How do I password protect my Windows account?
Right now anyone can sit down at my computer and use it because there's no password. I want to set up a password so I have to log in. How do I do this in Windows XP? What if I forget my password — am I locked out forever? Should everyone in my family have their own account?
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The best resource for this kind of thing is Tom's Hardware forums. Someone has almost certainly had your exact problem and posted a solution. The community there is really knowledgeable and helpful.
3 Answers
The best resource for this kind of thing is Tom's Hardware forums. Someone has almost certainly had your exact problem and posted a solution. The community there is really knowledgeable and helpful.
Before you do anything drastic, try booting into Safe Mode (tap F8 when the computer starts up). If the problem goes away in Safe Mode it's a software or driver issue, not hardware. That one trick narrows down half of all PC problems.
I always tell people: buy a UPS battery backup. A $40 one will protect your PC from power surges and brownouts that slowly kill your hardware. Lost a motherboard to a thunderstorm once. Never again.
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