Ophcrack is a Linux-based Windows password recovery program. If you have forgotten your user or administrator password, or purchased a used computer and it requires a password, Ophcrack will usually be able to recover it. Ophcrack is normally run from a bootable CD, but it can also be loaded into a USB drive. There are versions for Windows XP and Vista, but it will also work with Windows 7. The following steps illustrate how to combine the XP and Vista programs.
Step 1
Download copies of the Ophcrack "XP Live CD," "Universal USB Installer" and "tables_vista_free.zip" files.
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Step 2
Place your USB thumb drive in a USB port in your computer. Click "Start." Click "Computer." Verify what drive letter is assigned to your USB drive.
Step 3
Run the Universal USB Installer program. Open the drop-down menu in Step 1 and scroll down to "Ophcrack XP." Click it. The location of your downloaded live CD will appear in Step 2.
Step 4
Open the drop-down menu in Step 3. The drive letter for your USB drive should be shown. Click "Create" When the program is finished, click "Done."
Step 5
Open the "tables" folder on the USB drive. Create a folder named "vista_free."
Step 6
Extract the contents of the "tables_vista_free.zip" file. Copy the contents of the extracted file into the "vista_free" folder on the USB drive. Remove the drive. It is ready for use.
Step 7
Insert the USB drive into a USB port on the computer form which you want to recover the password.
Step 8
Turn on the computer and press the appropriate key to enter the BIOS when prompted. It is usually the "Delete" key.
Step 9
Use the arrow keys to navigate to the "Boot" tab. Set "removable device" as the first boot device.
Step 10
Exit the BIOS and save the changes. When the computer reboots, it will boot from the USB drive. Ophcrack will start and automatically recover any passwords on the computer.
Step 11
When finished, press 'Esc" and "Y" to exit Ophcrack.
Step 12
Restart the computer, enter the BIOS and change the boot order back to its original setting, which would have the hard drive as the first boot device.
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