displays on xp

[Sue]

I have inherited a computer but the display options and
properties options have been locked by an administrator.
I do not know who, or the required logon/password. How
can I get thru this to personalise my new second hand pc?

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

I have inherited a computer but the display options and
properties options have been locked by an administrator.
I do not know who, or the required logon/password. How
can I get thru this to personalise my new second hand pc?

You can try logging on in Safe Mode. In safe mode you can only log in with
the built-in Administrator account, this account does not have a pssword
associated with it, by default. This is an account set up for emergencies
like this, once you have logged on, you can go into Control Panel/User
Accounts and change the password for the account you are using.

If the prior owner has enabled a password for this default administrator
account, you may be forced to reinstall the operating system. Hopefully, you
also inherited all of the installation disks.

References:

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=315222