Talking about a used Dell laptop that has been fixed up and ready to go.
Talking about a used Dell laptop that has been fixed up and ready to go.
I just got a refurbished Dell Latitude 5490 laptop from Amazon. It came with paper instructions showing how to set it up and restore Windows 10 Pro. I reached the step where I had to sign in with my Microsoft account, but there was no "skip" button on the screen. So I created that account just to move on to the next problem: an email asking for my mobile phone number and password.
I have never used a password for my phone, so this is completely confusing. I guess I just have to create one to get past this hurdle.
I tried calling Amazon support, but they gave me bad answers first. Then someone from the Philippines spoke with terrible English and couldn't explain anything clearly; it looked like their script told them to suggest a refund, which isn't what I asked for. They ignored my request to transfer me to a real person in the US instead of hanging up.
Now I have this nice, brand-new-looking laptop without any scratches, but I can't install the software because I am stuck here. I cannot call Dell since their line is always busy. For some reason, I thought the laptop came with the operating system already installed like it used to in the good old days... now that my first "new" computer in twenty years requires all this extra work just to get running.
There used to be a skip choice on older Windows 10 versions but now they took it away. To start as Home users, you need to disconnect your internet and choose "I don't have internet" before clicking continue with limited setup. If you're Pro, select the offline account option instead. Try turning off your PC to boot into safe mode, then delete your Microsoft account if needed, or create a normal local one properly.
Oh man, my computer is stuck with me at a bad spot because of that glitch. I can't figure it out either. The internet won't let me quit or fix things right now. How do you turn off the safe mode without having an internet connection? Also, someone else said they don't have their disc ready.
Turning off the internet by unplugging the cord or cutting the Wi-Fi means you can't expect Microsoft to have an "unplug now" button in their installer. If they really wanted to let you use your online account while disconnected, they would just give you a way to set up a local account instead of forcing a cloud login. The easiest way to enter Safe Mode on a standard Windows install is this: shut off the power right after three restarts happen automatically. Once that happens, you'll find Safe Mode under Advanced Options and Troubleshoot. If everything gets really messed up and a full reinstall is needed, you can make your own installation files for free from any USB stick you have access to, using one of your 16GB or 32GB drives. Even on computers with locked-down libraries, you should be able to download the .iso file and put it on a blank disc, though since Windows is so big now, you'll likely need a double-layer disc and a DVD burner to burn it in.
Thanks BFG. Sorry if you don't know how some used laptops are sold or why I didn't either. When I opened the box, there was a big paper telling me to figure out how to install Windows. First, I had to turn on my internet, then it asked for my Microsoft account and told me to make one if I didn't have it. I didn't have that. Then it asked for my mobile phone password, but I never got one. If I couldn't enter those two codes, I was stuck. There were no other options to get into the BIOS or start a computer. I definitely don't have an operating system yet, though I do have a disc with media on it. It took me many tries to install Windows 10 on a desktop running Windows 7. I always hear Colanta's voice welcoming me to Windows but can never see the screen. It just stops right there. That was one of the reasons why I bought this laptop. I thought it came pre-installed, but that was my mistake; I should have asked before buying. To my knowledge, the computer is totally empty until I pass all those instructions on the paper. I managed to create a Microsoft account and even tried my mobile password again, but it says the code is wrong. How can that be? When I never had a password for this thing in the first place!
If you heard Cortana, the little helper program for Windows 10, they have been turned on. But Cortana isn't alone; a Microsoft account doesn't need to be [email protected]. You can use any email address at all. I am using an old Gmail that has rarely been used. Right now, it is just starting to create the account in the system.
If I installed Win 10 because of Cortana's voice, why can't I see the system itself? That is too much information! When it comes to my Microsoft account, I created that one before in a previous post...and I still haven't figured out how to install Windows. Don't get me wrong, we are talking about two different things. The Cortana part happened on my desktop, not this refurbished laptop I just bought. Right now, I am asking for help if possible with my new purchase.
You haven't even set up your account yet, but the operating system was already there.
Well at least your Windows 10 disc probably works (we don't know for sure because you probably only used it on the Win 7 desktop and didn't put it on boot) and if you made it last year, its build is probably still fresh enough to update itself without needing any manual help. But that laptop doesn't have an optical drive so you would need a USB DVD drive to use it. As for the desktop, it's pretty clear Windows 10 default settings just don't like your GPU and monitor combination somehow. Maybe it thinks DVI is the main monitor but you only have a TV attached via HDMI so it stays black until in the display settings you can make it primary or extend Windows to it. We can guess you are using some FM2 AMD chip with an integrated graphics processor and that it worked fine in Windows 7, and that if you used any old discrete card (even one without any Windows 10 drivers) and attached the monitor to that instead, then you'd be able to see well enough to fix the problem with the black screen on the IGP. But we can't know any of that for sure because you refused to answer any basic questions about the system so we don't even know what ports you are using or what monitor or CPU you have. When asked for basic specs in that thread, you answered "yes." Well if you answer Microsoft's demands for a login similarly, then it won't let you get very far. Right now you have Windows 10 fully installed on both a desktop and a laptop and can't log into either of them. Yes, Windows was fully preinstalled on the laptop just without any user account set up--exactly the same way a brand new laptop is delivered. But with a brand new laptop you'd likely have a lot easier time getting the seller to walk you through the setup process.