Getting a password from my computer

how do I get a password saved on my computer I know there is a way through the harddrive but how???

It depends on what the password is for. Is it a Windows login password? Mac login? An email login for a specific program?
Knowing the program, what the password is for, or how it was saved would help greatly.

Top 18 Password Recovery Utilities

Accent Office Password Recovery v2.31
is an all-in-one tool that helps you recover lost or forgotten passwords to your documents created in Mcft Office applications: Access, Excel, and Word. Some types of password can be instantly restored (see the table). For other passwords there are three attack types including a brute force attack with a mask and advanced options while attacking using a dictionary
hxxp://www.passwordrecoverytools.com/

Access Password Recover v1.01
can use to crack the password for all version of Mcft Access database files. APR support three methods to open an Access file: using the open dialog box, input file name directly and drag-and-drop an Access file from Explorer to APR.
hxxp://www.trisunsoft.com/

Access Password Recovery Genie v1.80.20051008
is a program to recover passwords for MS Access databases. .
All versions of MS Access are supported (including Access 2003)
State of the art password recovery engine - all passwords are recovered instantly
Recovers database passwords
Recovers user-level security accounts and passwords
Full install/uninstall support
hxxp://www.lenosoft.com/Access.asp

Access Password Recovery Helper v1.60
Recover your lost password for Mcft Access 95/97/2000/XP/2003 database. (*.MDB; *.MDT)
It can receive the correct password within 1 second.
hxxp://www.ccsoftcn.com/

Active Password Changer Pro v3.0.0280
is a DOS-based solution designed for resetting local administrator and user passwords on Windows XP / 2003 / 2000 / NT systems in case an Administrator password is forgotten or lost. You do not need to re-install and re-configure the operating system in this case.
hxxp://www.password-changer.com/

Adult PDF Password Recovery v2.3.0
can be used to decrypt protected Adobe Acrobat PDF files, which have owner password set, preventing the file from editing (changing), printing, selecting text and graphics and copying them into the Clipboard,
or adding ,changing annotations and form fields.Decryption is being done instantly.
Decrypted file can be opened in any PDF viewer ( e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader ) without any restrictions -- I.e. with edit , copy , print functions enabled. All versions of Adobe Acrobat
hxxp://www.adultpdf.com/

Advanced Instant Messengers Password Recovery v2.80
is a program to recover login and password information (stored locally) for most popular instant messengers: ICQ and ICQLite, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Excite Messenger, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Odigo, Trillian, ATT IM Anywhere, T-Online Messenger, Match Messenger, Praize IM, ScreenFIRE, ACD Express Comunicator, Imici Messenger, Prodigy IM, PowWow Messenger, Jabber IM, Kellster IM, PalTalk, Indiatimes messenger, Miranda, Tiscali, Ya.com Messenger, Rediff Bol, Sify Buzz, Devil, Tencent QQ, QQ (Africa Version), RQ, Ipswitch Instant Messenger, Eighth Wonder Catax, Simple Instant Messenger, Vista IM, GAIM, Global-IM, Psi Jabber client, Messenger2, Picasa Hello.
hxxp://www.elcomsoft.com/aimpr.html

Advanced Office Password Recovery Pro v3.04
is a program to recover the lost or forgotten passwords to the files/documents created in Mcft Office applications (all versions up to Office 2003): Word, Excel, Access (including user-level passwords and owner info), Outlook, Project, Money, PowerPoint, Visio, Publisher, OneNote, Backup, Schedule+, Mail. Can also reset MS Internet Explorer (3/4/5) Content Advisor password, and open password-protected VBA projects (created in any application) via the backdoor. Most passwords are being recovered instantly; the password to open in Word/Excel 97/2000/XP/2003 can be recovered using brute-force and dictionary attacks, effectively optimized for speed
hxxp://www.elcomsoft.com/aopr.html

ElcomSoft Advanced Passsword Recovery Studio 2005
All ElcomSoft password recovery tools in one package
Proactive Windows Security Explorer 1.0.0.1
Advanced ZIP Password Recovery 3.54
Advanced RAR Password Recovery 1.51
Advanced Archive Password Recovery 2.20
Advanced Office Password Recovery Professional 3.02
Advanced Office Password Breaker 1.30
Advanced PDF Password Recovery 1.48
Advanced PDF Password Recovery Professional 2.20
Advanced WP Office Password Recovery 1.20
Advanced Lotus Password Recovery 2.0
Advanced Intuit Password Recovery 1.33
Advanced ACT Password Recovery 1.21
Advanced Mailbox Password Recovery 1.7.0.198
Advanced Instant Messengers Password Recovery 2.50
Advanced Access Password Recovery 2.5
Advanced VBA Password Recovery Professional 1.50
Advanced Outlook Password Recovery 1.33
Advanced Outlook Express Password Recovery 1.20
Advanced IE Password Recovery 1.20
Advanced EFS Data Recovery 2.10
Advanced Windows Password Recovery 2.9.1.224
Advanced Disk Catalog 1.51
Advanced eBook Inscriber 1.0.0.1
Advanced eBook Explorer 1.1
Advanced eBook Processor 2.2
Advanced Registry Tracer v1.67 SR2