Bill said:
A friend received a laptop with xp pro installed.
"Received" how, precisely? As a gift? Purchased second-hand?
She has a guest
account with a known password. She does not know the admin account
name or password. Because she is not an admin, she is not able to do
much with it.
If the person from whom she "acquired" the computer cannot give her
the passwords, (and the installation CDs for the OS and any other
software installed), she'd be wise to immediately check with the
appropriate law enforcement agencies to ensure that she hasn't
inadvertently received stolen property.
Is there a way to get her admin rights, without logging on as an
admin ?
No.
Or create a new account that has admin rights, without
logging on as an admin ?
No.
I don't want to have to reinstall xp for
her.
Nevertheless, that's probably the best thing to do. With
second-hand computers, perhaps even if acquired from a family member or
friend, but especially if acquired from a stranger, the wisest course of
action would definitely be to format the hard drives and start fresh.
I'm sure 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
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