Question Dell Inspiron 1545 Windows 7 is locked and won't boot to Windows login screen

[Juice11jrb]

My family has an old Dell inspirion 1545 laptop sister used it for school many years ago and it is locked and she does not remember the password. We've tried for days with no luck and I guess too many attempts on login now when it restarts it doesn't boot to the Windows page it boots to a gray and white page. And also the f keys or none of the keys seem to work or lit up . It's been several years since used and she has no info or past papers on it. what do we do please help

 

[AlHuneke]

You can make a bootable USB install for Win10. It will take some research on your part, but there are lots of tutorials on the internet for how to do this. Last I knew, you could still upgrade from Win 7 to Win10 for free with a few tricks. Worst case, you would have to pay for Windows. You may be able to find an install for Win7, but I would not trust any source for that unless it comes from Microsoft. Lots of virus laden versions "for free". As you likely know, Win 7 is no longer a supported OS which means MS is no longer doing security updates. I would strongly urge you to not use Win 7,

 

[Juice11jrb]

Okay I get it! But what do I do, how do I upgrade to Windows 10 or download anything to it when it's locked and won't do anything ? It won't even let you go to boot or setup on the initial screen when you plug it in and push power it's no longer letting me do that it's just going straight to the gray and white page and from there after a couple of tries of the password or anything or any button really it shuts itself off and doesn't restart.

 

[AlHuneke]

You need to find out how your machine enters the Bios settings screen. Look here https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/enter-bios-dell-18849.html. If you are not familiar with changing settings in the BIOS, it may not be practical for you to reinstall Windows yourself. The process is not simple if you have never done it and I can't list all the steps here. You could take it to a computer shop. You might also want to consider that the Dell 1545 sells used for only about $150. Unless you are able to take the time to learn how to do the install yourself, it may not make sense to fix it at all.

 

[Juice11jrb]

You need to find out how your machine enters the Bios settings screen. Look here https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/enter-bios-dell-18849.html. If you are not familiar with changing settings in the BIOS, it may not be practical for you to reinstall Windows yourself. The process is not simple if you have never done it and I can't list all the steps here. You could take it to a computer shop. You might also want to consider that the Dell 1545 sells used for only about $150. Unless you are able to take the time to learn how to do the install yourself, it may not make sense to fix it at all.

Thanks for the help and the info. Not too concerned about the laptop itself or value. It just has some very important family photos on it that mean a lot to my mom . But thanks for the help

 

[COLGeek]

Discussions on how to bypass security measures are not allowed. We have no means to verify the ownership of the device in question.

Contact Dell for assistance.