Locked out of laptop, need help

My friend purchased a laptop from someone a few years back. Here's the problem. The computer was set up so that when you started the computer, you did not need a password and user name to login. (That;s how it was when he got it) This morning, he said he turned it on and it required login info. Due to the fact that the person he bought the computer from has since passed away, there is no way to get the login info. Is there a way to get around the login screen? It is a Dell laptop running Windows XP. Thank you.

 

Press F8 be four windows boots up and then try going into the Debug Os and try to change it there.

 

I'm guessing that's a Dell thing? If its not then you're thinking of Vista, which has that option, you should just be able to press f8 continuously until some boot options come up, then select safe mode ... If you have to enter a username and password, enter Administrator as the username and leave the password blank ...