Old Laptop - Boot From USB?

[indyattic]

Here's the deal - my son bought a box of electronics at an auction. In the box is a Fijitsu Lifebook #P1510D with Windows XP installed.

It boots up fine, but of course we don't have the password. The Guest account is disabled, and if we boot into safe mode there's no Administrator account to work with either.

I have an XP disc, and the key is a sticker on the bottom,but there's no disc drive.

He thought he could get into BIOS to force it to boot from a USB stick, but that option isn't available. We tried to get it to boot from an external drive, but that didn't work either.

Is it a brick, or is there a way to reload the software on this so we can see if it actually works ?

[shnerdly]

Not all external CD drives are able to boot a computer and not all computers are able to boot to USB. Does the computer have a place to install a CDROM? If not, it must have a way to boot from an external device. You may need to enable Legacy support for USB in the Bios.

When the computer gets to the logon screen, try pressing "Ctrl, Alt and Del" all at the same time - TWICE quickly. This should bring up a logon screen where you can enter Administrator to see if it's Password protected.

[tgell]

Here is your manual.

http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/COM...510_manual.pdf

Please check this also. The CD is not bootable and requires a boot floppy in order to access the recovery partition or install via the CD.

http://www.pc-ap.fujitsu.com/support...y_process.html

What account are visible when you boot into safe mode?

Hi shnerdly.I may be wrong but I believe if it is XP home, even though ctrl>alt>del will bring up the Administrator account, you still can only log into it in safe mode.

[shnerdly]

Originally Posted by tgell

Hi shnerdly.I may be wrong but I believe if it is XP home, even though ctrl>alt>del will bring up the Administrator account, you still can only log into it in safe mode.

That could well be. I rarely use the technique.

[foogoo]

There is a way to boot USb without the option in BIOS using a 'plop' file... here is the how to
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16822...-wont-let-you/

[indyattic]

Thanks so much for all the responses - I'll make him finish his homework then have him give it another go.

Originally Posted by shnerdly

Not all external CD drives are able to boot a computer and not all computers are able to boot to USB. Does the computer have a place to install a CDROM? If not, it must have a way to boot from an external device. You may need to enable Legacy support for USB in the Bios.

When the computer gets to the logon screen, try pressing "Ctrl, Alt and Del" all at the same time - TWICE quickly. This should bring up a logon screen where you can enter Administrator to see if it's Password protected.

Its an old BIOS, there's no option for a USB boot. There's CD, Network, hard disk...maybe one other. I forget.

No, it does not have a place to install a CDROM. Not a floppy drive, either. It has slots for USB, SD and a CF card. Also, he tried to boot from his external hard drive, not an external CD drive. (If that matters?)

Originally Posted by tgell

Here is your manual.

http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/COM...510_manual.pdf

Please check this also. The CD is not bootable and requires a boot floppy in order to access the recovery partition or install via the CD.

http://www.pc-ap.fujitsu.com/support...y_process.html

What account are visible when you boot into safe mode?

Hi shnerdly.I may be wrong but I believe if it is XP home, even though ctrl>alt>del will bring up the Administrator account, you still can only log into it in safe mode.

I should have clarified this is XP Pro, not home. When we power up, we get a login screen. A username is filled from memory there, but LizzyG (whoever that is) didn't leave us her password. When we go into safe mode, it has a network login, and not an account list.

Originally Posted by foogoo

There is a way to boot USb without the option in BIOS using a 'plop' file... here is the how to
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16822...-wont-let-you/

Very very cool. Off to read the manual. (As a girl, that's my job, you know.)

[tgell]

Here is a bootable iso that may work to get the computer back to a factory state. You want to download the iso file and burn it with Imgburn. Not sure if your computer will be able to boot the CD though. If it does, it should give you the option to reset it back to a factory state from the recovery partition on the hard drive or use the CD.

FujitsuDISE_BootCD.iso

http://www.oion.net/qnd/leog/files.php

http://majorgeeks.com/ImgBurn_d4870.html

How to write an image file to a disc using ImgBurn

Edit: Before you decide to do a factory reset, you may be able to clear the password of LizzyG. Download PClogin. It is another iso file. Burn it and boot the cd. Then select the user, making sure the Password is Empty box is checked. You may also be able to uncheck the box marked disabled if it shows up when you select the Administrator account.

http://www.pcloginnow.com/