Win7PC suddenly asking for password??

[thekb]

Windows 7 PC never had a password set before, but now won't boot without one. I have no idea how it could have been set. Pretty sure not set locally. Is the hard drive failing or could someone set a password remotely through malware?

Is there a way to get in to my data or will I have to reformat and reinstall everything? This is long distance tech supprt for my parents and they are frustrated that I can't fix it for them from 200 miles away!

 

[kolax]

Probably some malware. Do you have access to another machine? If so, you can do something like this to clear the password.