How to Recover (or Reset) Lost Windows Password

photo by Idea Go

     I lost my Windows password at work once.  The exact sentence might as well be: I Forgot my windows password at work once.  Yes, I had cold sweat thinking of reformatting my hard disk.  All was not lost with the help of about.com PC Support and the 7 free windows password recovery tools. I managed to log on after 15 minutes.

     
     Of the seven password recovery tools, I used PC Log In Now

 and it worked like a charm for me.  It was easy to use nonetheless.
It required me to download the ISO file, burn it on a CD and boot to the CD.  It did not recover my password but instead it erased my password in order for me to create a new one.  I successfully accessed my account but experienced one minor drawback which is a recurring windows error.  However, my PC works normally.

    Here are the 7 Free Password Recovery Tools (as reviewed in About.Com) in case you get locked out too.

1. Ophcrack

2. Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

3. PC Login Now

4. Kon-Boot

5. Cain & Abel

6. LCP

7. John the Ripper

   
   

      Yes, it happens that we forget sometimes and these tools are great but when setting up a user account with password, we might as well create a Password Reset Disk. It'll be grand to access your computer in just about 5 minutes.