Friends of mine were given a computer from a single uncle who died and were surprised to find that there was a lot to look at. A whole side to Uncle's life that no one knew existed :-)

Just rang my mate and there are no disks with the computer HARRYCAT.

Is it possible to just reformat the whole thing from a copy of Windows XP ?

Unlike Kayak's mate my mate isn't nosey :-)

Dil

You can reset the Windows password by using this NT Password Reset. Last time I used it, it was an ISO image that could be burnt to a CD which you use to boot the computer and then reset the Windows password.

Once you get Windows running, run Belarc Advisor to recover the Windows Key if you haven't already got it. Reformatting the disk is never a bad idea on an unknown machine, but you may as well get any info and program keys off the disk first. If you go for a complete reinstall, you must have an XP SP2 disk if the hard drive is bigger than 125MB.

Edit

I've just read your last post. Any XP installation disk will do but note my comments re SP2 and you have to have thecorrect version (Home or Prof). You also have to recover the key first.

the fan on my laptop is now working
but not moving from packard bell screen

Can't I just get him a dodgy copy of any Windows XP version to use ?

Will try the other way first for him though Optimist but probably not until weekend.

I think you need to visit the repair shop. Or the fridge!

There are sites around that will help you crack or at least reset the Windows password(s).

search for

reset windows password

or

hack windows password

Cheers Haystack I have had a look at a few , will see if the one Optimist gave me works first.

The password cracker sites will only work if it is an easy to guess password or if you are not using the high encription option on your system. This was a late addon for Win 2K and is standard on Win XP although it may not be enabled.

The one that I suggested does not crack the password, it just replaces it.

MS has finally got round to wanting SP3 on my XP comp.
I remember this was a nightmare update when it first came out.
Anyone know if things have improved?
Thanks in advance.

I have been using XP SP3 for 10 moths with no problems. System performance is supposed to be improved by around 10% but that is almost impossible to verify in real life. The only problem thaat I have heard about was highlighted by MightyMicro on these boards. It was a DHCP issue which had an easy workaround if you only have a couple of machines. It may well have been fixed now.

Much obliged, Optimist. Thanks.

My BBC iplayer has stopped working after working fine for months .... this happened after updating to SP3. Plays for approx 14 seconds then starts buffering.

Any suggestions ?

Dilare you opening up a junk/second hand shop?

Why ... got some MDX products that need shifting ?

Dil - you don't need anything other than the Windows XP CD to crack the administrator password. See this article: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=305

Alternately, as you say you're not bothered about what's on the machine, you can indeed format the disk and install XP from the CD

Hi zz I haven't seen you around for some time.

Thanks for that link. I think the NT password reset is easier but it does have the disadvantage that it will destroy the existing user accounts.

I used to think that password protecting the BIOS and hence locking out alternative boot devices was a waste of time because it is so easily circumvented but I'm now coming to the view that computers should always be locked and BIOS protected. It's just too easy to get into them.

Hi O - just upgraded here from freeloader status (got sick of Advfn's non-working monitor and total lack of interest in fixing it, so came over here)

My problem of getting onto the Selftrade site was resolved to a point. As a company they are useless with the IT dept not getting back to me. Surprisingly it was Virginmedia who helped. It was something to do with my LAN settings and proxy servers. However, after the changes, my computer ran like a dog yesterday on all sites and could barely cope with anything. By unticking 'use a proxy server for your Lan' speeded everything back up but then I couldn't get back onto Selftrade! I've been told Firefox will be better so I'm trying that today.

dd

click the Advanced button under the 'use a proxy server for your Lan' and insert the selftrade site under Exceptions