boot password

[manodivx]

is there a way to set a password like when the comp is first booting b4 windows starts....because i cant keep the damn kid off my computer....and he always screws it up....any help is welcomed

[manodivx]

oh yeh forgot...incase u need to know im running xp

[wmansir]

you can set one in the bios. check your manual, or just play around, it should be pretty easy to find the settings. Usually you can set it up in one of 3 ways.

1. disabled. No password set.(default)

2. Setup. The system will boot without a password, but you need one to enter the bios and make changes.

3. Startup. You need to enter a password to boot the computer.

The only way around this is to erase/flash the bios.

For XP you can go into the Control Panel->User accounts. open your account and then click 'create password'. Be sure and add a password to all accounts on the machine or disable them.

The advantage of the Bios method is that the system doesn't even boot unless you enter the password. The advantage of the XP method is you can lock down the machine without turning it off, or even logging out(winkey+L). Of course you can do both, if you don't mind entering a password twice at bootup.

[gldblade]

i want to run an ftp server without my parents seeing it.....so i wanna be able to hide it....and the idea with explorer.exe was ok but i need it to do it automatically when i start up not manually every time...any more ideas?

is there a way to set a password like when the comp is first booting b4 windows starts....because i cant keep the damn kid off my computer....and he always screws it up....any help is welcomed

So I guess both parent and child visit this board. :D

[manodivx]

huh? this is the same person both times....its just on a diff comp
the ftp prog is on my parents comp and the password is on my computer....so i can stop my bro from goin on his since he is meant to use my parents

[gldblade]

Well, when you say "the damn kid", its presumed that its your child. Never mind. :)