I allready have 2 computers in my home that's on DSL .I purchased a used Dell Inspiron / 2200 laptop with windows xp . It had been set up on a prepaid Cingular Wireless ,so I took it to the shop and changed to hook up to my ethernet at home .When I turn it on it pops up previous owners name and password to log in .The only other thing I have been able to get to is , it says I need to have administraters password ,which I have but this is not fixing the problem .I called Dell and because the warrenty is out they want $ 50.00 an hour just to talk to me on the phone with info as to this problem . I even e-mailed Dell still with no results as to resolve this . What do I do ? I can't afford to take it to shop again .
2007-03-11 10:41:08 · 9 answers · asked by mooneyes 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
they should have provided you with a CD, which you need to put in then switch it off then switch the computer on with the CD already inside and it will take you to the reformat section.
If you don't have the CD call dell and say your out of warrenty but you have lost your reformat disc with the drivers. They will charge you but not that much maybe $20-30 to make and ship the CD to you. Beats $50 an hr.
Another option which is the hard one. If you have a Windows CD you can put it in like how i said you would do with the reformat disc and it does the same thing. However all it does is install windows and nothing else. You would then have to find out what motherboard you have, graphics card, sound card the lot and find the driver software for it all and install.
This will wipe out the previous owners user login and such whichever way you choose.
2007-03-11 10:50:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
From my own experience I would go for a macbook. I have a macbook and it works wonderfully. Getting used to the Mac OS was the most difficult challenge for me but now that I have I really enjoy it. Also the macbook tends to have a much longer life span than Dell laptops and you don't have to worry about you computer getting a virus. I guess the bigger question that you should ask yourself is what are you looking for in a computer and does the Mac or the Dell satisfy those needs. I don't think it's that hard to work between the two. I own one mac and three PC's so I go between them a lot. After a while you'll get used to it. Transferring data isn't difficult however you may find along your journey that you will need to get software or hardware that is Mac specified. Some software and hardware won't work on a Mac. Oh and @ the other person the Mac definitely does load up much quicker than the PC :)
2016-03-29 00:33:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
While the computer is booting up you rapidly tap F8 before windows loads and pick Safe Mode then u can log in as an administrator and change the password in the control panel.
If that doesnt work there is another option to clear all password. The instructions are below for that but I would try the option above first.
2007-03-11 11:00:48 · answer #3 · answered by jackie_1969uk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have 4 choices:
1. Call the previous owner and ask him/her for the password.
2. Get a Knoppix CD and break the password.
3. Throw money at the problem, buy a new Windows CD and reload the OS.
4. Get rid of that Windows Operating System which is probably infected with Virii anyway, and get Kubuntu at www.kubuntu.org Just install it and delete your old Operating system. Its easy and you can be online in 10 minutes after you get the CD. Oh, its free, too.
2007-03-11 10:49:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I dont know why having the administrators password wouldnt be working. Does it have a password for the BIOS screen too? If it lets you into BIOS, I think you can change it there. Otherwise, I'm sure there's a fix to this, but I dont know what it is. If nothing else, you might just have to completely re-install windows, that is, if you have a disc. Im sure thats not what you wanted to hear, but I dont have a better answer. Good luck!!
2007-03-11 10:51:10 · answer #5 · answered by clone17 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If it's a new (to you) laptop, and you don't have any data on it yet, you could try to run Dell's restore utility. Restart the computer and press Ctrl + F11 repeatedly while it is booting. If successful, you will see an option to run the Dell Restore utility. I'm not sure how far back this feature goes, or how old your laptop is, but it's worth a shot. This will restore the laptop to when it was purchased (without any passwords), and doesn't require that you have any CDs. Give this a shot.
2007-03-11 10:47:04 · answer #6 · answered by ruralcomputersolutions 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Have you tried leaving the password box blank and clicking enter? Or you can try guest. Or admin. If that doesn't work take the computer back to who sold it to you and tell them to get you logged on. Then you can change the passwords, etc. and/or remove and add accounts in the Control Panel, Accounts menus.
2007-03-11 10:46:07 · answer #7 · answered by Marissa 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
why spend money on a laptop when you can get it for free? just go to this site and complete a few quick tasks and they'll send you a sony vaio laptop at no charge!
2007-03-11 11:08:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I were you, I'd wipe that thing CLEAN...and re-install the OS...
no telling what sort of time bombs the previous owner left on there for you to discover, (or be hacked by)...
2007-03-11 10:43:45 · answer #9 · answered by m34tba11 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