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Solve : Can't access anything that requires a password?

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I recently bought a cheap laptop at a flea market. Everything works except I can't access anything that requires a password, the page won't open.
It is running on windows xp professional so I guess it used to be a business laptop. It is an HP.
Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem? Quote from: karleigh on NOVEMBER 07, 2009, 08:42:47 AM

I recently bought a cheap laptop at a flea market. Everything works except I can't access anything that requires a password, the page won't open.
It is running on windows xp professional so I guess it used to be a business laptop. It is an HP.
Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem?
First issue. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER BUY ELECTRONICS FROM A FLEA MARKET. If you just bought it, use an xp cd and re-install it. That way, any viruses that are basically guarenteed to be on there will be gone, and the correct settings will be re-SET. You will lose all your files, but don't put in a flash drive, etc. or any infection may spread. I ran virus protection on it. There are no viruses. Just that one issue and I can't figure out how to fix it.If you are sure, then put an nessasary files on a flash drive and re-install xp. On  this FORUM there is policy of not helping with laptop passwords.

But from your comment, it seems that you can start the computer and get it to somehow run. Is that correct?

The prior owner may have put a password lock on some personal information. Or have LOCKED the administer account.

If you got the Install CD with the Laptop you can do a new installation and have a usable MACHINE.The install CD will destroy all information on the HDD and provide a fresh copy of the original Operating System.
(Forgot to motion. Some laptops have a built-in recovery system.)

If you are satisfied with the laptop and think it is worthwhile, you may want to contact the manufacture of the laptop. Expect them to respond by email if the laptop is still under their support. Otherwise you may be on your own.

Now in some cases, you can buy a replacement OEM install disk for a fraction of the retail price of Windows VISTA or XP. These disks only work on the original machine. They are sold at a discount for repair of older computers that had a proper OS and the owner lost the CD.

It starts and runs fine. It just won't let me go anywhere that requires a password. I have no recovery disk for it.
How do I know if it has built in recovery? Quote from: karleigh on November 07, 2009, 01:20:13 PM
It starts and runs fine. It just won't let me go anywhere that requires a password. I have no recovery disk for it.
How do I know if it has built in recovery?
That information is on the HP site.
Laptops are often set up different from Desktops. Some have recovery CDs, some have recovery partitions. But it depends on the model.  There might even be a special disk called 'recovery', but it is not really a XP install disk.
http://www.hp.com/


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