Network/password login screen bypass to clean install

[stingingscorp]

Hi, new member here. Not sure if you can help me, but I think I just got taken by craigslist.

I purchased a used laptop, and cannot get past the 'network password' screen.... the person I bought it from told me that he bought a whole bunch of them when his company upgraded their equipment... but he is no longer responding to my emails and I don't have any other contact info for him other than his first name & hotmail email... so I can't get the user name/password to get into the computer - when I bought it he started it up and I guess logged in without me really noticing him doing it!

What do I do?

I do have an XP disk from before that I would like to clean install on this, but how do I get in???

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I can't really afford to be out the money I paid this guy.

[saphalline]

Is it one of those IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads with the extra business-class security? Tell us more about this portable.

[stingingscorp]

IBM Thinkpad T40
don't remember the specific details - not top of the line, but not crap either - my mom will kill me though if she finds out that i've been burned by this purchase (I'll never hear the end of 'I told you not to.....')

[saphalline]

Take a look at this thread (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59852), but try not to cry too much. :(

All the T-series are the same - increased security at the expense of being able to use the darn thing! You need to get in contact with this seller! It's the only way.

You alluded to the fact that you've seen him in person, correct? You watched him use this machine in your presence? Back-track on your purchase procedure. How did you find him? How did he find you? Did he mention which company previously owned the machine? Does craiglist offer any guidance for situations like this? How did you pay for it?

[stingingscorp]

I bought it off craigslist.
He met me and started it up and it worked fine (didn't see him entering the password portion or I would have questioned him about that)
Paid him in cash.
Now I can't get ahold of him via his email....

Anyway, I was able to go into the bios by hitting the blue access ibm button and telling it to boot from cd first, this enabled it to see the xp disk i put in the cd drive and it rebooted and i was able to clean install.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Budfred]

If the person who sold it to you is not responding, there is a fairly good chance it is stolen...

[saphalline]

Paid him in cash.Oooh, that's not good...

Bummer... I think Budfred is correct. This was probably a fly-by-night fellow who took the cash and ran! There's no paper trail on cash - that's why I don't carry more than $20 in cash on me at any time anymore. Forces me to use trailing forms of payment. This totally sucks! :(