It depends on how locked down the computer was (whether it's configured to allow booting without a password from anywhere other than the hard drive for example.) I mention that since you referred to the "machine" password.Thank you. I don’t have to recover data from the laptop. Do I download a Linux disto, Mint(?), on a usb drive and power on the laptop with the usb?If you don't care the data on Windows, you can just install Linux directly, which will wipe out the whole Windows OS and the data. You don't need any Windows account password in this step.
If you want to recover data from Windows first, follow the official steps from Microsoft:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... 18c8f68b9c
Statistics: Posted by tibbitts — Sun Sep 14, 2025 12:16 pm — Replies 3 — Views 143