I bought a Dell laptop on eBay and received it yesterday afternoon. The problem: I don't know the password! When I told the seller about it, he said that he didn't know either because it was an unwanted gift that he was trying to get rid of. Should I call the manufacturer and give them the serial number? Or should I press F8 as the computer is starting up so that it can go into safe mode? Help!!!
213707
Unfortunately DELL won't be able to do much for you except maybe ship you the re-install disks.  You can try safe mode to reset the password.  You can also try logging in as administrator with no password or with admin as the password.  Sometimes it is that simple.\n\nKnowing what OS I might be able to give you a few more ideas.
183005
durung your startup, when the screen changes from the bios/post screens repeatedly hit F8 - this should bring you into safe mode. Without a password, or password breaker, there is no real way in through the GUI.\nyour only hope would be to either try the safe mode option or just command prompt, and if you're old enough like i am, you can use DOS to route around, but any security placed on the files will remain even in dos mode, if the HDD is NTFS
420010
don't waste your time with it. Sorry but it is true. There are going to be a lot of laptop deals soon with the holidays and all. It would not be worth fixing.\n\n(What is the model number?)/how old is it?
569977
does it matter the make, model, and year? i just purchased a laptop and have an old one a friend was thinking about buying. i would much rather give it to someone who could really use it and has a greater need for it.
670130
Common problem with the Dells.  It is caused by the build in "mouse" stick or touchpad shorting.  As it is a short, there is no key combination that will stop it.  It keeps moving until the short stops.  There is no way to fix or clean one that we have ever found.   We replace the keyboards and the palm rest.\n\nI support a site with about 1400 Dell laptops, and we normally replace 2-3 keyboards and touchpad units every week for just that issue.  We get boxes of 25 at a time. Fortunately, ours are under warranty.\n\n If your laptop is still under warranty, contact Dell to have it repaired.
95262
the bios password is to just stop people from making changes, but you can only do it if he's physically @ the computer.\n\nOther than taking out the watch battery (it's about the size of a quarter), if you didn't buy it (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway etc), you might have the manual and can reset it using the jumper.\n\nP.S. Becareful in there, if you use a screwdriver to pop out the battery and you miss, that could mess it up more than even your nephew could :)
36594
1. Fix it yourself?\nThis is your best bet if you know what you are doing. I encourage this approach as many people bring it to me after they really screwed it up. Then I make more money than if they had brought it to me in the first place.\n\n2. Call the Hardware or Software manufacturer?\nGreat Idea if you speak  Indian or Cantonese\n\n\n3. Call or bring the PC/Notebook in to the place you bought it?\nThis approach seldom works unless you bought it from a computer specialty store.\n\n\n4. Have a friend, neighbor, relative or co-worker fix it?\nI really like this idea, I generally make even more money than if you tried to fix it yourself.\n\n\n5. Call or bring the PC/Notebook to a PC support company like Geek Squad or Nerds on Line? (which)\nSure if you can afford them. Your local small computer business is a better bet, because they actually care about repeat business and their reputation.\n\n6. Other (please specify). \nBuy a new computer!
126855
The only way to get around a forgotten password is to clear it. You can either remove the CMOS battery or reset the jumpers to clear the BIOS settings. Keep in mind that you will have to reset a lot of the settings if they have changed from the default.
20889
I have a dell computer that is only six months old and I have not had any problems.   Did you maybe forget your password or are you using caps and didn't when you orignally set it up?  Try going into another yahoo system like yahoo.com or my yahoo.com and see it that works.   Not much help but just a few suggestions and to let you know I don't think it is your new computer
659455
when dealing with Dell, which I own, be sure and check the DELL OUTLET area!!!  I purchased my computer from the Outlet and it came with everything I needed (programs) and even some extra ones!!  it a computer worth over $700 and I got it for less that $350!!  they may have what your looking for in the outlet, but be ready to purchase, you can only hold items in the outlet for 15 minutes.  Grab a couple friends for their imput, have them gather round and help you search for the best deal.
469197
Check to make sure you dont have any recalls on that particular thing. Maybe you didn't put it in correctly. ummm maybe your laptop is not responding correctly to it because the unknown error is not effecting it. Just follow the error and keep doing what ya doing. have a nice day
180607
Go to http://support.dell.com/ and type in your Service Tag. It should be on a sticker somewhere on the case.
378005
Try logging in Safe Mode and logging in as Administrator. Then change/remove your password from there. If all else fails, use your Windows Restore CD. If that fails, you can always shut down the machine, open up the case, and find the small battery that is on the motherboard. Remove the battery for a few minutes and it will erase all passwords saved on the system. \n\nNote, if you are trying to access someone elses computer, or a stolen computer. Dont. If its stolen, return it.
673499
this happened to my grandma, u should take it to a software company, i just think its overfilled.  Take it to dell or a friend who knows what to do
389450
I bought one and the mouse cursor sometimes goes mad, only way to make it stop is to slightly bend the laptop. I only bought it as I repair full size PCs but never touched a laptop so I had to have one to play with. It was fairly cheap for what it is but was advertised as faultless (and with XP but instead it had NT,luckily I hate both and never intended to run either) so I guess someone else might see it as a rip-off, buying S/H is always a gamble but in the end it could have been much worse. Buying from eBay is MOST ALWAYS hit and miss so if you are not into taking things apart the best bet is to pay 3 times the money and buy new from a shop with a guarantee, then you have a place to go back to. \n\n I have found that even when buying new it often works out that the people in shops are mostly incompetent time wasters so is always best to learn a bit of DIY, computers are modular and if you are blessed with a little common sense they are very easy to fix with the individual bits being very cheap to buy.
396478
Actually you can go to the Dell site and order a set of disks for about $25. This is your best option as far as the software goes.\nYou may have a hardware problem instead of a software problem. Download and run (from disk) Mem86test*. It will test your RAM yo see if you have a faulty memory module. \nIt could also be a bad CMOS battery. While no more expensive than a desktop battery they can sometimes can take a little more effort to replace. No biggie thought.\nCan you boot into Safe Mode by tapping F8 as you are booting your computer. Is the answer is yes, then select the "Last Known Good Configuration". This may or may not correct your problem, but it is worth a shot don't you think?\nIf you can get into Safe Mode but "Last KNown" does nothing for you try starting to Safe Mode. Then go to Start> Run> sfc  /scannow  and see if that helps.\nYou can also see if you can reinstall your OS from the hidden partition. Follow the steps in the Dell link below**.\nHopefully one of these suggestion will help.
69275
A new PC would not have a password on it.  May have been a display model and someone put a password on it.  About the only way to clear all that is to reload the OS which will clear everything on the hard drive.\n\nWhat are the chances your purchase was "hot" to begin with???\n\nIf your merchant is reputable, you should take it back to them and have them clear this problem.\n\nThe admin thing mentioned might work as long as there has not been an admin password set.  Without administrative right in XP, you can't get very far.