Even though Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows XP, some people keep using this old and classic operating system. So you will encounter the situation where you forgot Windows XP login password. Once forgot Windows XP admin password, in addition to using that Windows XP password reset disk, you can also unlock Windows XP admin password with some free tools. This article shares several free Windows password recovery tools. Help quickly unlock Windows XP without losing data when forgot administrator password.
Windows XP forgot Admin password – Unlock with free tools
Tips: As your own Windows XP computer is locked, no matter which free tool you will use, you will need another computer which allows you to surf the Internet and burn an ISO image file.
- Windows Password Unlocker is able to reset passwords regardless of their complexity and length. The program offers a bootable ISO image which can be burned to CD in order to regain access to your PC. You can burn the ISO image to disc by using various programs, such as Sonic, Nero, and many others.
- Nov 08, 2017 Pc unlocker windows 10 allows you to restrict the number of users who can get the access to specific fields. Bypass windows password supports the Microsoft Surface Pro. Pcunlocker enterprise always bypass the user administration password with overwriting the old password.
Publisher's Description. From PasswordUnlocker: Windows Password Unlcoker Professional provides you an easy and safe solution when you forgot logon password for Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/ 2008/2003/2000 machines. It allows you to instantly remove forgotten Windows logon password by burning a bootable password reset CD/DVD or USB flash drive. Download windows password unlocker windows, windows password unlocker windows, windows password unlocker windows download free.
1. Windows XP forgot Admin password – Unlock with Ophcrack
Ophcrack is one of the well-known free Windows password recovery tools, which supports to recover password for Windows XP/7/Vista. And the success rate of recovery is almost 99%. So, when forgot Windows XP admin password, use Ophcrack to unlock your computer.
Step 1: Borrow another accessible computer to download and install Ophcrack XP liveCD.
Step 2: Burn the ISO image file to a CD/DVD or USB flash drive using image burning software like UItraISO.
Step 3: Boot your locked Windows XP computer from the CD/DVD or USB drive.
Step 4: After your computer boots up, Ophcrack screen will display. Whether you press Enter or not, it will automatically go on.
Step 5: Do nothing leaving it. It will automatically discover your Windows XP system and crack your password. Once your admin password is successfully cracked, it will be displayed in the 'NT Pwd' column.
Step 6: After password recovery is complete, exit the USB or CD/DVD and restart your computer. Then you can unlock your Windows XP admin account with the password.
2. Windows XP forgot admin password – Unlock with Chntpw
Chntpw is another free Windows password recovery tool. The difference is that Chntpw deletes Windows password by modifying SAM file (Windows XP password is stored in the SAM file). So, when forgot Windows XP admin password, Chntpw is another way to unlock your computer.
Step 1: On another computer, download and install Chntpw cd from pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/cd140201.zip.
Step 2: Burn the iso image file into a USB drive or CD/DVD using burning software.
Step 3: Boot your locked computer from the USB or CD/DVD disk.
After your computer boots up from the disk, Chntpw starts and displays its first screen.
Next, Chntpw will automatically load some information. It doesn’t require you to manually press any key, just leave it finish loading all information.
Step 4: Reset Windows XP admin password.
When loading driver is finished, it shows what to do next.
1. Select disk partition where your Windows installation is.
It will automatically find the disk where your Windows installation is. Next, you are asked to select the partition where your Windows install on. It selects [1] by default. Just keep the default and press Enter.
2. Select registry files.
You are asked to select which part of registry to load. It selects [1] (Password Reset) by default. Just keep the default and hit Enter.
3. Password or registry edit.
Hit enter (Select [1]) and then all the local user accounts on your Windows XP will be listed.
Type in the RID number of your locked admin account and hit Enter. Under the User Edit Menu, select Clear (blank) user password. Then your Windows XP admin password should be removed.
After clearing your forgotten admin password, type q and hit Enter to quit editing user. Next, type q and hit Enter again.
4. Now it’s the fourth step – Writing backup changes.
Type y and hit Enter to write backup changes. After that press CTRL + ALT +DEL and exit the Chntpw disk to reboot your computer. Then you can logon to your Windows XP administrator account without password.
Tips: Although the Ophcrack can recover password for Windows XP/7/Vista with 99% success, it can't rule out the failure. And the Chntpw also can't guarantee 100% success when clearing/removing Windows password. Once failed with the free Windows password recovery tools, you need more advanced tool like iSumsoft Windows Password Refixer.
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Windows password recovery tools recover or reset lost user and administrator passwords for the Windows operating system.
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!
Check out our Windows Password Recovery Programs FAQ for additional guidance. 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. Try our guide for resetting 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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Ophcrack
What We Like
- Easy to use; passwords are recovered automatically
- Doesn't require installation; it runs from a disc or flash drive
- You don't have to know anything about the original password
What We Don't Like
- Doesn't crack Windows 10 passwords
- Can't crack passwords 14+ characters in length
- You have to boot to the media to run the program
- The file size is rather large
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 an administrator account in 3 minutes and 29 seconds.
Ophcrack supports Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Though weI tried Ophcrack against three very simple Windows 10 passwords, not one of them were found.
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Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
Free Password Unlocker Windows 7
What We Like
- Deletes the password completely
- You don't have to install anything to the computer
- Works quickly
- Works on Windows 10 down through Windows XP
What We Don't Like
- Must boot to the disc or flash drive to run the program
- Works from the command line, so everything is text
Offline NT Password & Registry Editor works differently from 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, 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.
We'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-Boot
What We Like
- One of the easiest ways to reset a password
- No need to install the software to the computer's hard drive
- Smaller download than most bootable password reset tools
What We Don't Like
- Doesn't work on Windows 10 or Windows 8
- Doesn't work on 64-bit operating systems
- You have to put the software on a disc to use it
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 from the two password reset tools above, so if you have problems using them, give Kon-Boot a try. It's easy to use and probably the fastest password reset-and-recovery tool available.
Kon-Boot 1.0 does not work with 64-bit versions of Windows, nor any version of Windows 8 or Windows 10. We used Kon-Boot v1.0 to successfully delete the password on a Windows Vista PC and then also on a Windows XP PC.
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Cain & Abel
What We Like
- You can install it in minutes
- More advanced than similar password recovery tools
- Includes lots of other useful tools
What We Don't Like
- Requires access to a Windows account
- Officially works with Windows XP and older OSs only
- Hasn't been updated in a very long time
- You need extra files (not included) in order to recover passwords
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. As such, it's a valuable resource to recover passwords to accounts other than the one you're using.
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 people have had luck getting it to work in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
We've tried it with Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista, and was unsuccessful each time.
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Trinity Rescue Kit
What We Like
- Can delete Windows passwords
- Lets you make a new password for a user account
- You don't need access to a user account to reset passwords
What We Don't Like
- Needs to be booted from before Windows starts
- Doesn't have a regular, graphical user interface
Boot Trinity Rescue Kit from a disc or USB stick to work. It includes many different tools, one of which is for password recovery.
Use Trinity Rescue Kit to clear a password entirely, making it blank, or to set a custom one.
The program lacks 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 Ripper
What We Like
- The program is 100 percent free
- Small download size
- Runs quickly and from within Windows
What We Don't Like
- The required wordlists aren't free
- Works from the command line
- You need Windows access to use it
While the password recovery application itself is free, the wordlists used by John the Ripper to discover passwords, come with a cost and are required for the software to work.
John the Ripper is operated at the command line, which makes it a password-cracking tool reserved for the advanced user.
John the Ripper supports 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.