Locked out of my laptop

[Clipper]

Geez! I don't use my laptop often, and I forgot the password to unlock it and start it. I came pre-loaded with the windows 7 software and no. disc.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might get into it? I can't reset the password either because I don't have a back up disc. Can I take it somewhere and have them reload windows and start over? I don't really have anything stored on it that I can't reload from my desk top.

[clarencebunsen]

Clipper,
It shouldn't be necessary to reload anything, there are lots of password recovery tools and programs. I've never used any of them so if Ralph or someone else with experience has a suggestion go with it. If not I looks some stuff up tomorrow.

Personal opinion: screen lock passwords do not need to be overly complicated. If someone has physical access to your computer, he can get in within minutes.

[Clipper]

I spoke with Ralph on the phone last night and he did not have the answer. I called my local guru this morning and he said if I bring it into the shop he can do a "password break" for $20. That will be plenty cheap enough for me.

I normally write the passwords I use in a notebook where I keep addresses etc. I somehow neglected to do that when I changed the laptop password last.

It must be age. I used the laptop last in October and between then and now the password simply left my memory. I booted the thing up last night to do updates in preparation for our trip to Winston Salem on the 21st and when it asked for the password I typed in the last one I remembered and it was not valid. Hmmm. Getting senile I guess.

Kathy is having a 5 1/2 hour back surgery again on the 22nd, and I will be in a hotel and sitting around the hospital for about two weeks before she will be ready to travel home. I would be lost without my computer.

The last surgery resulted in her being in ICU for a couple days and then in the hospital for 10 more days. For the first few days, she was pretty much out of it due to the pain medication. I would have gone nuts had I not been able to get online and browse or play poker. The program selection on the limited cable in the rooms sucks, haha.

Thanks for the reply Clarence. Have a great day.

[clarencebunsen]

$20 sounds like a good deal especially if it's someone you trust. Going on-line to find a solution opens up a large set of trust issues.

Good luck to Kathy on her surgery.

[Clipper]

You are right about the trust issues. I have used this guy for computer issues ever since I have had a computer. (Ralph has cleaned up my hard drive and helped me a couple times when I brought the desk top home with me on vacation. Thanks again Ralph)

I browsed about last night and found many websites that would provide me with the ways to break the password, but most required accessing them on my desk top, downloading the program to a memory stick and loading it into the laptop. Just reading about those options was quite scary. I have to think that anyone that can teach ME to hack into my laptop, is no one that I want to download anything into my PC from. LOL

A couple of them were even blocked by Avast when I went to click on the links to read about them. After the experience with my debit card being compromised this week, the last thing I want to do is invite someone to hack my PC by downloading malware, and cause me some more problems and paranoia, hahaha.

[clarencebunsen]

I had the same thought as I looked at a few of those sites.

I thought about you as I listened to the Clark Howard show while driving home last night. He was talking about ID theft, credit checks & freezing credit. Since I doubt that you open new accounts or get loans often, it might make sense to "freeze" you credit. Then if someone tries to open an account using your info, alarms go off.

A link to his ID Theft Guide is here:
www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/consumer-issues-id-theft/identity-theft-guide/nFbr/

Point 6 at the end has a link to freezing credit.

[Ralph]

$20 sounds like a bargain Clipper!!!

Otherwise you have a large electronic frisbee on your hands.

[Clipper]

I have a friend and neighbor who is also the VP of my bank. I will speak with him about the possibility, and the pluses and minuses of freezing my credit. Thanks for the link. It is convenient when your bank VP buys adjacent land and builds within a couple of hundred yards of home, haha. He was actually among the first contacts I made when we arrived here in Tennessee and opened new accounts to deposit our funds here. We had adjoining docks when we had our pontoon moored at a local marina, and he and I occasionally fished together before I pretty much have quit fishing. He has a 21 foot Ranger bass boat that goes so damned fast that just a few feet of hull and the motor shaft are in the water, haha. It never hurts to form a close relationship with a trusted banker.

[Clipper]

Ralph, $20 and he will fix it in 5 minutes while I wait. THAT is an extremely great outcome to what could be a very expensive mistake, LOL. I may look at some PC's while I am there. He builds computers and warranties them for two years. A friend purhased on of his machines for gaming, and it is extremely fast and dependable. Either that or I will ask him about souping up my present Emachine if that is possible. That is probably pretty doubtful.

[Ralph]

You should be able to have that thing upgraded to Windows 7.
If nothing else, extra RAM will speed that thing up like you wouldn't believe!

[chris]

How to get into windows if you forgot your password?


Source: www.ehow.com/how_7410533_windows-forgot-password...

1. Ask for the password hint when prompted once your computer boots up. Sometimes, this will jar your memory and allow you to log in. 2. Click "Next." Click "Repair your computer." Choose "Windows 7" and click "Next." Click "System Restore.... More »

[Clipper]

The password hint did me no good. I tried booting it up in safe mode and following the instructions to reset and it didn't work. I went on google and checked out different sites to break the password and they looked hinky to me so I didn't use them. I called the shop I use and for $20 and 5 minutes of my time, they broke the password and cleared it so it will start up and open windows 7 and allow me to reset a password. Best $20 I ever spent. As Ralph told me, if ya can't break the password, you have an electronic frisbee, haha.

[chris]

Glad you got it fixed easily and uncostly. Now i hope you put new password in a safe spot after you have written it down.

[Clipper]

I am writing it in the front of my address book and on a slip of paper that is in my wallet. The computer guy said that the password to unlock a laptop is normally not a big thing security wise. He says that most password protected laptops can be unlocked in only a few minutes by anyone that wants to get into them. (unless you are a computer dummy like myself, haha) You can buy software to break passwords for $20 or soI see his point. All that password does is allow a person to open windows and start the computer. All of my other stuff, such as the forum, email, and face book accounts are individually password protected. YES, I did write all those passwords on a slip of paper that is in my wallet, along with the laptop password, LOL. Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas everyone. Crisis averted! I can't imagine spending two weeks without easy access to the internet, sitting in a hospital room or hotel room without my computer.

[Clipper]

PS: While I was browsing around his shop looking at his computer selection, I saw a machine he had built for a gamer that had Terabytes of memory and a 30+ inch monitor for $1400. I asked him about upgrading my little Emachine. He said that he could add some ram for me, and if I wanted to have a bigger machine, he could sell me a chassis and all the things I would need to build my own computer. I looked at him, raised one eyebrow, and asked him if he really believed that someone that can't even get into their own laptop should tackle building an entire computer from components. ROFL