laptop broke

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chuck
  • Start date Start date
C

Chuck

Here is my problem? My uncles laptop is broke and need some advice. Somehow
the administrator password got changed and no one seems to know what it is or
typed it in incorrectly, so now I can't even reload windows xp. I tried
using F8 to go into safe mode, but no go. In the bios its set to boot from
the harddrive, I put the xp disk in the drive and the drive spins but thats
it. So how can I go about reloading windows xp????
 
| Here is my problem? My uncles laptop is broke and need some advice. Somehow
| the administrator password got changed and no one seems to know what it is or
| typed it in incorrectly, so now I can't even reload windows xp. I tried
| using F8 to go into safe mode, but no go. In the bios its set to boot from
| the harddrive, I put the xp disk in the drive and the drive spins but thats
| it. So how can I go about reloading windows xp????
| --
| Chuck in Boise

First thing is to change the BIOS to have the computer boot from the CD drive before the hard drive.

Next tell us more about the computer. Brand and Model would be a good start.
What version of windows, including Service Pack, is on the computer?
What do you mean by "is broke"?
If you have another computer, there is a web site that will give you software to make a bootable CD
with which you can change the Administrator password. If you get the BIOS fixed, we will give you
that web site.
 
Is there another user account on the computer that has Administrator
permissions? Any account with Administrator permissions can reset the
password of any other account.

Also, any account with Administrator permissions can copy (or move) the
contents of any other account. You could copy or move the documents,
music, videos, etc. of the inaccessible account to another location and
then simply delete the inaccessible Administrator account and re-create it.

Windows has a special system account called Administrator. This is not a
user account - don't ever use it for day to day computing - it is your
lifeline in situations such as this. The built-in Administrator account
has all the powers of a user account with Administrator permissions. Use
the built-in Administrator account to reset the password of the
inaccessible account.

Your uncle may have a much larger problem: If the password to an account
was changed, and nobody knows how it happened, that's a sure sign that
the computer has been infected with malware.
 
I can't get into the bios as the login screen prevents me from doing this.
So i need to figure out how to reset the admin password. I have looked for
free software to do this, but have not found any.
 
Your uncle's problem has nothing to do with the BIOS.

Is there another user account that has Administrator permissions? If so,
sign in to that account and reset the password of the inaccessible account.

If there are no other user accounts with Administrator permissions, sign
in to the built-in Administrator account (which has no password) and
reset the password of the inaccessible account.

If your uncle's computer is using the Home edition of XP, he will have
to start his computer in Safe Mode to see the built-in Administrator
account.

How To Reset Your Password In Windows XP Home
http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2009/03/25/how-to-reset-your-password-in-windows-xp-home/
Note: I recommend you do /not/ set a password for the built-in
Administrator account.
 
Entry into the BIOS is done before the logon screen.
It is usually done by pressing the "del" key, "F10" key or "F1" key as soon as the computer starts
up.
If you had provided the computer make and model. as requested, we could help there.


|I can't get into the bios as the login screen prevents me from doing this.
| So i need to figure out how to reset the admin password. I have looked for
| free software to do this, but have not found any.
| --
| Chuck in Boise
|
|
| "Leonard Grey" wrote:
|
| > Is there another user account on the computer that has Administrator
| > permissions? Any account with Administrator permissions can reset the
| > password of any other account.
| >
| > Also, any account with Administrator permissions can copy (or move) the
| > contents of any other account. You could copy or move the documents,
| > music, videos, etc. of the inaccessible account to another location and
| > then simply delete the inaccessible Administrator account and re-create it.
| >
| > Windows has a special system account called Administrator. This is not a
| > user account - don't ever use it for day to day computing - it is your
| > lifeline in situations such as this. The built-in Administrator account
| > has all the powers of a user account with Administrator permissions. Use
| > the built-in Administrator account to reset the password of the
| > inaccessible account.
| >
| > Your uncle may have a much larger problem: If the password to an account
| > was changed, and nobody knows how it happened, that's a sure sign that
| > the computer has been infected with malware.
| > ---
| > Leonard Grey
| > Errare humanum est
| >
| > Chuck wrote:
| > > Here is my problem? My uncles laptop is broke and need some advice. Somehow
| > > the administrator password got changed and no one seems to know what it is or
| > > typed it in incorrectly, so now I can't even reload windows xp. I tried
| > > using F8 to go into safe mode, but no go. In the bios its set to boot from
| > > the harddrive, I put the xp disk in the drive and the drive spins but thats
| > > it. So how can I go about reloading windows xp????
| >
 
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