Windows messed up

They might have sprung into life if you'd posted there.

I suspect the windows file system wasn't shut down cleanly, and that's why linux has mounted it read-only

I suspect you'll need to provide better info to get sensible answers

does it have a Windows hologram sticker on the machine?

aha, can sort that.

sure, I don't know what info yet

Yes, it's worn and gives no clue which win version. The product key on it gave no google hits.

The win logo onscreen looks very close to the win 10 one.

Cheers

You get linux to do an fsck -Y on the drive, but if its badly borked, there may well be unrecoverable data.

If possible stick the drive in linux and copy it to a USB drive before you start messing.

Then you are probably faced with a reinstall of Windows or preferably and install of Linux onto the drive. If that fails throw the drive out and put an SSD in - far better anyway - and install on that. .

The copy the data back from the USB drive.

Try the method here:

Not sure I trust that linux knows enough about current NTFS to repair it, if it needs repairing, I'd put it in a caddy on another windows box, but it sounds like the O/P may not have one of those?

ok so that is the first thing to do, since it will inform what your options are next.

Easiest way to check is to open a windows explorer window (either click on the yellow folder shortcut on the task bar if you have one, or hold the windows key and press E.

See if there is an entry on the left called "This PC". If so click on it with the right mouse button and select "properties"

That should display a page that will tell you about the machine and the version of windows it is running.

If you have 10 or later, then that is fine.

If you have 7, 8, or 8.1, then 7 and 8 are no longer supported, and 8.1 is more trouble than it is worth, but you are entitled to update to 10 or later at no cost. The next thing to do will be to see if you can run produkey and recover the windows installation key:

Since it sounds like you want a fresh start and don't need anything on the machine, this is one of the few occasions where a complete wipe and reinstall is probably worth doing.

You can download the installation media from MS:

From there you can boot from the USB drive (possibly with a BIOS settings change to make it recognise USB boot devices). Then opt for a custom install, delete all the existing disk partitions, and then let the installer run and do its thing. Skip entering the serial number during setup. But install the same version as was previously installed. So say it had Win 7 Home, install Win 10 Home. Win 8 Pro, install Win 10 Pro etc.

Once up and running, it will probably automatically reactivate if it was running 10 before. If it was running 7, 8 or 8.1 then you can opt to activate it using the recovered key from the previous OS.

I think the relevant question that hasn't been asked is where do you want to end up?

If you just want to make an old laptop do useful work, my advice would be to install an SSD and Linux Mint. As that is geared to work on older hardware.

If you want windows back and working its going to get harder - and do you in fact want it?

It seems that for whatever reason linux is probably mounting it read only, so unmounting it, fscking it and remounting it read-write may allow access to its data. But how will you know what the problem is?

As I said, removing all data to another drive and reinstallations is usually the shortest way to a solution. If winders there should be a sticker with a serial number on it somewhere.

uk.comp.homebuilt is where people seem to gather, perhaps mostly Apple & Linux though.

On Win 8 and on you uninstall programs from Control Panel > Programs and Features.

I replaced a failed SSD in an old laptop with a second hand SSD from a different machine which was running Win10.

I booted it up with little expectation. Everything just worked, and has continued to work ever since.

I think linux probably does, see

Which unless you like doing surgery on yer PC ,means taking the drive out and popping it in a USB caddy

First thing to try is booting into safe mode and see what is there.

Don't remove anything until you are sure that you need to.

Windows ControlPanel>System&Security>System panel should give you basic details of what OS revision and CPU. CPUID is helpful too.

I suspect that the filesystem is damaged so that Linux will only let you mount it readonly. Looking up the laptop model number and following the procedure to either boot from a CD, enter the BIOS or put windows in safe mode might get you into the system but I think you are still a bit stuck unless you know the admin password. You can take a fair guess at the OS Doze level from the date stamp on the Windows directory.

ISTR there is a way to reset that but it does it by sending an email to whoever admin was at whatever email address they originally specified.

Otherwise you are into nuking the OS and putting something else on. You may be able to extract the magic registration code with a suitable tool but if it is one of the later ones that requires a registration server to be running and it isn't any more then you are stuck.

eBay it?

For a person with "none of the passwords", you've done exceedingly well for yourself.

You appear to be viewing Task Manager, based on the description.

That means you got the machine started.

This is hardly as bad, as the level of lockout possible on some business laptop machines, where a 2KB flash chip holds a password you don't have. And you'd never getting in.

Start : Run : winver

That will tell you the Windows version.

Start : Run : control # use this if you cannot find "Control Panels" # Works on Windows 10

Now look for the "Programs and Features" control panel. You can uninstall stuff from there.

To remove an AV program:

3a) Uninstall AV using Programs and Features. Reboot

The AV is now removed.

On a good OS, the built-in AV may take over, assuming that Microsoft even included an AV and it's not an "anti-spyware" application.

