8 Best Windows Password Recovery Tools

When you forgot Windows login password, you're locked out of your computer completely. To reset or recover the password, you need the best free Windows password recovery tool for the job. And now, that honor belongs to Ophcrack, which is able to crack Windows log-in passwords quickly through rainbow tables. It won't installing any software on your operating system.

However, it isn't the only option you can take. If you're facing problem accessing your Windows, there are many of other freeware Windows password recovery programs that could ease your situation and take you back to Windows desktop.

Read on to find out our picks for the most popular software for recovering or resetting your Windows password. If you don't want to read the entire post, you can have a quick glance at our top picks below.

FAQs about Windows password recovery tools

First of all, we'll answer common questions regarding Windows password recovery tools.

What exactly is a Windows password recovery utility?

A Windows password recovery program helps you recover (crack) your lost user and administrator passwords for the Windows 10, 8 (8.1 included), 7 Vista, XP and Windows server 2019, 2016, 2012, 2008. You don't need to access to Windows in order to recover or reset your passwords.

How does Windows password recovery tool work?

The whole process involves burning the ISO file of the tool to a CD or USB flash drive, booting from the disk, locating your accounts, and proceeding to reset or recover the passwords.

What are the general features of Windows password recovery software?

Most of Windows password recovery software allow you to bypass or unlock your password without touching any data on the computer hard drive. The best software supports creating an extra account with administrator privileges, and can reset both Microsoft account and local account passwords.

You can certainly legally unlock or crack your own Windows password. Hacking such PCs with the purpose of stealing important data is illegal and definitely not a legitimate practice!

The best Windows password recovery tools at a glance

• Ophcrack
• Spower Windows Password Reset
• Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
• Cain & Abel
• Lazesoft Recover My Password Home
• Trinity Rescue Kit
• John the Ripper
• LCP

Note: If you're able to login in to your computer with current password and just want to change it, please go to Start > Settings  > Accounts > Sign-in options. Under Password, select the Change button to change your password. For Windows 10 version 1803 and later, you may answer security questions to sign back in when losing your password.

1. Ophcrack

Ophcrack is our top pick for the best free Windows password cracker. It is an open source and cross-platform software program based on rainbow tables, letting you "crack" your forgotten Windows password easily even if you don't know anything about operating system and do this job for the first time. It cracks LM and NTLM hashes, and offers a LiveCD for easy password recovery.

The Ophcrack Windows Password Recovery freeware runs on Windows, Mac, andLinux/UNIX. Any combinations of 14 or less character passwords should be crackable. Ophcrack is now working on Windows 10 operating system.

Note: Since you can't access to your computer right now, you will need another computer that you have access to in order to download its ISO image, burn it to a CD or USB flash drive, then pop into your locked PC to boot from it.

Download link: HERE.

Pro:

• No knowledge of any original passwords is necessary.
• Brute-force module for simple passwords.
• LiveCD available to simplify the password cracking.
• Free and open source
• Runs on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Cons:

• Interface is not very user-friendly
• Can't crack passwords more than 14 characters in length

2. Spower Windows Password Reset

Spower Windows Password Reset can reset your Windows password for you. It's one of the most sought-after Windows password-hacking program because of its ease of usage, high success rate resetting password, and universal Windows version support. Unlike Ophcrack, Spower Windows Password Reset isn't free (start at $17.95), but it can reset admin and user password for both local accounts and Microsoft accounts quickly. More importantly, it can also help you crack password for Windows Server (2019, 2016, 2012, etc) and create a new account with administrator privilege.

If you value simplicity and efficiency, Spower Windows Password Reset should be your best choice: download the program on another accessible computer, burn it into a CD or USB drive, then insert into your locked machine and boot from it. The program will start with a friendly interface (see below), display all accounts it finds and you're ready to go. It's very intuitive so even a beginner can navigate it with no issues.

• Download Now

Here are the full instructions for using Spower Windows Password Reset.

Tip: You can try its free trial to see if it can find your account that loses Windows password. You then will get reminders to purchase a full license if you want to reset the account you select. Other than that, you don't have to worry about annoying software installation or intrusive ads.

Pro:

• Easy to use, intuitive interface
• High success rate
• No upsells or additional installs
• Paid version is inexpensive
• Special admin feature

Cons

• No fully free version
• The file size is rather large

3. Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

Another way to recover or reset your user and admin password for the Windows is with Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. In fact, this Linux-based free password cracker utility doesn't recover your password but deletes (reset) your local account passwords to blank, including Administrator, on most Windows systems. It works similarly to tools mentioned above: you download its ISO file, mount it to a bootable CD or USB device, boot from it on the computer that you're resetting the forgotten password on, and the process can start.

