PC with old passwords and Linux installed

[Harrisonne]

i have been given an old PC from work and it has Linux installed. Unfortunatley i don't have any of the old passwords in order to uninstall this and get windows up and running on it. Can i override this somehow, or is it better to take the harddrive out and start again?

Also is it possible to delete the information on the harddrive??

[vehelpfulguy]

If you put a Windows CD in the drive and "boot" from that then you should get the option to format the drive (delete everything off it) and install Windows.

Then you will not need to logon to Linux.

[vehelpfulguy]

Note to boot from the CD it needs to be ahead of the hard drive in the boot sequence.

In other words it needs to look for Windows on the CD BEFORE it looks on the hard drive.

You can change the boot sequence by going into the BIOS.

As you start up the computer look for a message that will say something like "Press Delete to enter BIOS"

It may only be there for a few seconds, and it may not be the delete key, so read the text of the message carefully.

When you are in the BIOS look for an option like Boot Sequence.

Set "CD" first then "hard drive" second.

Switch PC off then on again and it sohuld boot from the Windows CD

[OBonio]

You may want to save your BIOS settings before you switch the PC off though ;o).

[Harrisonne]

Thanks 'helpfulguy'! I will give that a try tonight!
:D