Bought a laptop I can't access

[KIM]

Can someone help me? I bought a laptop second hand from a
friend of a friend. After a demonstation and I was
satisfied everything worked ok, I got it home and have
discovered it requires a windows password to get into the
system. My seller has disappeared. I can't do anything
because I don't have the Administrator password. I have
attempted every fix addressed on the Microsoft web side
anddone everything from trying to start in safe mode to
considering the windows xp key program to fix it. But
that costs $200. Does anyone have any other ideas how I
might reset the Windows OS back to its default settings
without having an administrator password?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You'll have to go out and purchase a "Full Version" of
Windows XP and proceed to perform a "clean install".

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Can someone help me? I bought a laptop second hand from a
| friend of a friend. After a demonstation and I was
| satisfied everything worked ok, I got it home and have
| discovered it requires a windows password to get into the
| system. My seller has disappeared. I can't do anything
| because I don't have the Administrator password. I have
| attempted every fix addressed on the Microsoft web side
| anddone everything from trying to start in safe mode to
| considering the windows xp key program to fix it. But
| that costs $200. Does anyone have any other ideas how I
| might reset the Windows OS back to its default settings
| without having an administrator password?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

HHmmmm..... "Friend of a friend," and the "seller" has
disappeared. Why do I get the feeling that you might want to check
with your local police before putting too much time and effort into
using this computer? No sense having your personal data sequestered
on a laptop in a police evidence room for however long a trial might
take.

Anyway, when buying a computer from an unknown source, as you have
done, the best course of action would be for you to simply format the
hard drive and reinstall the OS and applications. You really don't
want to take a chance on getting in trouble for something the
computer's previous owner might have been doing, such as downloading
kiddie porn, copyrighted material, viruses, etc.

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered
the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of
the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Bruce Chambers

--
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