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Scenario: I buy old PC/laptops, fix it and then resell them. I recently got a laptop at an auction with the whole system password encrypted McAfee Endpoint Encryption. Windows does not even load. I don't have the username/password as it was bought at an auction. I read some encryption related threads, and somehow realized I was doom with the laptop.
Question: Is there anyway I can maybe re-install an operating system over encryption/ format the drive for the laptop be usable again??
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Yes, you could still use this laptop after you reformat the hard drive. Two options for doing that are:
1. Pull the hard disk, and reformat it using another computer or a forensic disk appliance.
2. Use a bootable disk utility tool such as DBAN or Clonezilla to boot the laptop and wipe the attached storage device.
The second option is probably the easiest for you, as all you'll need to do is download the ISO, burn it to a CD/DVD, put it in the laptop in question, and then boot from the CD/DVD drive. Once the drive is wiped, you can then reinstall the original operating system on the unformated disk.
Craine
Posted 2015-03-31T15:12:35.600
Reputation: 131
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The McAfee Endpoint Encryption stuff (pre-boot encryption) is loaded only after the system reads your HDD, same as WinMagic. You have to interrupt the boot process to get to the BIOS before the system tries to boot from the HDD.
Ken
Posted 2015-03-31T15:12:35.600
Reputation: 1
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You could format the whole drive. http://lifehacker.com/how-to-erase-and-format-a-hard-drive-1525128357
– Marc Woodyard – 2015-03-31T15:15:12.533@MarcWoodyard After switching on the laptop, it takes me directly to the McAfee Endpoint Encryption. The windows not even load. I guess I have to remove the HDD and format it on another laptop. – None – 2015-03-31T15:23:49.253
1The PC may offer you a chance to boot from another drive, though you may not be able to see the option depending on boot speed of the laptop. It may be pressing "ESC", "F1", "F2", "F10" right after boot. (It's usually "ESC"). What you'll want to do is boot from a device other than the installed hard drive. I would think that the Windows installation would offer to reformat/install, but it's possible it won't. If that doesn't work, you can download a utilities LiveCD or something to recover the disk. You may have success if you install this drive as a secondary drive in another machine. – sonnik – 2015-03-31T15:35:18.923