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Dell Inspiron 1525
Am I screwed? I bought a used laptop at a flea market for $25 - thought I could give it to the kids.
The guy swore it worked. It does work, but....it turns out it is password protected!!
I say I want to reset the password and it says to connect a floppy or USB drive to do so. Is that the same as a memory stick? If so, I connected a memory stick and nothing happened. I also have an external floppy device for floppy disks. That did not work either. What am I supposed to do after connecting said drive anyway?
Am I using the wrong things? Any suggestions? Can I do what I want to do? Or have I lost $25?
ejn63
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April 17th, 2014 16:00
If it's a Windows password, there are ways to clear that if it's not known.
http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
If it's the BIOS password, return the system for a refund.
PharmD290
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April 18th, 2014 08:00
Thanks ejm63
I think it is a Windows password. The desktop comes up with the username (?) and asks for a password and gives a clue.
I searched the Internet and tried to get in via Recovery and Safe modes, but in order to see the command line - guess what? I need a password (admin?).
I have XP on my PC and am not too familiar on navigating in Win7 yet or what different screens mean.
I already saw your solution on pogostick and wondered if it would really work.
I put the file on a thumb drive, change the computer's start order, insert stick and follow instructions. Sounds pretty easy. No one says this, but I presume you have to change the start order back once you have a new password?
Does this take care of admin password as well? So far I have not seen the screens I see all over the Internet. I presume that those are the BIOS screen?
ejn63
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April 18th, 2014 14:00
You can use it to reset any password in the system (it basically blanks out the existing password and will prompt you for a new one when you log into the system). Yes, it works with all versions of Windows - have used it on XP, Vista, 7 and 8.