Hey all, before I move forward I want to clarify that this laptop was NOT stolen. It was purchased by my dad online, he says through eBay. However, the laptop is locked and I don’t know the username or password, and I’m not able to install Linux on it due to the uefi being password encrypted.

My dad is not good at all with tech, and I’m ok but I haven’t really started my formal education (that’s what the laptop was for) and I’m not really sure how I can use this laptop. I don’t want to tell my dad that it’s useless or that he wasted his money on frankly one of the few kind gestures he’s offered in our relationship. But I don’t know how to remove the password or access the PC at all. Is there some kind of cracker or something I can use to just wipe the uefi password from the laptop?

Thank you for any help or advice you can provide, I appreciate it.

  • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
    41·
    3 months ago

    Don’t try to tamper with it or format it. This might really be someone else’s laptop - it’s definitely a stolen laptop, given how the ‘sellers’ aren’t answering your call. Report the seller and try to see if you can get your money back.

    And if you’re looking for a laptop, why not get a new one? Something like the ThinkPad E14 or the HP Pavilion Plus is not only cheaper, but you can also upgrade it to 8GB in the future.

    • licherally@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      3 months ago

      We’ve asked, they are not responding. I guess it could be stolen but what I meant to say is that my dad/I did not steal the laptop. Apologies for any confusion.

        • licherally@lemmy.worldOP
          1·
          3 months ago

          Yeah it’s all a bit sketchy, if we can’t get this figured out I will help him do so. I think he used a debit card unfortunately, so I don’t think he can get the money back. I’ll have to ask him and make sure.

          This fucking sucks.

          • ickplant@lemmy.world
            2·
            3 months ago

            eBay ALWAYS sides with the buyer. Just complain and tell them you were sold an unusable laptop. They will give you your money back.

  • Pantherina@feddit.de
    1·
    3 months ago

    Can you remove the storage? It will have secureboot enabled, but at least you can remove the drive and use clonezilla or dd a working Linux/Windows install onto there.

    Or you take it out, install the OS onto it in some other PC and put it back in.

    Really the only important thing is that it is signed by Microsoft for secureboot, so Fedora, Ubuntu and a few more work.

    You may not be able to boot a live USB on that machine, but maybe a Fedora LiveUSB works.

    But you cannot do anything about that BIOS. If it was FOSS you could overwrite it again and thus clear the password. Maybe you can get a binary file from an update, and maybe your local hack-lab helps you with flashing.

    • licherally@lemmy.worldOP
      0·
      3 months ago

      Afaik I can’t remove the storage. At least that’s what I’m reading online. I suppose I could crack it open and find out, but I’m nervous to do so in case it is stolen and we’re blamed for any tampering. Idk maybe I’m being paranoid, I just don’t want my dad to get in trouble for trying to do something nice for me.

      Thank you for the advice though, I appreciate it.