Help accessing laptop

[MrFishy]

Hey! I got my hands on a Lenovo 300e Windows 2nd Gen. It belongs to some sort of organization, and I'm pretty sure they're no longer in business. It's a great device, and I don't want to let it go to waste. I'm wondering if I can reset it and use it personally. 

 

I've tried just restarting, asked for a recovery key. Everything requires a BitLocker key. Tried looking around the files with a tutorial on Youtube, couldn't find the recovery key. Wondering if I can boot from a drive and reinstall Windows. I don't know a lot about Windows.

Wondering if I need to replace the SSD. I found an Amazon listing for the SSD currently installed in the laptop, but it's off sale. I found another that seems compatible, but I'm not sure. What can I do, what are my options?

Here's the iFixit listing if it helps any.

[y0ur5h4d0w]

you will never be able to find the bitlocker key, once bitloker is setup it's the only way to save the key, in order to boot into windows you need to essentially format the PC and reinstall windows.

 

bitlocker is a form of disk encryption that microsoft uses, it encrypts the whole disk or part of the disk and as first step before beginning the disk encryption windows generates a text file which includes an id and a 32 characters (iirc) long password, and that is the only way you have to access windows in case for some reasons you'll get asked for the bitlocker key. this can be due to an update or even swapping disk usually but there's more cases where it might ask you for the recovery key. IF you lose that key you will never be able to access the disk*. 

 

the only way you have to be able to access that computer at the moment is to make a bootable USB with rufus and clean install windows 10/11.

 

 

 

 

 

*unless you find the hacky way, which is NOT legal at all and you shouldn't do it because if the company finds out somehow it's not a fun time. and even if you can bypass the bitlocker you'll still need to hack your way into the system without knowing a local user password, it's a fun project, but 1000% illegal to do.

[Eigenvektor]

18 minutes ago, MrFishy said:

What can I do, what are my options?

Verify whether that company truly no longer exists, otherwise contact them. While it's possible they forgot to release that notebook from their device inventory, it could also turn out to be stolen goods. You can try reinstalling Windows from a USB stick or similar, but depending on how it was enrolled, it might simply re-enroll itself afterwards.

 

13 minutes ago, MrFishy said:

Tried looking around the files with a tutorial on Youtube, couldn't find the recovery key.

Encrypting the device, then leaving the recovery key on it would defeat the purpose of using encryption in the first place. If their IT staff did their job properly, that recovery key is stored in a secure location elsewhere (e.g. some internal company file vault).

[jaslion]

Check if they are actually out of bussiness. If thia is just an old windows install format the drive from a bootable usb installer and reinstall windows. If the reinstall intune enrolls or whatever then yeah its still in a tenant and they forgot or its actually still active.

[MrFishy]

Found the business! Emailing them. I'll keep this thread updated