I have a Dell Precision T7610 with SUSE installed. When my department was closed, the system was given to me. I have no idea what any of the passwords are, especially for root. My goal is to somehow bypass the need for a password at boot and ultimately install Windows. Any guidance?

Yes; follow Microsoft's instructions for downloading a Windows ISO image and burning it to a USB stick. Boot from it, format the hard drive and install Windows. If you don't want Linux, then there's nothing else to do.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

Is there a way to remove any current root password so that I can see what is on the system as is?

Boot up as single user. Look at the suse docs.

Edit:
https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=000016838
https://linuxconfig.org/recover-rese...-root-password
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1216...-type-the-pass

etc.

Many ways, but if you don't know Linux (and aren't going to use it), it's just going to frustrate you to try to navigate and 'look'. Resetting the root password is one thing...but some distros won't let you log in as root from the GUI. If you're going to look around, set up your own user with:
..then set a password:
...and log in with that. Two commands from single-user terminal, and you should be able to log in. Reset the root password first, though.

You don't need to remove the password to see that. Boot from a thumb drive and mount the hard drive.

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I would seriously NOT try to read the current disk contents.

If you were allowed/supposed to, you would have been given the relevant info/acct.
Also, some one might not have deleted something they should have.

Just re-format/re-install from scratch, regardless of target OS wanted.

If it's not a company owned laptop anymore and you think someone will not look for it, then do the thing that you want.

reset password: https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=000015925

dual boot Linux/Win: https://itsfoss.com/install-windows-...ntu-dual-boot/

Good luck!

Based on my experience (and on my company): I can give you my laptop and you will not be able to read anything on it (without password). So yes, if you wish you can try to install anything as it was already described, but do not try to use it without reinstalling something [else].

Yeah, all our company laptops use disk encryption.

CF1,

The answer was given by TB0ne in post #2.

In order to activate Windows you will need to have a valid product key.

Of course there may be a BIOS password on this machine.

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I suggest that you simply purchase a copy of Windows from Microsoft – you can download it of course – and cold-install that version on the computer, thereby wiping out everything that is now on it. (Move anything that you want to keep out of harm's way, say onto a thumb drive.) During the install, tell the installer to wipe the disk – this will of course take a while.

Windows has gotten a lot simpler and easier to work with in recent releases, at least in terms of "installing it." So far as I am aware, there is only one version of it now. The license fee is fair and not onerous.

You can, of course, do exactly the same thing with Linux. Your choice. Grab a free copy of "VirtualBox" from Oracle and you can even have both operating systems on the same computer at the same time – one being the "host," the other being the "guest."

Or, you might contact the company and either they will give you the magic passwords, or they will reset them for you to a new one that you provide.

Expanding on post #6: a live distro runs from USB, DVD or other using the system and drives until a reboot and then it's gone. Unless of course you install it or a presence whilst live.

Relates a little bit: https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...3/#post6427200

...have fun!