Another computer question

[CardShark]

Hi everyone, I had a question for the computer experts here. My brother has come to stay with me at my house for the last couple of months and he has been using my computer to start an online business. I asked him to change the password on my computer (the one that you have to type in when you start up the computer, if that makes sense) and he did, but the problem is it didnt work and subsequently we are both locked out of the computer. I am not sure what to do now. I was planning to upgrade the operating system on it to windows 7 and add some memory and other things. My question is....can I have some one keep all my files on the computer and upgrade the system when we are locked out of it? if so, where can I take it? I am hoping that I am not completely F'd because he and I both have files that we need to get on there. I had backed up my files but it had been about 6-7 weeks since my last back up. any advice would be great. thanks

 

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[Icy]

Any chance it's Windows XP?

Edit: Well, if it was XP there is a "Hidden" admin account at the login screen if you press ctrl+alt+delete and then user name: Administrator and then Password is either administrator or admin I don't remember.

Looks like you may be able to just log into safe mode though and then remove the password from your other account. Idk, that's just after a quick look online without testing.

 

[James Fake]

Take Icy's advice or google a few solutions; I'm sure many have done the same before.

Worse case, take it to any computer repair store and they can back up the data off the harddrive.

 

[Forbes]

Worse case, take it to any computer repair store and they can back up the data off the harddrive.

^ They will remove your hard drive and access if from another computer. Your files can still be saved but it's really time consuming and an arduous process.

Hopefully you can still find a way to log back into windows. Have you tried a system restore?
1. when computer starts up tap F8
2. Select Safe mode
3. start system restore
4. go back to a date when the password wasn't changed yet.

 

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[CardShark]

If it helps I have vista. Thanks for the help guys

 

[bflash98]

Do some google searches on forgot admin password, bootable cd and such. When I had this problem with a friends computer running windows xp. I found a program someone created that would start up and figure out what the admin password was. I'm guessing there will be something similar for windows vista.

 

[Zed]

I think you can booth on safe mode and then create another USER from there with admin rights. After that reboot the normal way and log in with the new user you just created. Then you can change the password of any user including your own.

I think that's what I did 4 years ago.

 

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[Inphinity]

As long as the data isn't encyrpted, it's recoverable. Either, as above, one of the various methods for resetting the password, or by using a live boot CD or swapping the drive into another machine and copying off. Any PC repair place should be able to help you with any of these options if you're not confident doing it yourself and it should be only a nominal fee.

 

[EastWind]

he probably used all caps locks
missed a letter or typed in an extra letter.
what i will do is have the person
type the password over and over without looking at the screen
then i will notice the most likely error they are to make and try those variations.
however like other's said, you can absolutely recover and reset it without having to reload the OS or lose any of your data. If you don't know much about computer, and don't feel like figuring it out, go to the local high school and ask for the top computer geeks. They will be happy to do it for $20.

 

[darkjediii]

Hi everyone, I had a question for the computer experts here. My brother has come to stay with me at my house for the last couple of months and he has been using my computer to start an online business. I asked him to change the password on my computer (the one that you have to type in when you start up the computer, if that makes sense) and he did, but the problem is it didnt work and subsequently we are both locked out of the computer. I am not sure what to do now. I was planning to upgrade the operating system on it to windows 7 and add some memory and other things. My question is....can I have some one keep all my files on the computer and upgrade the system when we are locked out of it? if so, where can I take it? I am hoping that I am not completely F'd because he and I both have files that we need to get on there. I had backed up my files but it had been about 6-7 weeks since my last back up. any advice would be great. thanks

sometimes this works:

at the login screen hit ctrl+alt+del in sequence twice in a row

try
username: administrator
password: (leave blank)

 

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[Inphinity]

Hmm not a laptop is it? Num Lock on lots of laptops affects the letter keys, too.

 

[CardShark]

Hey guys, I appreciate all the responses. I had a friend of my brothers who is a god at this stuff come over and work his magic and he fixed the issue and he helped me upgrade my comp to windows 7 which is so much better than vista. so for around 100 bucks I have my data backed up to the external hard drive I had in the box since xmas and a computer that runs like a dream. I am thinking I may get this kid to help me set up multiple monitors on my pc. anyways thanks to all of you for your responses.

 

[James Fake]

You'll love multiple monitors, I'm running two 23" screens and I've been in heaven since. My productivity went up by at least 10% which the extra monitors paid itself off technically.

 

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