows 8 and above, albeit with a few slight tweaks. Here’s how you can recover both your Microsoft Live 10 login, as well as the credentials for any other users registered with the local machine.
Use the Password Reset Tool for Microsoft Live Accounts
The first (and most obvious) solution available from the outset is to use the standard password reset function available at Microsoft’s password reset website. There you’ll find three choices, and for this particular case, you’ll want to follow the “I Forgot My Password” selection if you’re attempting to recover any accounts that are tied to your online identity.
Once you make it through these steps, you’ll be greeted with the generally familiar recovery process that most major companies will use when attempting to verify that you really are who you say you are. If you’ve registered an external email or a cellphone number with your account, you can receive a code which will pop your account open without any extra hassle.
Create a New User to Save Account Files
If none of this works, there’s another measure you can take which will (in a very roundabout way), allow you to regain access to your computer.
RELATED:How to Crack Your Forgotten Windows Password
Free Windows 10 Password Unlocker
First, start by booting your Windows 10 installation into the setup by changing the boot order in your BIOS to take priority with the CD, or use the ISO as a startup disk instead.
Once the setup begins, hit Shift+F10.
This will bring up a command prompt. From here, we’re going to use the command prompt to replace the Utility Manager at the login screen with cmd.exe with the following commands:
move d:windowssystem32utilman.exe d:windowssystem32utilman.exe.bak
copyd:windowssystem32cmd.exed:windowssystem32utilman.exe
Once this is complete, use the command “wpeutil reboot” to restart the machine.
After you’re back at the login screen, click the Utility Manager. If everything went right, you should see a cmd.exe launch like the image below.
This is the prompt you’ll use to create a new administrative user from the login screen. Type in the following commands, replacing <username> with the name you’d like to assign to the new account (no carrots).
net user<username>/add
net localgroup administrators<username>/add
Now close the prompt, reboot, and you should see your new user in the login screen.
Click in here, and enter your fresh desktop. From the desktop, right click the Start menu in the bottom-left hand corner, and select “Computer Management”.
Navigate to “Local Users and Groups”, scroll down to the affected account, and right-click. Choose the “Set Password” option, and choose a new set of credentials to regain access to your locked account!
It should be noted that this method will only work to fully recover accounts that are designated to sign on locally. If you need to get your Microsoft Live account password back, you’ll have to retrieve it through the online forms mentioned above.
That said, if the online recovery service doesn’t work, you will still be able to access any important files or folders that may have been locked up in that account by going into C:Users, and clicking on its associated folder.
When All Else Fails: Call Microsoft
If the automated reset process on Microsoft’s site doesn’t lead anywhere to restore your Live-only account, you can look into dialing up a representative at the company itself.
When calling the TechNet Help Center directly, you’ll initially be greeted with the same security questions that you filled out when you created the account. If you can’t answer these, the representative will hand you off to another team, which will use a variety of verification techniques that range from asking for detailed information about what the account’s been used for, to having you list any specific names that might be stored in your own contact list.
If you can answer just two of these correctly, the rep will send you a temporary unlock code, which you can then use to log back into your Live account.
Preventative Steps
Of course, all these steps are only necessary if you haven’t already followed our many different guides on creating a backup password reset disk beforehand, either from the Windows default program, or through a Ubuntu-based rescue tool installed on a CD or USB thumbstick.
RELATED:How To Create and Use a Password Reset Disk or USB In Windows 8 or 10
Secondly, you can also look into taking advantage of the new Windows PIN feature, which will allow you to tie a PIN code to your account instead of the standard alphanumerical password. You’ll find the option to add a PIN either in the initial setup, or in the “Accounts” section of the Windows 10 Settings folder.
This way, whether it’s your debit card passcode or just your lucky number, it’ll only be a few simple keystrokes to remember, instead of a complicated combination of words and letters that can be difficult to track among the dozens of different logins you have across each of your separate devices.
Losing or forgetting your password can be a frustrating experience, but thanks to these workarounds, tricks, and tips, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your account as you know it!
Image Credits: Pixabay
We’ve all done it before. You sit down to log into your Windows machine, type in what you think is the password, and bang, you realize you forgot what it was! You scramble to try different combinations of letters and numbers to see what will fit, but nothing works. What do you do now?
Thankfully, the process of recovering your password in Windows 10 is much the same as it has been in Windows 8 and above, albeit with a few slight tweaks. Here’s how you can recover both your Microsoft Live 10 login, as well as the credentials for any other users registered with the local machine.
