Booting log-in problem

[clarkvance]

I posted previously that I had inherited my late sister's Thinkpad T420, and being a Mac user, know virtually nothing about how to operate this machine. Thanks to input from this forum, I was successfully able to use the Power-On and Hard Disk passwords to get to the point of the Windows icon appearing, but underneath it said "Preparing," which lasted a short while and then it went back to needing to log in again. I'm hoping this is is something simply solved and not a major issue of some kind. Any light anyone can shed on it (in detail) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[RealBlackStuff]

Unless you need/want to access private data on that T420, I would suggest to remove all the BIOS passwords and then wipe the HDD/SSD and install an OS to your liking (Windows, Linux or even Hackintosh).

[clarkvance]

Thanks, but I do need access to some documents on the hard drive.

[RealBlackStuff]

Still remove the BIOS passwords, then take the drive out, put it in an external USB case and access it via another laptop/PC.