laptop startup password problem

W

whiteheater

Active Member
Just got a new Compaq Presario laptop computer with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Everything seems to work great (except the speakers don't seem to get very loud). Anyway my problem with it is this:

WHen I started the computer up for the first time, it asks you to supply a password and type that password in twice. I must have made an error when typing it in the second time because I got an error message saying the passwords don't match. However the screen went to the next page anyway. So now when I turn on the computer, it bypasses the password and goes straight to the desktop. I'd like to have it password protected so how do I do that?


I have a Windows 7 Home Premium CD ROM that I used to update my old Vista to Windows 7. Can I use that to get the password screen to return? Is there an easier way?

William
 
Enter/Change your password

Hi William,

By coincedence I have also recently installed Windows 7, 64 bit, on my desktop PC. and I am just finding my way around the new system.

I think you can do what you want using the following ... ...

From the right hand side of the "Start" menu ....

CONTROL PANEL > USER ACCOUNTS > CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD​

Hope this helps​

Handygrandad​


Addendum:


PS

Re your sound problem ... ... Might be worth checking out ....

CONTROL PANEL (Change "VIEW" to "SMALL ICONS") > SOUND > SPEAKERS > LEVELS TAB

Also ... .... many laptops have a seperate volume control button somewhere above the keyboard !

Best wishes

Handygrandad
 
Last edited:
Yeah, default volumes not @ 100%. Best to have it at that when using speakers (so you use the speaker volume control instead). While you're in the sound preferences enable the icon to show in teh system tray for easy volume adjustment.
 
new problems with laptop

More problems

Today for some reason I found I cannot get online at all. It says the WLAN is disabled (although I didn't do anything to disable it) and I'd need to enable it. (Had no trouble getting online the first 3 days I had the computer) I checked HP's help assistance and it said to use the mobility center but that didn't work. Next it said enable it in bios by pressing F10 after turning the laptop back on. It says to get to setup but when i press F10 it goes by the screen with the setup so quickly I don't have time to choose setup. Besides that, to get to the bios screen now it asks for an administrative password but the one I chose doesn't work (get invalid password). HELP!!!!!!

William

Addendum:

Well I finally figured out where the button you press to turn the WLAN back on and got internet access again. (It's right next to the off-on switch!) So that problem is solved.

Now all I need to do is get the administrative password to work in case I need to get into the bios one day or whatever else I might need it for. It isn't accepting the password I put in!
 
Last edited:
Hello again,

I'm wondering how "new" your laptop is ??

If for instance, you bought it secondhand, then it's very likely that the BIOS password has been set by the previous owner.

It's something that is often overlooked when a computer changes hands, because there are so few occasions when anyone needs to access the BIOS after the initial setup.

If this is the case, I suggest you contact the previous owner, and hope they can remember the password they used.

ON THE OTHER HAND !!

If it is brand spanking new ... ... the BIOS may have a factory default setting and hopefully this will be explained in the the laptop manual.

In any event, a BIOS password is something seperate from a password you setup for your operating system. (although you, might choose to use the same actual word)

Let me know how you get on

Handygrandad
 
Provided you're happy to reset all the non-default options manually afterwards, you can open the PC, remove the CMOS battery, set the "clear CMOS" jumper (nearby the battery usually) to "clr" for 10 seconds, re-jumper it to it's prior position and replace the battery. That will clear all the BIOS settings (including the date and time, and the password), and you should then be able to enter BIOS setup (which you'll need to do to reset all the previous options)
Alternatively, you could try hacking the password first using known OEM backdoors.
See http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/reference/biosp.htm

Addendum:

Apparently some PCs will reset the password alone, by using the jumper.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top