Can I wipe the hard disk of a laptop and clear username/pass?

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• max99 Posts: 9,002

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  22/03/13 - 02:00 #2

  Assuming it's the Windows username and password, yes you can - as long as you know what you're doing. But first look for an option to restore to Factory Settings, it'll be the easiest method.

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• Stig Posts: 12,446

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  22/03/13 - 02:19 #3

  dmuk wrote: »

  I've been given an old laptop from a friend that he got from work ages ago, it has a username and password set up, can I get rid of this by formatting and reinstalling an OS?

  
  You could just create a new user account if you know the password of the old one.
  
  A factory restore would be better. What make/model is it?

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• Maxatoria Posts: 17,980

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  22/03/13 - 03:19 #4

  Best bet is to dban the drive so theres nothing left of the old drive and the reinstall the OS over the top

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• Daedroth Posts: 3,065

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  22/03/13 - 14:28 #5

  Unless you want to specifically remove sensitive data from being recovered, a simple format will do what you need. Just get the operating system disc, boot from it and install it.

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