How to overcome an unknown password

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I recently bought a second-hand computer, for my grand-daughter, from a
company gone into liquidation. Windows XP Professional is installed but I
was not given any systems disks. (For info: I do have systems disks for my
own computer which uses XP Home and Office 2003).

A Windows password has been set on the 'second-hand' computer and I'm
required to enter UserID and Password - neither of which I know. The Company
has now gone and there's no way for me to find this information out. What
can I do??

Any advice would be great (other than I'm stupid for not checking first!!)
 
First off you need to purchase a legitimate copy of Windows. It was illegal
for the company to sell you the PC with Windows installed without including
the CD. They were required to include the CD and Key or remove the OS.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-
 
rose said:
I recently bought a second-hand computer, for my grand-daughter, from a
company gone into liquidation. Windows XP Professional is installed but I
was not given any systems disks.
Click to expand...


Because you didn't receive an installation disk or any other
documentation with that computer, you really didn't get a license to use
the software that's currently installed on the computer, anyway. (I'm
surprised that the former owner of the computer didn't have the good
sense to protect his personal information by wiping the hard drive
before disposing of the computer.) Shop around for the best deals and
purchase the OS and applications that you want to use on that computer.

(For info: I do have systems disks for my
own computer which uses XP Home and Office 2003).
Click to expand...

Not really relevant, unless these are retail licenses and you're
planning to remove them from your PC to place them on the second-hand
computer.

A Windows password has been set on the 'second-hand' computer and I'm
required to enter UserID and Password - neither of which I know. The Company
has now gone and there's no way for me to find this information out. What
can I do??
Click to expand...


That's just as well. With second-hand computers, especially if
acquired from strangers but perhaps even if acquired from a family
member or friend, your wisest course of action would probably be to
format the hard drives and start fresh. You don't want to get in
trouble because the original owner may have filled the hard drive with
kiddie porn, or have problems because the original owner
downloaded/installed viruses or other malware.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
I was not aware of this and bought it in good faith. What's done is done and
it's my loss. Once I have new disks - what then.
 
Hi Rose,

Unfortunately you were a victim here.
Once you have the new disks you will need to wipe and reload the system.
Post here and we will be happy to help you with the process.


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-
 
When I bought my computer it came loaded with XP and some applications eg
Works etc. As I didn't like this I purchased a copy of Office 2003. I never
had to buy OS disks. Looking on the Amazon website I'm a little confused.
If I buy XP Home full edition will that come with applications such as Excel,
Word etc? Once I have disks, what do I do then - do I just load them into
disk drive and let it run its course? I've only had my own computer for just
under 2 years (bought from Dell) so a lot of stuff I didn't need to know.
 
Office is purchased complete separate from Windows. The Windows XP installer
will include all the standard programs such as Notepad and WordPad but not
Office so you will need what you purchased if you want Office.

Frank
 
rose said:
I recently bought a second-hand computer, for my grand-daughter, from a
company gone into liquidation. Windows XP Professional is installed but I
was not given any systems disks. (For info: I do have systems disks for
my
own computer which uses XP Home and Office 2003).

A Windows password has been set on the 'second-hand' computer and I'm
required to enter UserID and Password - neither of which I know. The
Company
has now gone and there's no way for me to find this information out. What
can I do??

Any advice would be great (other than I'm stupid for not checking first!!)
Click to expand...

As others have pointed out you do not have the proper license to use the
installed version of Windows and any other programs installed on the
computer. The best course of action would be to purchase a new copy of XP
and any other programs you want to use.

It is possible to reset the administrator password and gain access to the
existing Windows. You can download a CDROM image here:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Create the CD and use the "Offline NT Password and Registry Editor" to
change the administrator password. Once you have logged in with the
administrator account you can change other accounts at will.

Kerry
 
rose said:
I recently bought a second-hand computer, for my grand-daughter, from a
company gone into liquidation. Windows XP Professional is installed but I
was not given any systems disks. (For info: I do have systems disks for my
own computer which uses XP Home and Office 2003).

A Windows password has been set on the 'second-hand' computer and I'm
required to enter UserID and Password - neither of which I know. The Company
has now gone and there's no way for me to find this information out. What
can I do??

Any advice would be great (other than I'm stupid for not checking first!!)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Kerry. I tried this but it didn't work, mainly because once I switch
on I get the old Co. Logo and am immediately asked to sign-on. I don't get a
desktop where I can choose to run the cd etc. I tried inserting the cd
before switching on hoping it would read the contents but that didn't happen.
Thank you for trying anyway.
 
rose said:
Thanks Kerry. I tried this but it didn't work, mainly because once I
switch
on I get the old Co. Logo and am immediately asked to sign-on. I don't
get a
desktop where I can choose to run the cd etc. I tried inserting the cd
before switching on hoping it would read the contents but that didn't
happen.
Thank you for trying anyway.
Click to expand...

You have to set the CDROM to be the default boot device in the BIOS. How to
access the BIOS is different on each computer. The most common is tp the
press the "delete" key immediately after turning on your computer. Other
common keys are "F1" and "F10".

Kerry
 
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