Can you not wipe the CMOS using the onboard jumpers
and reinstall windows?
( Peej, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 10:28, 2 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

and what does that mean in English?

(lkjshaglkasjdhglkhjz lkcvl; g;aodh;owih, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 10:29, Reply)

CMOS
Is a sort of onboard memory for the system board, it keeps everything that you set in BIOS (which is a system board program for various different things, including what the machine looks at first when it boots up). Now assuming that by default the machine looks at the CD-ROM drive first at boot-up you could in theory pull the jumpers, clear CMOS, insert a Windows disc and reinstall Windows. Not all of them do have the CD-ROM set as the first boot device by default, though, and even if they did, you'd have to wipe the partition the data's on to get full use of the harddrive back. If you didn't, you'd just have a second partition on the drive that you couldn't access because you still don't have admin privileges.

*breathes*
( Kroney, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 10:46, Reply)

Possibly
but you'd have to be pretty knowledgeable to do that. I think, though, that clearing CMOS just resets BIOS.
( Kroney, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 10:32, Reply)

Yup and where else are they going to store passwords to stop people reinstalling windows?
And where else can you change the CD rom as first boot device.
( Peej, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 11:56, Reply)

indeed
b3ta.com/questions/offtopic/post899030
( Kroney, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 12:02, Reply)

Yes but you say that this presumes the PC looks at the CD rom drive first
If you reset the CMOS the bios is then open wide for you to go in and change that.
( Peej, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 12:43, Reply)

I also said that
you'd have to delete the partition with the data on it or put up with a computer with a partly encrypted hard drive.
( Kroney, Thu 7 Oct 2010, 12:47, Reply)