Computers & Networking

[Jiten]

I bought a Lenovo V570 and it worked well for a few months. Then the computer would not start up at all, and was not getting any power. I took it back to Best Buy and they said there are quite a few problems with that, and that they would send it out to replace the motherboard.

I got the computer back a week later, and it was working fine, except that the Port Locker would not now accept the password, I am not sure if this is due to the change of the motherboard. Now I get notices that the Windows operating system is not genuine. I researched online and found out that since there is a new motherboard, the original windows installation thinks this is a new computer altogether.

I took it back to Best buy , and they say the only way is to get the computer back to factory reset. I said that will be fine but I need to back up my all data. Herein lies the problem. The port locker will not let me attach a external hard drive to back up my data, as now the port locker will not recognize my password..

I cannot plug in anything into the usb ports as they are blocked by port locker. Anyone has any ideas on how to take care of this problem ?

Thanks in advance

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

You could upload your data to a web-based backup solution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_online_backup_services

The "Windows is not genuine" message can come up after a motherboard replacement (though I don't believe Lenovo has a DMI/Tattooo issue), but the Port Locker password should remain unchanged. Regardless, I'd recommend backing up your data to one of the online backup sites and then restoring the computer back to factory defaults. Keep in mind that the online backup will probably take quite a bit of time...obviously depending on how much data you have to backup and how fast your internet connection is.

[Jiten]

Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I might just have to try an online back up. How about exchanging the hard drives to a different lenovo computer ? Is that a possibility ?

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

It's possible...but then you're introducing yet another new motherboard into the mix. Also, I'd probably have to the exact same model to have any chance of port locker working/unlocking.

[seekrtz]

Just re-activate Windows using the telephone method and go through the automated process over the phone.  Afterwards, you can make a screenshot of the code you receive over the phone and re-use the same exact code to activate Windows again if you happen to do a clean installation in the future.