Is it Windows log-on password after powering-up the computer, or network log-on password? If you friend didn't set-up the password then it shouldn't be there, someone might be 'playing' with her laptop when she wasn't watching. For Windows XP there are utilities for finding out the boot password, or resetting it to none, and it works both from CD or from memory-stick, You might try that, or find something similar for Vista.