One thing to bear in mind is that The Offline NT Password and Registry Editor is completely text-based, which means you reset the lost passwords via a series of text menus. Using Offline NT Password & Registry Editor is not as intuitive as many other similar pieces of password-cracking software. You may have to spend some time getting used to make it work.

Download link: HERE.

Pro:

• Completely free and open-source
• No access to Windows
• Deletes the password quickly
• No installation on the computer
• ISO image is smaller than those of other password recovery tools
• Works with Windows 10 and Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP

Cons:

• Hasn't been updated since 2014
• Requires some command line work, so it is a little inconvenient for an average user

4. Cain & Abel

Cain & Abel is another free Windows password recovery program. It is designed for users who want to recover the password of local account on your Windows. It's different from the other tools, in that you will have to install the program on your computer from a working account to recover your password. Cain & Abel runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

If you do have access to your computer through a certain account, you may give Cain & Abel a try.

Download link: HERE.

Pro:

• Free and fast
• Several methods to crack passwords
• Includes lots of other useful tools

Cons:

• Slightly unrefined interface
• Requires access to an account on the Windows
• Hasn't been updated in a long time
• Program must be installed on the PC
• Doesn't seem to work in Windows 10

5. Lazesoft Recover My Password Home

Forget your Windows administrator password and search for a password-cracking tool to crack your Windows password? Lazesoft Recover My Password Home is a recommended option for it. The utility has a graphical user interface, making it simple to navigate. It allows you to create a bootable media that you can then use to reset the lost Windows login  passwords and regain access to your account.

The program includes 4 editions. Lazesoft Recover My Password Home is free and currently supports Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista. If you want to reset Windows Server password, you will have to paid for its Server edition and Unlimited edition. For more details, please check this page.

Download link: HERE.

Pro:

• User friendly interface
• Free for home use
• Delete Windows passwords easily
• Four editions to meet different requirements
• Easy to use

Cons:

• The Server and Unlimited versions is expensive
• Need to make separate CD/USB drives for different Windows OS

6. Trinity Rescue Kit

Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) is a free and open source bootable Linux distribution that can troubleshoot and revive both Window and Linux systems. It can work as the Windows password reset software, allowing you to clear (blank) user and administrator password on Windows computer. It all ends with a password-free account that you'll be able to regain access.

However, Advanced users should only use Trinity Rescue Kit to reset a password because it has a command line interface, which makes it a bit hard to use for beginners. The software also includes other useful tools for disk cleanup, computer clone, local machine backups, partitions recovery, virus scanning and more.

Trinity Rescue Kit is available for download on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

Download link: HERE.

Pro:

• Free and open source
• Bypass Windows password quickly
• Includes other handy tools

Cons:

• Lacks a graphical interface
• No support for EFI systems

7. John the Ripper

John the Ripper password cracker is for advanced users who want to reset or remove administrator password used to sign in to Windows. It comes with a command line environment, so if you think it seems complex and hard to understand, this tool probably shouldn't be your first choice for password recovery for Windows.

John the Ripper itself is free and available in source code, however, the wordlists required to use the program for discovering passwords are paid, starting at $39.95.

The program works for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Unix.

Pro:

• The software is free and Open Source
• Small download size
• Crack Windows password quickly
  
• Supports all popular versions of operating systems

Cons:

• The wordlists are paid
• Lacks GUI interface

8. LCP

Another program that can reset your forgotten Windows Admin password is LCP. It's a fast and efficient Windows password recovery tool working on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP. Unlike the previous programs from the list, LCP uses a dictionary attack, brute force attack, or a hybrid dictionary/brute force attack to find your lost passwords and display them on the screen.  

LCP allows you to import from a local computer, remote computer, SAM file, .LC file, LCS file, PwDump file, and Sniff file.

Pro:

• The software is free and Open Source
• Three methods to recover your password
• Works for most of Windows operating systems

Cons:

• You need Windows access to use it
• Has a low success rate for password length of 14 or more characters
• Occupy a lot of resources from your computer

Conclusion

There are plenty of options available for you to choose from to crack or remove Windows logon password, so is which one is the best? Like almost all fitness-related questions, the answer depends a lot on your requirements. If you're good at command line and are looking for a Windows password reset freeware, Ophcrack or Offline NT Password & Registry Editor could be a good fit. Both options can help you crack the password get in to your Windows again. For simple operation with intuitive interface, go with Spower Windows Password Reset.

We also advise to write your passwords down to a piece of paper or create a password reset disk and keep that hidden in your home.