If the machine is in a business domain, the account may not belong to the Administrator group. Normally, you remove a machine from a domain, before removing it from a business.

In a powershell window:

Get-WmiObject Win32_UserAccount -filter ?LocalAccount=True?

This may be a bit more thorough or convincing, in terms of naming them. Accounts in the 500 range, are administrative sorts of things. User Accounts start at 1000. On Windows 10, if you enter a MSA (Microsoft Account), the msaID account may exist first. If you create a familiar-name account later like Bullwinkle, it may get a higher account number from the user pool.

The SIDs are used to stamp files, like when moving drives from one machine to another.

Caption : MACHINENAME\Administrator SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-500

Caption : MACHINENAME\Guest SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-501

Caption : MACHINENAME\DefaultAccount SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-503

Caption : MACHINENAME\WDAGUtilityAccount SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-504

Caption : MACHINENAME\msaID SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-1001

Caption : MACHINENAME\Bullwinkle SID : S-1-5-21-1111111111-2222222222-3333333333-1002

I do not see SYSTEM or TrustedInstaller accounts there.

At least one account on the machine, must belong to the Administrator group. Be careful to not delete the very last Administrator group account!

net user msaID

... Local Group Memberships *Administrators *Users

If I check the sloppily created Bullwinkle, I get (oh my):

net user bullwinkle

... Local Group Memberships *Users

Bullwinkle cannot remove a Program, if I log in as Bullwinkle.

And an account like this, is singularly useless :-)

net user guest

... Local Group Memberships *Guests # not a snooping acct

It's not time for Linux, nor for Linux deletes yet. To smash from Linux, takes a very long posting with details.

While all versions of modern Windows claim the file system version is NTFS 3.1, this isn't true. And Windows does some "tricks" to make your Linux delete experience a miserable one. User files are easy to delete. C:\Windows files, some of them will be quite resistant.

In Ubuntu, you will see "I/O Error" on some NTFS files. No, this is *not* an I/O Error. This is simply a bad choice of message to scare a user with. The latest version of Ubuntu, uses a marginally-better message.

Paul

Give it to me. I'll put an SSD in and Linux on it.

Linux has problems with:

2) Fast Boot Hibernation # Cannot mount a hibernated volume since # files are open on the volume powercfg /h off # before you leave Windows

4) Any reparse point Microsoft makes, to break Linux on purpose.

Working on disks from Linux, requires some level of preparation. But, in fact, not every landmine Microsoft left in there, can be removed.

If, after installing Windows, you do this:

fsutil behavior set disablecompression 1 # disable new compression

then this improves the odds of fewer inaccessible files from Linux.

However, it also disables old style compression, which you might need some day. I just noticed this, like, yesterday or so. Old style compression unavailable, after me messing around.

To issue

chkdsk C:

you can boot a Windows 7 installer DVD, select Troubleshooting, and use the Command Prompt window. If you have a Macrium CD, the Command Prompt in there also has CHKDSK on it.

Each OS, adds different command line switches to CHKDSK. When using a CD or DVD to do repairs, try this first.

chkdsk /?

Paul

In response to many helpful replies...

I shut win down cleanly, lin still refuses to delete a thing as admin

It's win 10 pro, upgraded from 7.

It boots up but barely works. 95% cpu use & 1.7G RAM at idle do not make a usable machine.

I'd be happy to install Mint if I knew it would work on it. I don't know that at this point, otherwise I'd do it.

My job's to get it working for someone very ill to use, there's no hardware budget.

Linux file browser properties reports the fs having about half the discs's nominal capacity, & calls the fs 'fuse' Gparted says 3x NTFS partitions plus half the disc unallocated!

Well... I let linux check & repair the win partition. It no longer showsup in the filesystem on linux.

Haven't had anything windows in a long time here. Nor do the people the laptop came from etc.

It's 3G RAM.

no chance

I'll go see if it still boots. I'm very much leaning toward wiping the partitions & installing Mint.

The OP appeared to want to delete/uninstall whatever was causing the Win system to idle at almost 100%. We don't know what "Linux" he was using to try to get into the Win HD to effect changes, but I assume it was Mint.

No argument with that. He mentions that he might try it in his third reply. I wonder if the Win 10 Pro computer uses Secure Boot. If it does, will he require a password to get to the UEFI to turn it off?

He mentioned in his second post (in reply to Andy Burns):

"> does it have a Windows hologram sticker on the machine?

Yes, it's worn and gives no clue which win version. The product key on it gave no google hits."

(In his later post he points out that the OS is Win10 Pro)

Has it sat unused for a long time? It might be psyching itself up for a big windows update, have you left it to its own thing for a few hours, antivirus/antimalware might also be trying to upgrade

With W10 (and I think W8) you seem to be able to swap the hard drive from another machine - and if you want, change the activation key to that pertaining to the recipient.