Sophos page stuck on my screen after ninstall

Hi Deb,

Thanks for reaching out to us. 

From the information provided, it sounds like your device was encrypted using SGN Encryption. If your company still has the Safeguard Server up and running, getting in touch with them may help you to resolve your issue. There is typically a user key involved with SGN encryption where the information assigned to your user account verifies authenticity and allows you to access your data. If these components were uninstalled it would explain why the device is not powering on normally.

If you do not need any of the files that are on the device, I'd suggest performing a clean installation of Windows using a bootable USB drive. 

Hi thanks so much for that reply. I have asked the office manager and have been told that we no longer use sophos and because there has been a change over of staff they can’t find any info written/saved anywhere about how to resolve the issue 

Is there any way I can ‘undo’ the uninstall process I have started. ? 

or is there anyway simply to get rid of the locked screen I see now and go back to the sign including the sophos sign in?

i really appreciate your reply. Thanks 

Is there data (documents, pictures, applications etc..) on the computer that you want to keep? Personally I would format the drive (wipe it) and re-install Windows over the top again. You might need to re-licence Windows on the computer as the company may have activated it differently and then source software you need - Free versions of Office/Antivirus are freely available 

Kushal is 100% correct on this. There is no way to get the data off without contacting the company that owns the key. For boot functionality, just format the drive and install windows again.

Hi thanks so much for these replies as I really am upset that I clicked uninstall without thinking of the consequences- unfortunately yes I have photos and files I would like access to on the computer.

If I ask to reformat as you suggest with windows will I loose all my existing files in that process ? 

Failing that hat I believe you are saying I need the ‘key’ ? 

Yes, sadly that's the case and if the service has been decomissioned at work you may be in for a right challenge. Someone in the company should know if there's a Sophos SafeGuard server - Can you see the software installed on any other devices at work? In this mixed state though of half installed/ half not it's going to need some skills to sort it out into a bootable state again. 

Hi Michael - that is not good news. Can you tell me then if I find the 'key' - is this a number for example ? Can I undo the damage I have done? I really appreciate your assistance.

Do you recall what operating system the device has? If it's Windows 7 then it might be Sophos's own encryption securing the data. This will be a long combination of letters/numbers. I didn't use this personally as all our systems are newer, but if it's Windows 10 then it's a recovery key it's looking for is 48 digits - so guessing it or calculating it is completely out of the question. By design it's secure. It's not possible to say exactly what it is without some more info sadly -  Is there an IT Support department at work you can approach and ask these questions?