administrator problems

[mjgresham]

my friend bought a used computer, which worked fine until her kids got on it
and locked her out with a log on password. we got that figured out, she is
now able to log on to windows, but now she can't add or remove any programs
or even access wireless internet because it says she has to be logged on as
administrator and we can't figure out how to change this. we have tried
adding a new usse, but this too has to have administrator rights. we don' t
know what to do because she doesn't have the money to take it to a repair
shop. please, someone help us out here. i need exact directions to be able to
do this. HELP, PLEASE!!!!!

 

[Jim]

my friend bought a used computer, which worked fine until her kids got on
it
and locked her out with a log on password. we got that figured out, she is
now able to log on to windows, but now she can't add or remove any
programs
or even access wireless internet because it says she has to be logged on
as
administrator and we can't figure out how to change this. we have tried
adding a new usse, but this too has to have administrator rights. we don'
t
know what to do because she doesn't have the money to take it to a repair
shop. please, someone help us out here. i need exact directions to be able
to
do this. HELP, PLEASE!!!!!

She must login to an account which is a member of the administrators group
to create a new account of any type.
Such an account can quite easily move her account from one group to another.
The real problem, though, is that her account may not be a member of the
administrators group.

What you have here is an instance of expecting a machine to take the place
of parental control.

If she has an installation CD, then you can reinstall XP from scratch. This
is quite time consuming (a couple of days for example).
Another approach would be for her to regain control of her own house.

Jim

 

[Bruce Chambers]

my friend bought a used computer, which worked fine until her kids got on it
and locked her out with a log on password. we got that figured out, she is
now able to log on to windows, but now she can't add or remove any programs
or even access wireless internet because it says she has to be logged on as
administrator and we can't figure out how to change this. we have tried
adding a new usse, but this too has to have administrator rights. we don' t
know what to do because she doesn't have the money to take it to a repair
shop. please, someone help us out here. i need exact directions to be able to
do this. HELP, PLEASE!!!!!

Simply log in using the built-in Administrator account (which
cannot be deleted) and use Start > Run > "control userpasswords2" to
modify the desired account(s).

By design, the only way to log into the Administrator account of
WinXP Home is to reboot into Safe Mode. For WinXP Pro, pressing
CTRL+ALT+DEL twice at the Welcome Screen will produce the standard login
dialog box. Unless the owner deliberately set the Administrator's
password via the Management Console (_not_ the Control Panel), it's
probably still blank. WinXP Pro asks the installer to set the
Administrator's password during installation, but WinXP Home doesn't.

Be that as it may, with second-hand computers, especially if acquired
from strangers but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or
friend, your friend's wisest course of action would definitely be to
format the hard drive and start fresh. She doesn'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:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[mjgresham]

what do i do when i get into safe mode and do i use safe mode with command
prompts? by the way, it is xp home. i am just completely lost with something
like this.

 

[mjgresham]

i almost forgot, she doesn't have any of the discs that came with the
computer. the person she got it from might have also bought it used, i have
no idea

 

[Lem]

i tried using the control userpasswrds2 that you suggested, but it still
comes up needing to have admistrator right in order to do anything whith it.

Did you follow the part of Bruce's suggestion that said, "Simply log in
using the built-in Administrator account ..."?

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

 

[Jim]

Did you follow the part of Bruce's suggestion that said, "Simply log in
using the built-in Administrator account ..."?

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

If those kids have any clues, they have put a password on the built in
administrator account. Perhaps they have also renamed it.
There is a way to clear that password by using a Knoppix disk (Knoppix is a
Linux variant). Shell commands are expert friendly beginner hostile though.
Jim

 

[Patrick Keenan]

what do i do when i get into safe mode and do i use safe mode with command
prompts? by the way, it is xp home. i am just completely lost with
something
like this.

For XP Home, restart the machine and press F8 as it starts. You may need
to restart a couple of times to get the timing right. Choose Safe Mode,
not "with command prompt". You'll get the Welcome screen and this is
where the Administrator account will appear. It shouldn't have a
password; if it asks for one, just press Enter.

If that doesn't work, a password has been set for that account and you have
to either get it or clear it. You may need help with clearing it, but it's
not impossible or particularly difficult; there are free password-reset
utilities you can download and burn to CD. These create a boot CD - you
restart the system with the CD - that runs Linux, another operating system,
and you will have gotten instructions for what to type to clear the
passwords.

Since you have XP Home this won't apply to you, but it's worth knowing that
for XP Pro, this process can permanently break access to encrypted files.

OR, you can to to Start, Run, and type MSCONFIG and press enter. On the
Boot.ini tab, choose /Safeboot. Click Apply and OK. This may not work if
the account isn't an admin account.

HTH
-pk

 

[mjgresham]

I was finally able to get this done and resored all adminstrator rights. Now
I am having another problem. When I go under device settings, it shows
nothing at all, no modems, no anything. It stays a blank page. Could they
have removed all devices from the computer? I also tried adding new hardware,
but no matter how many times I clicked on it, nothing happened. What could
cause this? Thanks for the previous help.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

I was finally able to get this done and resored all adminstrator rights.
Now
I am having another problem. When I go under device settings, it shows
nothing at all, no modems, no anything. It stays a blank page. Could they
have removed all devices from the computer? I also tried adding new
hardware,
but no matter how many times I clicked on it, nothing happened. What could
cause this? Thanks for the previous help.

While logged in as the Administrator, not the old account, try making a new
account and assigning it Administrator rights. Possibly the old account has
a damaged or missing file. Then log into the new account and see if the
problem has been resolved. If it has then it's time to think about removing
the original account.