How do i remove password from computer

Was given a used dell xps running windows xp when i boot up it asks for a password that i dont have. I found a program called windows geek for $34.95 that said it could remove the password easy. anybody ever here of this tool. any feedback i will be grateful. thanks

 

Is this a Windows or a BIOS password?

 

When i first turn on the computer the first screen that comes up says enter a password.

 

when i press enter it asks me if i forgot my password

 

If this password comes up in less than 5 or 10 seconds, then it is a BIOS password. If the PC is a laptop, you're probably out of luck. Laptops have this as a security measure so if the laptop is stolen, it is essentially useless to the thief. If this PC is a tower, you should be able to reset the BIOS using the on-board jumper. Some tower PCs have a separate jumper on the MB for passwords, so you'd use the BIOS reset jumper, and the password reset jumper. For more info about these jumpers, you could visit the Dell support page, type in the Service Tag number from the sticker found on all Dell PCs, and you should be able to locate a MB schematic or manual showing the locations of these jumpers, and the manual would clearly explain how to use the jumpers. Since the Dell XPS is available in both laptop and tower/desktop models, and the XPS also has a full model number (like XPS M140 for example), we can't really offer much more info than this....

 

Yes this was a business machine. i believe all the files were deleted or uninstalled but the user account is still password protected

 

....

 

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

 

I thank you all for your help. this is a tower machine that was left in the trash but is in exelent condition. A friend just informed me it is better to just buy a new hard drive, since all the other hardware is in good working order

 

Thats a BIOS password and you will have to locate the bios jumper on the main board to remove it! If you are not familiar with computers I would suggest you find someone that is! This is just a 2 minute process if you know what your doing!

 

If it was in the dumpster, then there's a good chance that something is wrong with it, somewhere. But since you don't need the data on the hard drive, you could simply reformat the drive and install a clean OS on it. This would erase the Windows log in password (and everything else) on the drive and basically take the PC back to "day one" condition. However, it still has not been clearly stated as to whether this password is a "power on password" that comes up in less than 10 seconds after turning on the PC, or if it's a Windows log in password which would come up after all the Windows loading screens with the scrolling progress indicators, or if this a hard drive admin password which would come after the initial BIOS/POST screen but before Windows starts to load. If it is this 3rd type of password, the only way to get past it is to buy a new hard drive. The first two types of passwords have already been discussed in post #7 and post #11.