how to hack a police hard drive

[demarco39730]

i recently bought a computer at a police auction it has win 2000 on it it also has a password that i cant crack
i want to install win xp but the boot sequence cant be change or something can some one help me

[dcc]

Wipe the hdd with something like WipeDrive or Kill Disk and you should be able to format, partition, and install the OS. You will need to make a CD of the download, make you CD-ROM the first device in the boot order, place the CD in the drive and boot from it.

[The Dude]

Couldnt you also boot to a floppy and type FORMAT C??

Welcome to the site Demarco :)

[dcc]

With a hdd that you don't know what is stowed away on it I would suggest erring on the side of caution and wipe the drive with a utility like WipeDrive. Formatting the hdd will only erase the file address where as wiping it will completely overwrite the whole drive.

[hbk619]

Wipe the hdd with something like WipeDrive or Kill Disk and you should be able to format, partition, and install the OS. You will need to make a CD of the download, make you CD-ROM the first device in the boot order, place the CD in the drive and boot from it.

OP said they can't change the boot order.

can you not go back to the people who sold it at the auction and get them to log in or whatever and change it? If it's legit of course..

[jbennet]

I think he means they Password protected the HDD and BIOS . This is seperate from the OS.

[hbk619]

but they would know the password, wouldn't they?

[jbennet]

yes he should contact the seller

[happygeek]

Unlikely they would know. Most items at police auctions are not ex-police kit, but rather stolen/recovered and unclaimed property.

Still, worth a try I guess.

[jbennet]

if its a BIOS password you may be able to remove it by pulling out the CMOS battery and/or setting a jumper/dipswitch correctly

[happygeek]

CMOS battery removal often does the trick, yes.

[jbennet]

see if you can download a motherboard manual. it will say in there.