Enable Computrace Options

Question

Hi

I purchased a dell optiplex 330 from an established company on ebay, it was sold with no os installed. I try to install xp sp3 and it keeps bluescreening. I can boot to a sp2 pe environment, but not sp3. I use the sp2 disk to install but it will not install outlook express and some other ms files. I continue and finally get windows up and all the services are off. I get all the services on and it connects for a minute and errors and shuts down IE. Using the PE boot disk I could browse the web but certain sites would crash. I noticed in the bios that the computrace has been activated. This computer acts a lot like it's still being managed, is that this computrace software? I understand what it is supposed to be but is the software that complex, if so then I am fundamentally opposed to having such as that on a computer I use. How do I deactivate it.

Thanks

osprey4 · Answer

Hi mpyrol,

We are not going to help you disable Computrace for obvious reasons. You need to contact the seller for help with that. If they are an established company, they should be willing to do so without any reluctance.

Since your primary question is about reinstalling the operating system, I'm going to move you message to the Microsoft OS forum for further help.

mpyrol · Answer

This is a bios question, shouldn't it be in hardware?

Apparently 39000 feedbacks doesn't necessarily qualify an computer company to know very much. They offer no resistance to a return or remedy. They just don't understand what it is, they don't know how to help.

The most important question is if this bios is advanced enough to moitor net traffic and admin the machine OR just a tracking device that sits dormat on the machine without an account, per absolute.

For Obvious reasons I don't want a machine that is controllable from outside resources.

mpyrol · Answer

Apparently this forum is a dead end too.

I contacted absolute, the software company behind computrace, with my service tag and contact info and apparently they don't know anything either. Once I get educated I'll post an answer.

mpyrol · Answer

The answers to my inquiry are as follows:

Absolute kindly took an incident report and that was that. They have given no response after, it's been a month. I tried calling them every day for a week, but they have no one available to take calls. I tried setting up an account (three nights in a row) on the forums but that is broken too. Absolute was useless to me.

Folks, please disable computrace before you sell your computer.

As far as what they can do with the installed rootkit, I copied this from their website

.....will allow the Absolute Theft Recovery Team to forensically mine your computer using a variety of procedures including key captures, registry and file scanning, geolocation, and other investigative techniques to determine who has your computer and what theyâ€™re doing with it.

I returned the machine to the company I purchased it from. My experience makes me very nervous about buying any computer with this software. I understand what it is supposed to be but I also know what people do.

Brian

ademcal · Answer

Where is the Deactivate Computrace Beside I am new Dell 7559 user.

Windows General

Enable Computrace Options

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