How to Restore a Locked-Out Account on XP Professional
Forget your password and you'll feel very much locked-out of your Windows XP Professional computer. All of your data and information is inaccessible to you, and your computer is largely useless to you, all because you can't log in to your account. Don't worry, though: you can recover that password and all the data it unlocks. Recovering this password requires some specialized tools, and may take a while, but is worth it.
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Instructions
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Download the Ophcrack Live CD (free download; see Resources.) The CD is a fully bootable operating system which comes with a complete program for cracking Windows passwords.
Ophcrack comes as an ISO file, which is a form of virtual CD.
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Burn the ISO file to disc. Your CD burning software is probably capable of doing this already; consult that program's documentation if you're not sure how.
If you have no CD burning software, or can't figure out how to burn ISO files, check out ISO Recorder (free download; see Resources.) With this program installed burning an ISO to disc is as easy as right-clicking the file, then clicking "Burn Image to Disc."
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Boot from the CD. Leave the disc in the drive and restart your computer, being sure to enter the boot menu. If you're not sure how to enter the boot menu, follow the instructions on screen immediately after your computer powers on---typically you press F12, though this varies depending on your computer. Consult your computer's documentation if no on-screen instructions are given.
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Wait for your computer to boot from the CD. Be patient, as this may take a while. When the boot process is complete, you will see OphCrack's main interface.
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Click the name of the account you're locked out of, then click "Crack." Again, be patient; cracking the password may take awhile. Eventually you'll have the password of the account you're locked out of.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not use this technique to access computers without permission.
