[SOLVED] PC bought, seller not telling whole truth

[SamwiseGanjee]

Hi guys

I bought a PC tower for a half decent price considering the specs on gumtree. Was fully loaded with software and specs, checked it at house, seemed very good but what he neglected to tell me is that it is admin password proteced, so I cant modify <Mod Edit> in it
Coincidentally the seller has now gone ghost and disappeared.

After speaking with a friend, they've suggested its probably stolen from a business and that I should be careful connecting to the internet with it.
He's suggested I buy a new hard drive and replace the mac address (which confuses me as its a pc) and then it will be "clean" and I can use it

Although a bargain it wasn't cheap. As I cant install what i want on it, Im pretty stuck with a good machine I cant use lol.

Is there any way I can salvage this machine or is it just a case of cutting losses and putting it in the bin?

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hi guys

I bought a PC tower for a half decent price considering the specs on gumtree. Was fully loaded with software and specs, checked it at house, seemed very good but what he neglected to tell me is that it is admin password proteced, so I cant modify <Mod Edit> in it
Coincidentally the seller has now gone ghost and disappeared.

After speaking with a friend, they've suggested its probably stolen from a business and that I should be careful connecting to the internet with it.
He's suggested I buy a new hard drive and replace the mac address (which confuses me as its a pc) and then it will be "clean" and I can use it

Although a bargain it wasn't cheap. As I cant install what i want on it, Im pretty stuck with a good machine I cant use lol.

Is there any way I can salvage this machine or is it just a case of cutting losses and putting it in the bin?

What OS and version is on the computer? ie, Win 10 Home, Ubuntu 18.04LTS, etc...

 

[bignastyid]

If you think it maybe stolen see if you can find cx any info on the previous owner. If it's an oem system(Dell,HP,etc) you can contact them. While they won't give you the registered owners information they can contact them.
We will not in anyway help bypass or remove the admin password or any other security as forum rules prohibit it.

 

[SamwiseGanjee]

What OS and version is on the computer? ie, Win 10 Home, Ubuntu 18.04LTS, etc...

Windows 10

 

[SamwiseGanjee]

If you think it maybe stolen see if you can find cx any info on the previous owner. If it's an oem system(Dell,HP,etc) you can contact them. While they won't give you the registered owners information they can contact them.
We will not in anyway help bypass or remove the admin password or any other security as forum rules prohibit it.

Mmm, Im not risking getting arrested and or losing my money for nothing.

Thanks anyway but Id rather just find out elsewhere if you cant help

 

[bignastyid]

You won't get arrested for finding out if it is stolen and cooperating with the police to find the thief/seller. If they find the thief you may also get your money back.

 

[USAFRet]

I bought a PC tower for a half decent price considering the specs on gumtree. Was fully loaded with software and specs, checked it at house, seemed very good but what he neglected to tell me is that it is admin password proteced, so I cant modify s..t in it

This is why it is strongly recommended to do a full wipe and reinstall, for any used system.
You have no idea what the previous users had in there, or the users before them.

Full wipe and reinstall, no excuses.

 

[Alabalcho]

If the price you've paid covers the cost of hardware, consider yourself lucky. Clean-install Windows (or any other OS you might use), and forego the software already installed - there's a good chance it is not legal anyway.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I can't speak to if your system is stolen or not. You may contact the local authorities and tell them your concern to see what they have to say.

As a rule of thumb though, to completely erase any data on a used system you have purchased is just a good general practice.

 

[The Paladin]

I would just toss that drive into bin, get another, install fresh copy windows, you could install another network card and use it instaed of I=oin board that would make you not use that mac address of that card .. you could report it to the cops if you like, not likely they have heard about it, most stolen properties are rarely inventories by police, they write a slip " stolen items a computer worth 500$., and pass it to the insurance company. almost never ask for serial number either. never use another person hard drive simply because of virus, worms, tracking or worst... only good way to property "wipe that drive would be to use a specialize application, and isn't worth the price of a used 1TB drive. (if it even has that on it)