Log on problems with Win XP Pro

My wife's computer is a Gateway running Win XP Pro.

Last week I shut it down in order to vacumn it out (never got to do
that) and when I turned it back on it came up with the "Log on to
Windows screen:"

User name: Owner
Password: __________



When I fill in the password ( a simple thing of 3 letters, followed by
123, I get the following message.

"The system could not log you on. Make sure the user name and domain
are correct, then type your password again"

The user name in that space has always been Owner
and the password is simple, (I made sure the case was correct for the
password)

My questions:

1.What does it mean user name AND domain. What is meant by domain?

2. Is there a fix/work around for this problem, short of using the
Restore disk.

I bought this computer from my company when they
upgraded therir computers. It has worked flawlessly
for a long time. There has never been a problem in
the past with turning the computwer off and powering
up and entering the password again

3. What are the downsides with using the Restore disk? do I lose all
the other data/software, etc doing this.

All inputs/comments welcomed

Loring H
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dual OS: boot.ini file w/ "noexecute=optin" ??
    ... > editing boot.ini, ... > Also good to mention that this kid put Pro in same partition as Home. ... Back up any data and either use the Restore Disk ... per Gateway's instructions or do a clean install per this link: ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Can this be done?
    ... >>software, drivers and the like, for the hardware that came with it! ... >>want to upgrade the OS to WIN XP Pro! ... AND BACK ON THE HDD AFTER I INSTALL WIN XP PRO? ... >>Home disk, I can't, It's part of the restore disk. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: How do I restore? Girly question
    ... I dont have any restore disk whatsoever. ... >need a restore disk, which one do I need, Pro or Home? ... back to your previous version of Windows. ... your system as part of the upgrade. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain)
  • Re: How do I restore? Girly question
    ... > I recently upgraded to Windows XP Pro from Home, ... I dont have any restore disk whatsoever. ... > need a restore disk, which one do I need, Pro or Home? ... at author's request ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain)