My company gave me a laptop that was no longer in use. problem is, it's still tied in to the company settings. I want to wipe it clean without having to go through the it department. It's Windows 8. How do I get past admin rights to reset it?
Do you have a copy of Windows 8? If not . . .you will need the Admin Rights to clear off the extra stuff If you do . . . Format and Reinstall Windows 8 [You will lose all you applications . . .ie. Microsoft Office . . unless you have a copy of that too] There are some software applications on the net that will help you reset Admin Rights and get around them . . . i cannot think of their names right off [ERD seems familiar] Rocket River
I actually have a copy of windows 7. Can I just run it and that will be it? It still asks to login as the admin.
You'll need a license key for Win 7. I've also had issues with booting with a third party device (usb, cd/dvd) in Win 8 without removing the hard drive for computers that shipped with Win8. If your job gave you the PC, why not just ask IT to give you local admin rights. It should be as simple as them logging in with domain admin, going into computer management, and adding your local domain username in the administrator groups. Then, since Win 8 has built in "factory reset", you could just run that easily without having to completely re-install the OS
There are 'hacks' that you can find on the internet, but they are very hard to come by. I bought a used computer on Ebay from some idiot who shipped it to me with his password still intact, so I literally could not even boot the system up without it. And he was extremely uncooperative, so my only recourse was to hack into the computer I now owned. And that's what you are faced with, literally having to hack past Windows security, which is not impossible, but not easy either. You would be much better off taking it to your company's IT dept and having them clear it. Assuming of course, companies are in the habit of 'giving away' relatively new laptops, and without properly vetting the machine as no longer containing any proprietary information, and/or being accessible by the 'new owner'... I blame the media for my cynicism..
Sounds like if you were "given" this computer, you could do anything to it. You would need the ADMIN password and if it is LEGIT, you could just get it from the company. No? I mean, if it's LEGIT. Else, just buy a new copy of Windows 7 or 8 and install fresh.
Simply remove it from the corporate network aka domain. This should remove most Group Policies that limit your usage of the PC. You need to be a local administrator, and you'd need to first create a local administrator account. Once you leave the domain your "domain account" will be basically useless. Then remove it from the "domain" to a "work group." Step 1. Click Start button, then point to Computer. Step 2. Right-Click Computer, then click Properties. Step 3. Under the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change Settings. Step 4. Then hit Change, change the Member of Option to Workgroup, hit OK. Step 5. You will be prompted the administrator’s account, type it. Step 6. Then restart your computer. If you aren't a local administrator already, you'll need a Windows installation to reinstall a fresh copy of Windows.
