Windows 7: Need to recover a Password.

I am an undergraduate student working on my senior design project. My laptop has been untouched for a while now and i cant remember the password for the life of me. (admin password) i could reset the password and just get a new one but i need the password because it is the same password i used to protect all my engineering files and these are the ones i need for my senior design project. I've heard there are some programs that you run while the computer is booting up and they claim they can tell you what the password is. is this any true? what can i do to recover the password?
any help is appreciated

Hello Cacn, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Sorry, but we cannot help you to recover/crack your password to reveal what it is. That's against the forum rules and is not allowed here.

We can however help you to reset your password if you like.

Password Reset

Reset User Account Password - Vista Forums

Gotcha! sorry about that.
Is there any way i can get rid of the password needed to access my protected folders?

By default, Windows 7 doesn't password protect files or folders. What method/program did you use to protect your folders?