Solved Help needed - locked out

[mizzicrazi]

i got a 2nd hand Dell laptop im locked out iv no disk to reset passwords its on windows 7 im clueless i got the laptop to self teach
Can anybody help me

 

[Teeotsa]

Easiest method imo... How to Reset Your Forgotten Windows Password the Easy Way

 

[TechnoMage]

If the data on the drive is not yours, and you don't need it anyway, why not boot up the laptop with a Flash Drive with another OS on it, like Win-10 or 11, and just make it a clean install. That's what I'd do.
In fact, I did something very similar, just recently to an HP laptop that was given to me, out of an estate.
It's now running Windows 11/Pro/64 with NO trace of the previous owner, password, etc.

 

[spapakons]

Don't worry about the drivers, you can use another computer to download all drivers from Dell support site, use the service tag to choose the appropriate model. It will much better to clean install Windows 7 or higher, install drivers and then your applications, than use an unknown old installation. If you install Windows 10/11 and there are no drivers for that, use Windows 8 or 7 drivers. Most of the times thay work without issues. An exception might be the graphics driver. Post here for more help.