[cheez_mastah]

Ok, hopefully that title made sense. I just bought a used laptop at Circuit City (it was one of their 'out of the box' specials so in other words, some one else had returned it). Anyway, I can't log in to Windows because I don't know the previous owner's password. I have the operating system cd. Can I just uninstall Vista and then re-install it somehow? I have looked through the papers the gave me with the computer and I can't find any info about it. I don't want to drive all the way back to circuit city if I can just do something simple to fix the problem at home. Thanks.

Edited by cheez_mastah, 13 April 2008 - 03:46 PM.

[Advertisements]

I would imagine the vista cd is like xp. pop it in and turn your system on and it says hit a key to boot off cd.
hit a key and reinstall vista.


NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR CD KEY BEFORE YOU CONTINUE.

[painter1982]

I would imagine the vista cd is like xp. pop it in and turn your system on and it says hit a key to boot off cd.
hit a key and reinstall vista.


NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR CD KEY BEFORE YOU CONTINUE.

[StewBizzle]

It's relatively doubtful that Circuit City will be able to do much other than return the laptop, or have it shipped out to one of their repair centers to have done the exact thing you can do at home, without having to wait a month.

Pop in the Vista installation CD, and see if the laptop is already set up to boot off the cd first, it should ask you to "press any key to boot from cd..." If not, then post back, and you'll have to go into the BIOS to edit the boot order. As for the key, there should be a OEM key that is located on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop, it should be green, and relatively holographic with a Microsoft emblazoned logo all around. The key will be the long string of numbers and digits integrated into the middle of the sticker. Keep in mind, if this sticker is missing, then you should return the laptop, and explain to Circuit City that there is no key to use Vista.

Once you have managed to boot off the Vista CD, it's very simple to install. Just follow the prompts for the install, and assuming you have nothing of your own to lose on the hard drive, then you should be able to use the default settings. Post back if you run into any snags. :-)