I have a laptop that has Winlock Pro (which is a security program)
installed on it and I forgot the password to unlock it. The laptop is
running Windows 2000 and thought that a way around it might be to
uninstall Winlock by booting into Safe Mode. I did this and it allowed
me to uninstall it but now I still can't install programs on the PC
nor can I even access the Winlock password prompt. I don't have the
CDs to reinstall and even if I did, it won't allow me to install
anything. Any ideas on how to get around this? I thought about editing
the registry but I didn't want to create more problems.

celeste33...

From what I've read in the WinLock user's guide, the outlook seems
pretty bleak. They strongly caution you not to uninstall the 
program without disabling all the settings first.

It would seem that since you've uninstalled it with the settings
active, you are now limited to hacking your machine. Uninstalling
the program only removes the program's interface with the Windows 
operating system, but leaves behind all the changes made to it.
Since the WinLock program seems to be a user-friendly policy
editor interface, it seems that your choices now are to expertly
dig through the Windows 2000 Policy Editor:
Start -> Run -> gpedit.msc 

or

the Windows Registry:
Start -> Run -> regedit

which will reflect any and all changes made in the Policy Editor,
so you wouldn't need to sift through both.

Using either of these options would be a daunting task, even
for an talented geek, but I don't know of any other options.

You could also try creating a new Windows user, which *might*
circumvent the changes to the other users by restoring the
'default' registry for the new user. However, if the policies
were edited in such a way as to include new users, this won't
be of any help. 

The only solution other than this is fairly radical, and involves
using Windows Setup, on your Windows installation CD, to repair
the registry:

"The simplest way of restoring a damaged registry in Windows 2000
 is to use the Setup.exe program to run Windows setup on a single
 boot system. 

"How to run the Setup.exe file to repair your Registry.
 You'll need to set your computer to boot from your CD-ROM drive
 if it isn't doing so already. Put your Windows 2000 setup CD in
 your CD-ROM drive and restart your computer."

"Run the Setup.exe file manually if the Windows setup program
 does not start automatically on reboot. You will need to find
 and open the Setup.exe file on your Windows 2000 CD-ROM if this
 is the case."

"Select the option to Repair a damaged Windows 2000 installation
 when you are prompted to do so."
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:zoB1_cicHxcJ:www.xtra.co.nz/help/0,,6156-1262916,00.html+%22windows+2000%22+restore+registry&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8

Sorry for the bad news, and I sincerely hope another researcher
can offer you something more hopeful.

sublime1-ga

Thank you for those suggestions sublime1. I will try them.

celeste33...

I look forward to hearing whether anything I suggested was helpful.