[little87]

I don't know what the heck is going on with my grandma's computer, but she called to say that she can't log on to her administrative account. The password isn't working. I'm not there right now, so I can't know for sure what exactly is going on or anything. But I'm going to assume that she either somehow managed to lock herself out or the computer is infected with a virus. I need help with trying to figure this out from afar, because I can't go over there until Thursday.

The computer is Windows 7, there are two accounts. Her administrative account and her 10 y/o grandson's limited account (previously her account). I've told her zillions of times not to use the administrative account, but she doesn't listen.

Anyway, her grandson uses the computer for hours everyday (he lives there) and she uses the computer for a few minutes once or twice a month, if even that much. I used her account at the end of January to double check security, and everything was fine.

So, here's what I'm wondering:
1) How do we go about getting into her administrative account?
Can I create a new admin account and access hers that way?

I should mention that this computer did not come with any Windows 7 CDs. I created the recovery discs and all that, but grandma seems to have misplaced them and I believe they can only be created once according to either Microsoft or HP.


2) Any ideas as to why she wouldn't be able to log in to her account?
I don't think her grandson is knowledgeable enough to change the password. The computer could have a virus or something like that, but I don't believe it does (don't ask why, just trust me). The only other thing I can think of is that something got messed up somewhere in the security settings. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with Windows 7 as I still have an XP, so I'm not sure what to do here.

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Hi,

From the TOU of GeekstoGo

o. Due to the nature of online help we are not able to verify ownership, and will not be able to help bypass or recover any user passwords, cd keys, license codes, serial numbers, etc.
...
r. We cannot help you get around any administrative restrictions imposed on a school, work or other network not owned and operated by yourself. These restrictions can include (but are not limited to): website blocking/filtering, software installation, email retention, software configuration, network/internet usage, network configuration, forum or chat room restrictions, game server restrictions, or any other actions that are deemed "unauthorized" by the owners/administrators of the network in question.

I can however suggest that you ask your grandma to logon using the grandson's limited account and check if she can type his password in Notepad for example.
In some laptops there is a Fn + F? Key combination to enable the numeric keyboard and this changes the character that is entered.

Exactly this happened to some friends the other day. They also could not log in even after restarting the computer because the laptop kept the Num Lock key enabled.

[SleepyDude]

Hi,

From the TOU of GeekstoGo

o. Due to the nature of online help we are not able to verify ownership, and will not be able to help bypass or recover any user passwords, cd keys, license codes, serial numbers, etc.
...
r. We cannot help you get around any administrative restrictions imposed on a school, work or other network not owned and operated by yourself. These restrictions can include (but are not limited to): website blocking/filtering, software installation, email retention, software configuration, network/internet usage, network configuration, forum or chat room restrictions, game server restrictions, or any other actions that are deemed "unauthorized" by the owners/administrators of the network in question.

I can however suggest that you ask your grandma to logon using the grandson's limited account and check if she can type his password in Notepad for example.
In some laptops there is a Fn + F? Key combination to enable the numeric keyboard and this changes the character that is entered.

Exactly this happened to some friends the other day. They also could not log in even after restarting the computer because the laptop kept the Num Lock key enabled.