Windows 2000 Pro

Press delete when the system is switched on. This will activate the setup menu where you can set and activate the CD as the first boot drive.

I've had great success re-writing the hive with this utility cd:

http://ebcd.pcministry.com/

Good luck

If the PC is so old that you cannot alter the BIOS setup (you did not mention as to whether you could access the BIOS or not) to allow booting from CD, then you need a boot floppy from say Win98SE, with a CD driver that will allow any CD to run.....

If the BIOS has a password that you do not know, just remove the battery link or the battery on the main board for an hour or two, then the setup password will be gone....on some boards you need to place the link in another position for it to lose the settings....

Format the disk and then install Win2000.

You will need to identify the main board on the internet and download the drivers....from another computer, not this one......never ever go on the internet without having full anti-virus and a working firewall.....especially not if you mean to use Win2K again!!!! Win2K is not to be recommended for going online anymore......

WinXP Pro is the ONLY OS that is worth having from B.G. .....

[quote=andy]WinXP Pro is the ONLY OS that is worth having from B.G. .....[/quote]

only if you are a fan of MS.....

MANY linux distros can and do run circles around all MS products.

If th programs you are planning to run are ported to linux/unix, you would be $$ ahead to look into this!!

So you bought an old computer? So what, I have an old Dell Dimension XPS D33 that at one time I ran WIn95, then upgraded to WIn98se, than upgraded to Win2000pro. Today, it runs Ubuntu 5.04, a Linux operating system. But before I installed Ubuntu, I ran several Linux LiveCD distributions on it. One thing that running, or installing, Linux does in dual boot with Windows is that it allows you to go to "My Computer" and look at all the files on both the Linux and the Windows operating systems. Thus, you can see what is on the hard drive even if you cannot use it. Any company that sells or throws out its old computers are downright stupid if they allow a computer with a client's personal information still on it, they should remove any such hard drive with that information and destroy it.

Also, you do not say what processor, ram, hard drive, etc, this machine has on it. It may be too old to be of much value or it may be one that was upgraded to have a fast processor of 2.8 Ghz, 500 meg or more of ram, and many gig of storage. This does make a difference in what operating systems you can use effectively. In any case, I would not try to break the passwords and would find the appropriate Linux desktop operating system and do a complete install. Forget trying to use any of the existing software, it is all proprietary and will require you to license it. Linux open source software is readily available and is rapidly being upgraded to beyond the quality of any Microsoft operating systems or applications. To find the software LIveCD's you may want to try, go to ON-DISK. There, you will find all the LIveCD's available, including open source, Windows and Mac.

As low a cost as computer parts are today, I do not understand why one would buy an old machine rather then building their own. It is easy and you know what you are getting. BTW, if you recall, I said I have upgraded an old Dell 486 machine with Ubuntu, guess what, it is the very machine I am using to type this reply to you. You see, my motherboard to my primary machine went bad and I am replacing it with a new 64 bit X2 Dual Core with 2 gig DDR2 ram. All for less than $300. This old Dell will then "test" Tiny and/or SAM Linux and continue to serve as my second backup Linux machine. I will never again use Windows. Linux is simply that much better and the applications are as good as, if not better than, anything Microsoft has to offer and is continually being upgraded, all free of cost through open source.

I didn't know that you could even obtain a dual core motherboard to replace the one in the computer. Thats good to know....so I could just get my local computer repair shop to yank out the old 486 and stick in a new motherboard. Who knew!

As far as the OS debates are concerned, they all sound too much like "Ford is better than Dodge...No! Japanese cars at the only reliable cars". It has been my experience that MS windows on this old IBM motherboard has been pretty much bulletproof. (It was years before I got the "blue screen of death", for instance, and I didn't know what the fuss was all about! Still don't! Everything seems to run on it just fine.)

I was only this month thinking about upgrading because my old Win98 is no longer being supported...understandable I guess, neither is my 98 Ford van!...and am fascinated by the idea that I could pick up an old junker of a computer and soup it up to run with the best!

Thanks for the tip.

Bill

I would say that its still better to buy a new (or build one from parts) computer, otherwise you may have problems due to the power supply, especially if you upgrade the Motherboard.....even with a new motor, an old car is still an old car......

I build my own always from selected parts, it is not the cheapest way, but the results are worth looking at.....I then let them run for about 3 years. The last time, I kept the box as it is 90Cm high and has room for 6 hard drives in easily removable units, good cooling etc.. But I changed everything else including the PS which is now 550 watts and has temperature controlled fan cooling......

AMDs have better temperature tolerances and shut themselves down if something breaks.....with help from the main board of course......

I like MSI main boards as their support center is in Frankfurt and they have actually invited me to visit once when I had an install problem with their board and an AMD X2 64 bit CPU, they fixed the problem immediately and no charge!!! I had made the problem......Nice people at MSI Germany!!!

Yusef1, you are in Canada, so you should have no problems with obtaining USA computer stuff. I did my shopping homework at Microcenter in Houston, Texas. I have lost faith in Fry's Outpost. You can search online for all your computer stuff, including bargains for new and refurbished computers with Mac, Windows, or Linux (freeBSD) installed. I like Microcenter because I can put my hands on it.

As for rebuilding old computers, one has to know the case, too. If it is older than a ATX case, forget it, they are too old and beyond salvaging. For my primary machine, I have selected a Asus M2N-E nForce 570 Ultra AM2 ATX Motherboard 2 $125, AMD Boxed Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4000+ Socket AM2 @ $62, Processor Cooling fan @ $10 with $2 rebate, and 2 gig DDR2 Ram @ $62. The total for these parts is $259. Then I have as an option a 19" wide screen LED monitor @ $160, taking the total to $419. As for the rest of the parts, I have all that I need plus the DVD rom and Floppy drives already in the box. I have not found any ready made computers of this type anywhere for anywhere near this price. we actually do not know enough about this Win2000pro machine to know what options are available.

If you do not want to go to the bother of re-installing the OS, there are many good password utilities available for download for a fair sum on the Internet that will allow you to change the startup and the administrator password. Go to Google and search on "Password Changer".

If its not the OS user password and the BIOS one instead, power the box down, open it up and remove the CMOS battery, let it sit for an hour then put the battery back in. You will have to reset the CMOS settings, but as the motherboard should come back up in its default settings mode it should work fine.