I bought a laptop computer from a guy that had an add up on the local college bulletin board over a year ago, but never could afford to buy an operating system for it. So now that I decided to get it up and running I asked a computer tech at work about which system to use and he said I was crazy for buying it. He thinks it's stolen, because of the deal I got on it. Now I'm paranoid to hook it up. So my question is, is there somewhere to check on this before I hook it up and get a rude awakening?

 

Even if it is stolen, then I don't know how anyone would track it. If you've got a bill of sale, then I wouldn't worry about it. Heck, if you've got anything saying that he sold it to you, then I wouldn't be worried. Heck, you may have also just gotten a really nice deal. I always end up selling my stuff for far below what it should be. Maybe that guy was just doing the same. Didn't need it and just wanted to get rid of it.

 

That's what I thought at the time, and just laughed when it was suggested. Then as I pondered on it longer than I should've I started gettin paranoid. The first good deal I ever got, and look what happens

 

I would think if it was stolen, they woulndn't advertise it on the college bulletin board. It was over a year ago? I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Yes, computer manufacturers can track stolen computers, especially notebooks. When computers are sent in to the service centers for repairs the S/Ns are checked against the stolen units database (only if it was reported stolen).

MikeyB

 

I'd say try installing linux on it- it's free and it won't phone home to Microsoft.
If you really do suspect it's stolen I think that giving the serial number to the police (I don't know the name of the unit responsible for that stuff in the USA) can give you a definitive answer.
The other possibility for a cheap sale of a notebook is that it's defective. Most notebooks come with an Microsoft OS preinstalled and have the license sticker on them, so you wouldn't need to buy another license. (The restore disks can be bought for cheap from the manufacturer if that's the case- over here around 25 US$ including the users manual)

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

I agree, that a call to the local police may be a good idea. They can run it through NCIC, and I bet it returns OK. It would be pretty bold to openly advertise a stolen item that has a serial number... If it is stolen, hopefully they will go bust the guy who sold it.

It isn't that unusual for people to wipe the hard drive when they get rid of an old computer, so that someone else can't recover their personal information. I would think that would also greatly reduce its resale value, and used computers always seem to be priced at a small fraction of their original value anyway.