Password doesn't work after Geeksquad

[MadMedic]

I know that you can't give this information out on the forums but I seriously need help. If someone can PM me I would greatly appreciate it. I dropped my laptop off at BestBuy because I had the extended warranty. The LCD went out and so they shiped it out. Well i got it back today but none of my passwords work. They didn't reload the OS so I know it isn't that. The laptop didn't come with a Windows CD so I can't use that trick. The laptop doesn't have a floppy drive but does have a CD-Rom. I have posted enough on the forums that I would hope that my credibility has shown. If someone can help me out I would greatly appreciate it. Please!!!!!!

This is XP Home by the way.

[ViprXX]

Honestly, you should just call the Bestbuy that you dropped it off at and explain the problem to them since they are the ones who messed with it and they should fix your problem for you. also, out of curiosity, exactly what passwords aren't working anymore. The only ones I could see them maybe messing up is your main password to logon to Windows and maybe Outlook Express or IM program password. Any other online passwords should still be fine.

good luck

[MadMedic]

My password to log onto windows. I changed the way users log on to the ctrl+alt+del method. I am the only one using the laptop as my wife uses my old laptop. I know what the password is but it won't work. I know for sure what it is because I set it up exactly like my old laptop. It's driving me nuts. I won't bring it back to them because I don't trust them.

[Murray S.]

Howdy:

What about the main system admin account?

Regardless as to if you trust them, they screwed it up.. make them fix it.

Murray

[MadMedic]

I tried the password I had set for it when I set the computer up and it didn't work either. If I can't get into tonight I may just end up going in tomorrow and see what they can do. I am just afraid that they will say that they need to format the drive and reinstall windows. I hate that new machines don't come with cd's anymore. I should have created the emergency CD as the computer tried to get me to do.

[MadMedic]

I have an XP Pro Upgrade CD. The upgrade is no longer installed on an older machine I had it set up on. If I upgraded would I be able to get in that way? Honestly I've never had to break in to a machine before. I will keep searching the net. I need to get in as there are some things on the machine that I didn't move off to my backup drive before I took it in. This is the 3rd laptop i had the screen go out on and have never had this problem.

[MadMedic]

Ok. How could they have reset all of the passwords? I decided to try going into safe mode, typing administrator and.....I'll leave the last step out. It worked. I got into the control panel and saw that the user name I had set up was changed ever so slightly and then the option to set a password was there, not change my password. I am definately going to call about this. So far all of my stuff is there.

[Murray S.]

Thanks for the update.

So the main system admin account worked then after all?

Murray

[MadMedic]

Well in a round about way. I had a password set for it, but there wasn't one when I accessed the computer. I am calling the Idiot Squad tomorrow. My main user name is my First Name space Middle Initial period Last Name. When i got in on the administrator account the main account had a space between the Period and the Last Name. Also I had the user name in all lower caps but the first letter of the first name, the middle initial and the first letter of the last name were all capitalized. This had to have been changed. Not to mention that all of the passwords were gone.

[striker840]

This is not the first time I have heard horror stories about the "GeekSquad". There was a nightline or 20/20 or something like that story on how several different national chains would get into your drive and start poking around just to see whats there, find pic's etc... Sounds like you should start at the store manager and work your way up to get this resolved, if the employees were messing around with your laptop and it was not related to the inital issue somebody's butt needs to be fired.

Its idiots like this that give the rest of us PC repair business a bad name!!

[MadMedic]

I called to a manager today and got the run around. The tech I first talked to said they do it so they can scan the computer for spyware\viruses. Then the idiots tried to tell me that I didn't have antivirus protection on there. I have the client portion of the corporate version of TrendMicro installed.

When I finally talked to the store manager he stated that they weren't supposed to delete the passwords unless they had called the customer first and gotten approval. Then I mentioned how they had access to all of my files and could have downloaded anything they wanted. The reply was' Well we would have no reason to do this." Then I told him about the report on national tv on major chains and how some techs had copied the contents of hard drives without the companies knowledge. It may not be their policy to dl info but how do they know what an employee will do. Then I mentioned to him about identity theft and he got real quiet. I will be waiting for a call back from him on a resolution. If I don't hear something by tomorrow then I will be calling the store manager and on up from there.

[striker840]

If I were you and you did not get a callback today I would then go over his head to the regional manager or whatever they call it in their structure. This is one reason I learned how to work on my own pc's so this would not happen.

[MadMedic]

I got a call back with an apology and "it won't happen again.

Oh I know my way around a computer but when it comes to laptops I'm not messing with the screen especially when it's under warranty.

[sendregisters]

If you are logged in simply go to run
the type cmd
type cd C:\ in the new window and hit enter
then type net user username *
it will ask you for a new password