Earlier, I already wrote about how you can reset the password in Windows OS, including without the use of third-party programs, but, agree, in some cases it is best to know the administrator password than to reset it. Update 2015: Instructions on how to reset the password in Windows 10 for the local account and Microsoft account can also be useful.
OphCrack is an effective utility that allows you to quickly find out Windows password
OphCrack is a free utility with a graphic and text interface that allows you to quite easily learn Windows passwords consisting of letters and numbers. You can download it as a regular program for Windows or Linux or as Live CD, in case there is no ability to log in. According to developers, OphCrack successfully finds 99% of passwords. This we will check now.
Test 1 - Difficult Password in Windows 7
For a start, I downloaded OphCrack LiveCD for Windows 7 (for XP there is a separate ISO on the site), installed the ASREW3241 password (9 characters, letters and numbers, one title) and booted from the image (all actions were carried out in a virtual machine).
The first thing we see is the main OphCrack menu with a suggestion to run it in two graphical interface modes or in text mode. For some reason, the graphic mode has not earned me (I think because of the features of the virtual machine, everything should be in order on the usual computer). And with Text, everything is in order and, probably, even more convenient.
After selecting a text mode, everything that remains to do is wait for the end of OphCrack and see which passwords program managed to reveal. It took me for 8 minutes, I can assume that on the usual PC this time will be reduced 3-4 times. The result of the first test: the password is not defined.
Test 2 - simpler version
So, in the first case, the Windows 7 password failed. Let's try slightly simplify the task, moreover, most users still use relatively simple passwords. We try this option: Remon7k (7 characters, one digit).
Loading with LiveCD, text mode. This time the password was founded, and it took it no more than two minutes.
Where can I download
Official site OphCrack, where you can find a program and LiveCD: http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/If you are using LiveCD (and this, I think the best option), but do not know how to write an ISO image on a flash drive or disk, you can use the search for my site, the articles on this topic are enough.
conclusions
As you can see, OphCrack still works, and if you have a task to define Windows password without dropping it, then this option is definitely worth trying: the likelihood that everything will turn out. What is this likelihood - 99% or less difficult to say in two attempts carried out, but I think, is quite large. Password from the second attempt is not so simple, and I assume that the complexity of passwords in many users is not very different from it.