Use the Password Reset Tool for Microsoft Live Accounts
The first (and most obvious) solution available from the outset is to use the standard password reset function available at Microsoft’s password reset website. There you’ll find three choices, and for this particular case, you’ll want to follow the “I Forgot My Password” selection if you’re attempting to recover any accounts that are tied to your online identity.
Once you make it through these steps, you’ll be greeted with the generally familiar recovery process that most major companies will use when attempting to verify that you really are who you say you are. If you’ve registered an external email or a cellphone number with your account, you can receive a code which will pop your account open without any extra hassle.
Create a New User to Save Account Files
If none of this works, there’s another measure you can take which will (in a very roundabout way), allow you to regain access to your computer.
RELATED:How to Crack Your Forgotten Windows Password
First, start by booting your Windows 10 installation into the setup by changing the boot order in your BIOS to take priority with the CD, or use the ISO as a startup disk instead.
Once the setup begins, hit Shift+F10.
This will bring up a command prompt. From here, we’re going to use the command prompt to replace the Utility Manager at the login screen with cmd.exe with the following commands:
move d:windowssystem32utilman.exe d:windowssystem32utilman.exe.bak
copyd:windowssystem32cmd.exed:windowssystem32utilman.exe
Once this is complete, use the command “wpeutil reboot” to restart the machine.
After you’re back at the login screen, click the Utility Manager. If everything went right, you should see a cmd.exe launch like the image below.
This is the prompt you’ll use to create a new administrative user from the login screen. Type in the following commands, replacing <username> with the name you’d like to assign to the new account (no carrots).
net user<username>/add
net localgroup administrators<username>/add
Now close the prompt, reboot, and you should see your new user in the login screen.
Click in here, and enter your fresh desktop. From the desktop, right click the Start menu in the bottom-left hand corner, and select “Computer Management”.
Navigate to “Local Users and Groups”, scroll down to the affected account, and right-click. Choose the “Set Password” option, and choose a new set of credentials to regain access to your locked account!
It should be noted that this method will only work to fully recover accounts that are designated to sign on locally. If you need to get your Microsoft Live account password back, you’ll have to retrieve it through the online forms mentioned above.
That said, if the online recovery service doesn’t work, you will still be able to access any important files or folders that may have been locked up in that account by going into C:Users, and clicking on its associated folder.
When All Else Fails: Call Microsoft
If the automated reset process on Microsoft’s site doesn’t lead anywhere to restore your Live-only account, you can look into dialing up a representative at the company itself.
When calling the TechNet Help Center directly, you’ll initially be greeted with the same security questions that you filled out when you created the account. If you can’t answer these, the representative will hand you off to another team, which will use a variety of verification techniques that range from asking for detailed information about what the account’s been used for, to having you list any specific names that might be stored in your own contact list.
If you can answer just two of these correctly, the rep will send you a temporary unlock code, which you can then use to log back into your Live account.
Preventative Steps
Of course, all these steps are only necessary if you haven’t already followed our many different guides on creating a backup password reset disk beforehand, either from the Windows default program, or through a Ubuntu-based rescue tool installed on a CD or USB thumbstick.
RELATED:How To Create and Use a Password Reset Disk or USB In Windows 8 or 10
Secondly, you can also look into taking advantage of the new Windows PIN feature, which will allow you to tie a PIN code to your account instead of the standard alphanumerical password. You’ll find the option to add a PIN either in the initial setup, or in the “Accounts” section of the Windows 10 Settings folder.
This way, whether it’s your debit card passcode or just your lucky number, it’ll only be a few simple keystrokes to remember, instead of a complicated combination of words and letters that can be difficult to track among the dozens of different logins you have across each of your separate devices.
Free Windows 10 Password Removal
Losing or forgetting your password can be a frustrating experience, but thanks to these workarounds, tricks, and tips, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your account as you know it!
Image Credits: Pixabay
Why You Need Unlock Windows Password?
No matter what kind of situations above you've encountered, you need a professional Windows password unlocker if you want to regain access the computer as usual and don't want to lose any data from it. With the help of PCUnlocker utility, you can unlock any Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP password with ease.
1Create a Windows Password Unlocker Disk
2Change BIOS Settings
3Unlock Windows Password
'How do I unlock my administrator password?' You've done it now! Get out of the disk from your computer and restart it as usual. Then you can log on the computer without entering any password. The computer is unlocked effectively. Sure, you can set a new password to prevent unauthorized accessing, but do remember to choose a safe one.
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