Any way to do a factory reset on a laptop that will not power up?

March 19, 2016 3:08 PM

Is there any way to wipe a computer that cannot be booted?

I have a two month old Lenovo Flex 3 that just stopped working a couple days ago (went in to sleep mode or shut down, and now will not power up).

I've tried all the tips I can find with my Google-fu (opening laptop to access the battery, disconnect, try to power on with AC Adapter plugged in, pressing the little reset button, etc).

Since the computer is so new and already having issues, I am just going to return the laptop (thanks, Costco, for your awesome 90-day return policy!)

What I would like to know, to satisfy my paranoia of having my info stolen off the laptop once it gets sent back to the manufacturer, is how to clear my data/files off this machine when it will not power up?

Am I SOL or is there a way to wipe the computer at this point?

Lenovo Flex 3 15" running Win 10.

TIA!

posted by tillei to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Best answer: What kind of drive is in it? If you have another working laptop, you may be able to get a cable to connect the drive to a working machine, and format like that, but I don't know what that would do to your warranty, you need to remove the drive physically.
posted by kellyblah at 3:16 PM on March 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

Best answer: If you can physically remove the drive, you can purchase an external drive enclosure, which can then be connected to a working computer to access (or wipe) the files.
posted by bluloo at 4:22 PM on March 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks bluloo and kellyblah!
Great idea.

Here are some photos of the guts if it helps - it's 500 MB or 1 TB HDD.

Other ideas, advice on removing the HDD are still welcome!
posted by tillei at 5:48 PM on March 19, 2016

Best answer: If you want to see what's involved in removing the hard drive, here's a link to the maintenance manual for at least some models of the Flex 3. Should be pretty easy. You should probably get an external enclosure or cable for the drive before you remove it, just so it doesn't sit around exposed for long.
posted by trig at 10:59 AM on March 20, 2016

Have you tried pressing the power button, then pressing and holding it again for about a minute? I know it sounds weird but I've run into a few laptops where that solved the issue. After going through that they would boot at the next power press.
posted by one4themoment at 5:34 PM on March 20, 2016