I know that generally it is considered too dificult to get into one in the limited amount of time normally available to a BS trying to get into the WS laptop.

I have all the time in the world to get into a teenagers one, however none of the passwords I knew of are working. I have tried going in as a guest but can't access the C drive. I do have some limited access when it is hooked up the the family omputer in the 'shared folders' portion. I think if I can find a bootable disk I could possibly get some access to the C drive without triggering the window security settings.

Is there anything else I could try?

If this is YOUR teenager's laptop, why not just ask for the password?

I can tell you how to get access. It really isn't that difficult. But first, I would like to know why you just don't ask for it. My son is 13 and is not allowed to have anyhting locked up in his room or to have anything password protected unless I know the password.

Are you having specific problems with your child that would prevent you from just obtaining the passowrd in an HONEST fashion?

I don't want to speak for lildoggie but I reply because I think this is urgent.

I think the explanation is here:
http://www.marriagebuilders.com/ubb...&topic=0&Search=true#Post2153360

Her 16 YO daughter has run away and I guess that lildoggie wants to access the laptop to find out where she might be.

How to Log on to Windows XP if You Forget Your Password
Here is a simple way to access Windows XP with Administrator rights and privileges if you have password protected your User account on your Windows XP system and can't remember the password(s) to login. Whenever Windows XP is installed on a system, it creates a default account called "Administrator" and by default this account is not password protected. Therefore, if you bought a brand name computer (such as Dell, HP, Compaq or Sony)or you have installed Windows XP yourself. You should be able to login to the computer through the unprotected Administrator account.


Steps

Reboot your machine.

Press F8 before the Windows boot screen appears.

Do not press F5 as used on the NT/9x series of Windows.
You will be be prompted with a boot options menu.
Select the Start Windows in Safe Mode option.
Click through several self-explanatory screens until your reach the familiar 'Welcome' screen.
Note that this welcome screen is limited to 256 colors and 640x480 resolution because the primary graphics will have been set to the Windows Safe Mode software VGA adapter. You will not be able to change this mode even in Display options, while Windows is running in Safe Mode.
Find the icon for the Administrator user. If the default settings of your system haven't been changed, there should be no password for this account.
The Safe Mode Welcome screen might display some of the other users on your system.
Login as the admin.
Press Yes at the prompt asking if you would like to continue using Safe Mode.
Continue on to the User Settings control panel. Here you can change any of the other passwords for user on the machine. Make any changes you want.
Reboot your computer. As long as you don't press any keys (i.e. F8) during the boot-up the computer will startup normally.
Login as the user for which you set the password.


http://www.wikihow.com/Log-on-to-Windows-XP-if-You-Forget-Your-Password

If those previous directions don't work let me know.

Also let me know if you able to burn a CDROM disc on a computer. I have a Linux boot CD that you can start the computer from and overwrite the password in the registry even if the computer's hard drive is formatted NTFS.

Password Reset Utility


and if you need help understanding the directions and don't know anyone else my yahoo ID is bobbym77

Thank you Medc,

That worked,

I got in and had a quick look at the files in the users directory and found nothing of any use. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

Thanks again.

Make sure none of the files are "hidden". You can find this by going to "Tools" "View" and then "Folder Options". If you click "do not hide hidden files" anything that was hidden will show up.

you're welcome. I hope your daughter is safe and shows up soon.

Don't forget to look around for web based communication

Internet History
Cookies
Yahoo Instant Messenger
MSN Messenger
Myspace and Myspace IM
Skype
AOL Instant Messenger..

If you think something might have been deleted and want to try and recover the files I think I might still have a undelete application on a CD somewhere.

You have no idea how much of a users life never leaves the hard drive even when you think its been deleted.

If she has email accounts, check the 'sent' folder.
People will keep their inbox cleaned out and forget to empty the sent folder. Also check the trash can or deleted items.

I have children around that age. I can't imagine the worry.