Ophcrack

As described on its official website, Ophcrack is a free Windows password cracker based on rainbow tables. It is a very efficient implementation of rainbow tables done by the inventors of the method. As the most popular free Windows password recovery tool, it is claimed that these tables can crack 99.9% of alphanumeric passwords of up to 14 characters in usually a few minutes. With the latest 3.3.1 version, you can recover lost Windows login password on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 with a live CD.

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor provides users with a great solution in case they have been running their computer on a single user account and have forgotten the password to it. You can download a CD image from the program’s website, burn it on to disc, and boot from that CD to remove your Windows account password. It is not only a Windows password recovery tool, but also an almost fully functional registry editor. And the only disadvantage of this Windows password reset tool is that it is completely text based, so it is a little inconvenient.

John the Ripper

John the Ripper is one of the most popular password testing/breaking programs as it combines a number of password crackers into one package, autodetects password hash types, and includes a customizable cracker. It is currently available for various Unix flavors (based on DES, MD5, or Blowfish), Kerberos AFS, and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 LM hash. Please note that the application uses both paid and free wordlist files which it needs to operate.

LCP

LCP is a free password auditing and recovery tool for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003. It can be used to test password security, or to recover the forgotten Windows passwords. The program can import from the local (or remote) computer, or by loading a SAM, LC, LCS, PwDump or Sniff file. LCP supports dictionary attack, brute force attack, as well as a hybrid of dictionary and brute force attacks. It 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.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel is another free Windows password recovery tool that recovers passwords impressively faster than its competition and provides several recovery methods. But meanwhile it is a bit more complicated to use that other Windows password recovery tool. So if you don’t good at computers, it is not recommended that you try this utility. Please note Cain & Abel requires access to Windows under an administrator account.

Of course, if you fail to recover you lost Windows login password, you can also turn to some commercial Windows password recovery tools to reset the password, like Window Password Unlokcer or Windows Password Breaker. In my opinion, a paid Windows password recovery tool is more efficient with easier operation and professional free support.