Question: I have a windows 7 pc and I am currently on a guest account. I have locked my only administrator account but now I cannot remember its password. I have tried many things including using the Cmd and command prompt to try to change the password, but it just gives me “System Error 5, Access denied.” I have also tried regedit to get pass this obstacle, but that also requires admin rights. I am currently about to try Ophrack. Anybody know a fast way to bypass or reveal the administrator account safely?

As the most popular free Windows password recovery tool, Ophcrack is worthy of your trying. This tool, with graphical User Interface, is capable of recovering forgotten Windows password by using LM hashes through rainbow tables. Following is a simple tutorial.

How-to:

Step 1. Download Ophcrack LiveCD ISO image for Windows 7.

Step 2. Burn the ISO image on to a CD using a free CD burner like BurnCDCC.

Step 3. Insert the CD in the PC you want to reset password of, and boot from the CD. You will see the list of the accounts on the computer.

Step 4. The machine will do its thing and just leave it. After a while, you will see password has been recovered and displayed on the screen beside the accounts those are not password-protected.

Step 5. After you see it – remember it just reboot the machine and you should be able to log on to Windows 7 system.

Alternative: Windows Password Unlocker

As for the recovering time, it depends. Windows Password Unlocker is preferred if you need a more efficient solution. With this tool, you can reset Windows 7 password in 5 minutes, regardless of your password length, complexity, etc. Through Windows Password Unlocker, you can reset forgotten Windows local administrator, domain administrator and other user account passwords on Windows 7/Vista/XP/2008/ 2003/2000. 100% Windows password reset rate guaranteed.

Requirements:

1. A blank CD/DVD and CD-ROM±RW drive or a USB flash drive are required.

2. Download and install this software in a Windows PC rather than a Mac.

Guide:

Step 1. Download and install Windows Password Unlocker
Step 2. Burn a bootable password reset disk with CD/DVD/USB.
Step 3. Reset Windows password with created USB reset disk

Tip: Create a password reset disk and password hint
After resetting your forgotten Windows 7 password, it’s highly suggested to create a password reset disk and password hint using the Windows built-in feature. Go to Start button -> Control Panel -> Family Safety and User Accounts -> User Accounts, then click Create a password reset disk on the left pane of User Account window. A wizard will come up to guide you how to create a password reset disk in seconds.

For the password hint, it’s an optional when setting up a Windows password. As the password hint can be seen by others, so be careful when setting a password hint. Don’t set the password hint the same as your Windows password. Don’t set a password hint can be easily guessed by unauthorized users as it may bring disaster to you.