Possible laptop buy

sassy_one

Hi

I am after some advice regards a laptop that is currently on ebay for sale.

In the lisiting, the seller states that he runs a second hand shop and brought this laptop in a few weeks back.
However, it has a password on it, to which he does not know or can't get hold of.

He claims he has tried using 'Password Removal Software' which has failed.

My question is, forget the current installed Windows, can I wipe it off and just simply install a fresh copy of Windows operating system?

If so, How would I go about doing such? Via the Bio's?

All advice welcome and thanked

victor2

I would never buy a used laptop on ebay for a start. It had better be a bargain and for an amount of money you can afford to lose.
If it's a BIOS password at power up, it could be quite difficult to get rid of and may well involve opening up the laptop itself. If it's just a Windows password, there are various utilities available that can find it out, or you could just install a new operating system over it, if you have the disc and the laptop has a working CD drive.
Sounds like more trouble than it's worth really.

sassy_one

victor2 wrote: »

I would never buy a used laptop on ebay for a start. It had better be a bargain and for an amount of money you can afford to lose.
If it's a BIOS password at power up, it could be quite difficult to get rid of and may well involve opening up the laptop itself. If it's just a Windows password, there are various utilities available that can find it out, or you could just install a new operating system over it, if you have the disc and the laptop has a working CD drive.
Sounds like more trouble than it's worth really.

Here is the laptop:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Advent-4211-C-Laptop-Has-Windows-Password-L-K-/270647920568?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3f03df87b8

Is it worth it? At it's current bid.
I won't say how much I am prepared to pay, in case of someone else who wishes to bid for it


Completely agree with you regards buying laptop on eBay, as last time I did get bitten.
I brought it and it started to crash, and go really slow.
Couldn't clean it up and the CD drive was not working, something I never checked!

In the end I threw it out as repair would have cost more than I paid (£25)

spud17

One place he says

I have no idea what version of windows to install on the computer as the version of windows has worn off the windows license key on the underside of teh computer.

Then says

This auction includes the power supply and the license key only!

To my mind the 2 quotes above do not tally, how can you supply a license key if you do not know which version?

sassy_one

spud17 wrote: »

One place he says


Then says


To my mind the 2 quotes above do not tally, how can you supply a license key if you do not know which version?

True.

Didn't spot this as I only looked quickly but was considering buying it.

The way he words it, sounds asthough you don't get the laptop either in that auction? Or have maybe that's just me

Think I avoid that one.

Thank you

Hammyman

Sorry Victor2 but I disagree. There is no difference to buying on Ebay or from your local newspaper if its a private sale or if its a business then, second hand shop, Cash Converters etc. Like anywhere, you'll get good and bad sellers and its up to you to make sure you go with sellers worth dealing with. I sell laptops on Ebay. All the ones I sell with Windows on have CLEARLY LEGIBLE licence stickers or get Ubuntu put on. I won't sell and I wouldn't buy one with a worn or torn sticker.

BIOS passwords. Some I sell have BIOS passwords on. The BIOS password is set at a level that doesn't allow you to alter things such as boot order and some security options but you can install an OS and temporarily select a boot device per boot up. Other than that as an end user you wouldn't notice any difference. If it would impact, I simply break it and sell the parts - they're usually worth more as parts anyway, for example a keyboard is worth £300 alone selling a key at a time for £3.

HOWEVER:
1) I don't sell anything I wouldn't buy myself so it'll not be a dog or have a battery that dies after 30 minutes.
2) I offer a 3 month minimum guarantee on the older stuff, more on the newer.
3) I clearly list what is and isn't possible due to the BIOS password if there is one.

But in this auction the seller looks like a numbnut and he doesn't even mention if its a Windows password or a BIOS one. If it were a Windows one, then re-installing Windows would sort it and its basically a non-issue. If its a BIOS one and you are prompted with a password prompt before Windows even starts to boot then thats a completely different matter.

Donnie

spud17 wrote: »

One place he says


Then says


To my mind the 2 quotes above do not tally, how can you supply a license key if you do not know which version?

Actually what he has written is that the licence key is visible, but the Windows version is not.

Though it still doesn't make sense, as it can only be one of two.

Furthermore, I'm not altogether sure that the ADVENT 4211C came in white. The MSI U100 did.

It's impossible for him not to know which version of Windows was installed, because it tells him on their website.

So perhaps you can ask the seller why he does not run a Full Destructive Recovery from the HDD partition.

As Hammyman has so gently intimated, the seller can either be described as '!!!!!!' or one who is economical with the truth.

GunJack

Also bear in mind, no cd drive on this, so would have to install from an external drive or a usb stick...