need help with ex-school dell optiplex 620

[Soundguy]

they sell them off every year they upgrade, and yeah.. normally you get a blank box that just boots to windows. we have bought them from time to time .. they only charge 25$. we wanted this one because it came with a really nice monitor.. flat panel with hd dv input. that was wortht he 25$ to me. if i can get the puter part working.. bonus...

I'll download one of those iso's at work and burn it. thanks

 

[Soundguy]

ok.. downloaded the nt offline iso.

will work on it this weekend when i get to my usb dvd burner.

i grabbed the file on my netbook... so will update and see what's what later.

One question however.

once i get past that password thing. how do i get the computer to stop trying to log into the school domain each boot?

thanks

 

[aczlan]

One question however.
once i get past that password thing. how do i get the computer to stop trying to log into the school domain each boot?
thanks

See my earlier post:

Once you have a password, I would log in as a local administrator and switch from the domain to a workgroup (see: How to change a computer name, join a domain, and add a computer description in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003 )

Switching to a workgroup will get rid of the domain stuff.

Aaron Z

 

[Soundguy]

thanks, i had missed that part of the post earlier!

 

[Soundguy]

update:

this am before work, I pulled the password jumper off the motherboard so that i could get rid of the bios password so that i could change boot order.

got booted using the cracker cd. there were multiple user account. I changed the admin one to have the blanked password.

i then rebooted the machine.. it then accepted my wifes old password but did complain that the school network was not found.. but then let me to a desktop.

at this point i just have to find out how to get rid of that searching fo rthe school network i guess.

 

[/pine]

What I do with a lot of similar systems is install Linux and set it up as a multi-media system...install a HD tuner card with an HDMI out port and install something like "Myth TV"

MythTV is a collection of software that provides digital video recording functions (PVR or DVR--personal, or digital, video recorder) a computerized VCR, similar to a TiVo or a Replay. It runs under the Linux operating system. Since it's open source software, if you don't like the way it does something, you can always change it that's how much of its current functionality came about in the first place.

In addition to the basic PVR functions of recording and playing back scheduled programs and allowing you to schedule recordings automatically in advance, MythTV has a plugin system that permits it to be extended by other programmers. Plugins currently exist for playing external video, viewing photos, listening to music files, using your TV and a web camera as a video-telephone over the Internet, browsing the web, retrieving current local weather, and many other functions.

 

[MossRoad]

update:

this am before work, I pulled the password jumper off the motherboard so that i could get rid of the bios password so that i could change boot order.

got booted using the cracker cd. there were multiple user account. I changed the admin one to have the blanked password.

i then rebooted the machine.. it then accepted my wifes old password but did complain that the school network was not found.. but then let me to a desktop.

at this point i just have to find out how to get rid of that searching fo rthe school network i guess.

Do you know if it still thinks its a member of the domain instead of a member of the workgroup?
You want it to be a member of the workgroup at home.
If you don't know how to find that or change that, post again and someone will help.

 

[aczlan]

Do you know if it still thinks its a member of the domain instead of a member of the workgroup?

Yes, it still thinks its a member of a domain, thats why his wife's school login still works.

i then rebooted the machine.. it then accepted my wifes old password but did complain that the school network was not found.. but then let me to a desktop.
at this point i just have to find out how to get rid of that searching fo rthe school network i guess.

See the link I posted earlier to switch to from a domain to a workgroup. That will get it to stop looking for the school network.
Short directions to do it:

1. Login as an administrator
2. Right click on My Computer, then click on properties
3. Click on the "Computer Name" tab
4. Click the "Change" button
5. Put a new computer name in the "Computer name" box (optional)
6. Click the "Workgroup" radio button
7. Enter a name in the "Workgroup" text box
8. Click "Ok"
9. Click "Ok"
10. Click "Ok" (or "Yes") when it asks to reboot
11. When it starts back up, login as your admin account
12. Enjoy

Aaron Z

 

[Soundguy]

thanks, quick ( dumb? ) question.. when you say to login as administrator.

does that mean that after i use the wifes school login, i tell it to log that users off and login as another user ( from the start button / shut down menu ) ?

thanks for the help.

I was much better with computers back when stuff had jumpers and belts, and ram came in small DIP packages..

 

[MossRoad]

Try looking at the "properties" mentioned above while logged in as your wife. By some chance she may have permissions to change the computer name.
If not, then you'll have to log on to the computer as the local administrator.