setting passwords in XP

My friend thought she had parts of her computer password protected, and her son has changed &/or bipassed them. (Imagine that?!) She has an Emachine and is running XP-Home SP2. What does she need to do to set the passwords and protect them from getting changed? We're hoping he's not going "inside". Thanks!

 

Did he change the password to lock her out?

 

Anyone who has administrator privileges can reset the passwords for any user account on the system. Once she logs into her account, assuming it has administrator privileges, she can change the passwords and account privileges.

Start -> Control Panel

Double-Click User Accounts

Select Change an Account

Pick an account to change

Change the password if a password exists

Create a password if no pasword exists

Change the account type

Select Limited

 

He may be booting into safe mode and using the default Windows Administrator account to change settings. You should be able to boot into safe mode by pressing the 'F8' key repeatedly while it is booting up. Safe mode allows the OS to load only the minimum programs necessary for the machine to work and gives access to the default Administrator account. The Administrator password should be blank, unless someone has set a password. Just follow S_P_Ds advise and set passwords for all administrator accounts, including the default Administrator account. I had a friend with the same problem, and this is how her kids were getting in.

 

Thanks all for your help .I don't know if he locked her out she didn't say.Boy that would be something your son lock you out of your own computer,I would be mad. Wife is going over there today to set it up . Thanks again for your all's help. Will let ya know how it works . Chuck