How Do I recover a Lost Windows Password?

If you think that all is lost simply because you forgot the password to your Windows user account, you are wrong. You still have a couple of options to either recover your password or reset your password.
The easiest (and probably safest for your computer) way to recover your password is to use the “Password Hints” feature. If you’re capable of making a password hint that will help you remember your password (and not anyone else), this tool is obviously very helpful.
other alternative would be to hunt down some third-party software that is capable of hacking into your computer’s registry to recover the lost password. This would likely require access to the Internet and a USB flash drive.
Once you have recovered your password, be sure to create a password reset disk. This will make the process of recovering your password in the future a lot easier – to do so, follow the instructions below.

System Requirements

• Windows XP or Windows Vista
• CD/DVD/Floppy Disk Drive

Instructions

1. Press the Windows button on your keyboard, or launch the Start Menu using your cursor.
2. Select the “Control Panel.”
3. Select “User Accounts.”
4. Select your user account. Under “Related Tasks,” select “Prevent a Forgotten Password.”
5. A wizard will now appear. Follow the setup to create a reset disk.
6. Insert your disk.
7. Enter your user account’s login information.
8. Continue to follow the setup to create a reset disk.
9. You should be prompted when the setup is complete. Withdraw your disk from the drive, label, and store.