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If you're unable to find the password reset email at your secondary address, or if you haven't specified a secondary address, you'll need to answer you secret question. To prevent someone from trying to break into an account you're actively using, the security question is only used for account recovery after an account has been idle for 24hrs. The Gmail team cannot waive the 24hrs requirement or access your password under any circumstances.

After 24 hrs of inactivity (note To answer your secret question, do not attempt to login to your account for 24 hours. Please note: accessing Gmail via POP, IMAP, mobile, or with other Google services is considered account activity.

Go to http://mail.google.com.
Click I cannot access my account on the login page.
Enter your Gmail username (everything before @gmail.com) in the Username field.
Click Submit.
Type the characters in the picture into the text box and click Submit.
You can now answer your security question and select a new password. Please read our suggestions for choosing a good password. We also suggest adding a secondary email account if you haven't done so already. Instructions to change secondary email.

Choosing a password and security question