ChatterBank6 mins ago
Lap Top Password?
20 Answers
I have bought a 2nd hand Dell laptop, but I do not know the password to get logged on.
It powers up fine but needs a password, can't contact the seller as it was a charity shop purchase. Runs Windows XP which I will up grade but still need a password. What can I do?
It powers up fine but needs a password, can't contact the seller as it was a charity shop purchase. Runs Windows XP which I will up grade but still need a password. What can I do?
Answers
1 to 20 of 20
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by EDDIE51. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
-- answer removed --
It may be worth considering Eddie that there may be private or sensitive info on that machine if it has not been "cleaned" up prior to disposal. Perhaps you should be reinstalling and reformatting windows from scratch.
//The right way is simply not to try. Get a Windows install disk – perhaps one even came with the machine – and reformat and reinstall Windows from scratch. It’s the “right” way for two reasons:
You’re not even going to try to access or recover the previous owner’s data. More importantly, you’re not going to suffer from any infections or malware left behind by the previous owner.
That person didn’t know enough to securely erase their data, so what faith do you have that the machine isn’t loaded with viruses and malware? Reformat and reinstall really is the right thing to do.
People are curious or “adventuresome” (perhaps a synonym for foolhardy?) and want to run or see what’s on the existing hard disk – perhaps (hopefully) before they reformat and reinstall.
Fair enough. As it turns out, it’s very easy to gain access by downloading a password reset tool, burning it to CD, and booting from that CD.//
https:/
//The right way is simply not to try. Get a Windows install disk – perhaps one even came with the machine – and reformat and reinstall Windows from scratch. It’s the “right” way for two reasons:
You’re not even going to try to access or recover the previous owner’s data. More importantly, you’re not going to suffer from any infections or malware left behind by the previous owner.
That person didn’t know enough to securely erase their data, so what faith do you have that the machine isn’t loaded with viruses and malware? Reformat and reinstall really is the right thing to do.
People are curious or “adventuresome” (perhaps a synonym for foolhardy?) and want to run or see what’s on the existing hard disk – perhaps (hopefully) before they reformat and reinstall.
Fair enough. As it turns out, it’s very easy to gain access by downloading a password reset tool, burning it to CD, and booting from that CD.//
https:/
Good call I think Eddie. Just a for instance for you. What if you did gain access.....and found something very unpleasant indeed? Something that you had to report to the police tucked away in the files. You would have to "prove" that you were not responsible and the machine could be confiscated to " help the police with their enquiries".
My mac was second hand - bought from the local mart.
The filese had been removed, but being a nosy person I used a file recovery tool and found that it had previously been an estate agents - found photos of houses.
I also found a text file with username and password - can't remember what for!
I then reformatted it and installed my own software.
The filese had been removed, but being a nosy person I used a file recovery tool and found that it had previously been an estate agents - found photos of houses.
I also found a text file with username and password - can't remember what for!
I then reformatted it and installed my own software.
Ebay sellers are still selling the XP operating system, if you have the product key, the first item below should suffice – otherwise buy the second.
http://
http://
I recently gave up on XP due to problems surfing the net – many websites appear not to like the operating system, causing problems with page loading etc.
http://
http://
I recently gave up on XP due to problems surfing the net – many websites appear not to like the operating system, causing problems with page loading etc.
Eddie if you have the product key any xp disc will do. Just enter the key when prompted. I may be wrong but I think you may be able to do a reinstall via microsoft without a disc as long as you have the key. Think people who have had to renew hard drives etc when they bought machines without a disc after they were initialized by dealers and pc "shops".
Have a look at this from step2.
https:/
https:/
Since you have internet access, have a look at http://
you could always use kon-boot to bypass..look for free version
http://
http://
1 to 20 of 20
Latest Posts
ChatterBank8 mins ago
Quizzes & Puzzles8 mins ago
Crosswords16 mins ago
Will You Be Shopping At Boots This...
News22 mins ago
