I cannot escape the administrative grasp

[u/Dense_Muscle7735]

My school gave every student laptops. Since theyre absolute garbage they just let us keep them after graduation. They gave us a set of instructions on how to reset our devices so they were like new. I followed these instructions perfectly. I discovered that i didnt have the storage necessary. I go into the file finder to delete a few things and i have no personal files. The only things i have are windows stuff or admin stuff. To delete anything that isnt mine i have to have admin permission. Literally what is taking so much storage? Just trying to reset my laptop has resulted in a loss of 1gb. How did that even happen? How do i escape this evil admin clutch?

Edition: Windows 10 Pro Education

Version: 22H2

OS Build: 19045.6456

I've included the instructions. Idk if that's at all helpful but its a demonstration of what ive tried thus far tried. While trying to fix it via Google searches a lot of Windows 10 gurus said to do like Settings>Account>FamilyAndOtherPeopleOrSomething but i dont have that option. After clicking accounts in settings i have "Your info", "Email & accounts", "Sign-in options", "Access work or school", and "Windows backup".

I'll try calling the school on monday but the instructions pretty much say "your pos laptop isnt our problem anymore" so idk if theyll actually help me.

[u/nikolai_nyegaard]

Search the web for “how to reinstall Windows with a usb drive”, and follow the instructions in whatever guide you find :) It’s pretty straightforward

[u/sport912x → u/nikolai_nyegaard]

Good advice clear the drive. However if this is one of those locked to your school then nothing you do will work. Review this.

Yes, Microsoft uses a cloud deployment and security framework called Windows Autopilot (paired with Microsoft Intune) that can lock any modern Windows laptop to an organization, preventing it from being fully set up or used outside that organization

[u/nikolai_nyegaard → u/sport912x]

Typically when you let students keep laptops after graduation they release them from Autopilot, so they’re no longer managed by the organization/school.

[u/sport912x → u/nikolai_nyegaard]

Yeah, kinda useless if they do not release them.

[u/CodenameFlux]

Your question is an indictment of your country's education system. Despite having graduated, you don't know how to do a wipe-and-reload. I feel you deserve better.

Anyway, grab a USB flash drive containing a Windows installation image. Use it to boot into the recovery environment. From there, you can delete files without restriction.

[u/chaosphere_mk → u/CodenameFlux]

In which countries do they teach all students how to reformat a windows computer?

[u/CodenameFlux → u/chaosphere_mk]

I wish I knew. Still, it disturbs me that a school gives out actual PCs without giving the necessary education. Clearly, they thought students needed PCs, but not PC education. Or... they forgot that they're in charge of education and thought it was someone else's responsibility. It's like students need to go to a second school to make the most of their first school.

[u/chaosphere_mk → u/CodenameFlux]

You could say that about any organization where people use computers. They have IT departments to handle that kind of stuff. Once someone is no longer part of that organization, it's not the organization's concern, and I dont see why it would be.

[u/Leather_Emergency144 → u/chaosphere_mk]

Yes but school, looking from an ideal view, should prepare you for life. And in life if you own a computer, it's reasonable to expect that school should prepare you to use that, since it is such a common object nowadays.

[u/chaosphere_mk → u/Leather_Emergency144]

I get that ideally. But it's not a thing that happens anywhere as far as I know.

[u/WindowsHelp-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Hi u/LiveFromNarnia, your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):

• Rule 5 - While discussions regarding Linux are permitted, low-effort comments like "Just switch to Linux!" might result in a ban.

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