Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.

I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my own
OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I found it
had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password protected
(and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does nothing).
So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup menu
on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting with a
start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't know if
I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Bill Ruef wrote:
> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>
> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my own
> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I found it
> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password protected
> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does nothing).
> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup menu
> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting with a
> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't know if
> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
>
Bill,

Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.

Interesting challenge.

Myron E. Williams
Crossville, TN

Bill Ruef wrote:
> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>
> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my own
> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I found it
> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password protected
> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does nothing).
> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup menu
> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting with a
> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't know if
> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
>
Bill,

Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.

Interesting challenge.

Myron E. Williams
Crossville, TN

Bill Ruef wrote:
> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>
> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my own
> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I found it
> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password protected
> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does nothing).
> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup menu
> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting with a
> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't know if
> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
>
Bill,

Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.

Interesting challenge.

Myron E. Williams
Crossville, TN

nospam wrote:
> Bill Ruef wrote:
>
>> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>>
>> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
>> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my
>> own
>> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I
>> found it
>> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
>> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
>> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password
>> protected
>> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
>> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does
>> nothing).
>> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
>> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup
>> menu
>> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting
>> with a
>> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
>> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
>> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't
>> know if
>> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
>> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
>> Thanks in advance for your help.
>>
>>
> Bill,
>
> Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
> sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
> Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
> put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
> formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.
>
> Interesting challenge.
>
> Myron E. Williams
> Crossville, TN


Hi Folks,

I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.

School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
the students from messing up the settings.

HTH,

John King

nospam wrote:
> Bill Ruef wrote:
>
>> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>>
>> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
>> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my
>> own
>> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I
>> found it
>> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
>> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
>> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password
>> protected
>> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
>> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does
>> nothing).
>> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
>> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup
>> menu
>> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting
>> with a
>> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
>> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
>> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't
>> know if
>> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
>> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
>> Thanks in advance for your help.
>>
>>
> Bill,
>
> Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
> sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
> Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
> put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
> formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.
>
> Interesting challenge.
>
> Myron E. Williams
> Crossville, TN


Hi Folks,

I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.

School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
the students from messing up the settings.

HTH,

John King

nospam wrote:
> Bill Ruef wrote:
>
>> Hi folks. Hoping somebody can help me out here.
>>
>> I recently bought a used computer for my son on ebay. I was under the
>> impression that it would come with the HD wiped and I would install my
>> own
>> OS (Win98 w/ an XP Home upgrade. But when the computer arrived, I
>> found it
>> had XP Pro installed on it already. At first I thought "Great - will just
>> stick with that". Problem is the unit was pulled from a school when they
>> upgraded and therefore, pretty much everything on it is password
>> protected
>> (and there ain't much chance of getting the passwords from the seller). I
>> can't even get into the "Start" menu (clicking on the button does
>> nothing).
>> So I figured I'd go back to plan A and reformat the HD and install my own
>> O.S. But I can't even seem to do that. I can't even get into the setup
>> menu
>> on boot-up because that's also password protected. I've tried booting
>> with a
>> start-up disc but it doestn't seem to be recognizing that.
>> I'm relatively new to working with XP and although done reformat &
>> reinstalls before, I've never done it with an XP system. So I don't
>> know if
>> I'm overlooking something relatively simple or if there's a way to get in
>> there or what. Anybody have any ideas or help they can offer?
>> Thanks in advance for your help.
>>
>>
> Bill,
>
> Can you get to the BIOS settings? You probably need to reorder the boot
> sequence so it will boot from a startup diskette or from the OS CD.
> Worst case, replace the hard drive. If you have another 'puter at hand,
> put this one in it and reformat. Note, too, that this one is likely
> formatted NTFS which will NOT be recognized by Win9x systems.
>
> Interesting challenge.
>
> Myron E. Williams
> Crossville, TN


Hi Folks,

I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.

School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
the students from messing up the settings.

HTH,

John King

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:39:57 +0000, John King wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
> bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
> get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
> jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.
>
> School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
> the students from messing up the settings.
>
> HTH,
>
> John King

You can also remove the CMOS battery for several minutes if there isn't a
jumper.

--
Registered Linux User #267152

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:39:57 +0000, John King wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
> bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
> get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
> jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.
>
> School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
> the students from messing up the settings.
>
> HTH,
>
> John King

You can also remove the CMOS battery for several minutes if there isn't a
jumper.

--
Registered Linux User #267152

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:39:57 +0000, John King wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm new here, but I might add to the above help that if the
> bios is also set with a password, it becomes necessary to
> get info (manual) on the MB so you can temporarily pull a
> jumper on the MB which allows reset of the bios password.
>
> School systems are often set with a bios password to keep
> the students from messing up the settings.
>
> HTH,
>
> John King

You can also remove the CMOS battery for several minutes if there isn't a
jumper.

--
Registered Linux User #267152