installing Linux on Win2000 HD, boot order mixed up, nothing working

  • Thread starter Thread starter John
  • Start date Start date
J

John

We have a computer with Windows 2000 on it, on which we have forgotten
all passwords to all accounts (including BIOS setup), effectively
rendering this machine useless. However, there is not anything on this
computer which we want/need to keep. Therefore, we have decided to try
to install Fedora Core 2, as the Windows 2000 install CD has gone
missing. Sounds simple enough, BUT:

The password resetting tool from
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html failed to detect
the partition it needed to reset the password on, so that was no help on
getting into win2000.

The boot device order prevents booting from the CD drive as long as
there is a bootable hard drive there...and being locked out of the BIOS
prevents any alteration to this configuration. (unplugging the hard
drive lets us boot the FC2 CD fine...but then there's no HD to install
onto...) I've considered flashing BIOS to gain access to the boot device
order, but I'm not sure of the manufacturer or any other necessary
information for that.

We have tried using a Windows 98 boot disk from one of our other
computers to reformat the drive (format c:) so as to enable booting from
the CD, but to no avail. ("boot failed" is the informative error message
it gives.)

Does ANYBODY have ANY ideas on how to accomplish this task? Would
something like swiping a magnet over the drive work and just require
that it be formatted again, or would it be ruined then?

Thanks for any suggestions!

John
 
John said:
The boot device order prevents booting from the CD drive as long as
there is a bootable hard drive there...and being locked out of the BIOS
prevents any alteration to this configuration.
Click to expand...

.... most computers these days have a "password reset"
feature built into the motherboard. normally it's a
jumper that you simply remove (or cover) and boot up.
if i were you, i'd open the box up and check for it.

unless, of course, you've put a padlock on the computer
and have lost that too
:)
 
mjt said:
John wrote:




... most computers these days have a "password reset"
feature built into the motherboard. normally it's a
jumper that you simply remove (or cover) and boot up.
if i were you, i'd open the box up and check for it.

unless, of course, you've put a padlock on the computer
and have lost that too
:)
Click to expand...

On some older pc's you can clear the BIOS pswd by removing
the CMOS battery for about an hour.
 
John said:
We have a computer with Windows 2000 on it, on which we have forgotten
all passwords to all accounts (including BIOS setup), effectively
rendering this machine useless. However, there is not anything on this
computer which we want/need to keep. Therefore, we have decided to try
to install Fedora Core 2, as the Windows 2000 install CD has gone
missing. Sounds simple enough, BUT:

The password resetting tool from
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html failed to detect
the partition it needed to reset the password on, so that was no help on
getting into win2000.

The boot device order prevents booting from the CD drive as long as
there is a bootable hard drive there...and being locked out of the BIOS
prevents any alteration to this configuration. (unplugging the hard
drive lets us boot the FC2 CD fine...but then there's no HD to install
onto...) I've considered flashing BIOS to gain access to the boot device
order, but I'm not sure of the manufacturer or any other necessary
information for that.

We have tried using a Windows 98 boot disk from one of our other
computers to reformat the drive (format c:) so as to enable booting from
the CD, but to no avail. ("boot failed" is the informative error message
it gives.)

Does ANYBODY have ANY ideas on how to accomplish this task? Would
something like swiping a magnet over the drive work and just require
that it be formatted again, or would it be ruined then?

Thanks for any suggestions!

John
Click to expand...

1. Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com.
2. Run fdisk.exe to delete all existing partitions.
3. If there are some partitions you cannot delete, run delpart.exe
(http://www.russelltexas.com/delpart.htm).
4. Load Linux

Post again if this does not work. There are ways to force a machine to
boot from a CD. Ideally you should clear the BIOS password, as other
respondents have suggested. If you don't then you will be caught sooner
or later. Check the home page of your BIOS supplier for default passwords.

I
 
mjt said:
... most computers these days have a "password reset"
feature built into the motherboard. normally it's a
jumper that you simply remove (or cover) and boot up.
if i were you, i'd open the box up and check for it.

unless, of course, you've put a padlock on the computer
and have lost that too
:)
Click to expand...

if that does not work just take out the bios battery and then
put it back and job done
 
Darklight said:
mjt wrote:




if that does not work just take out the bios battery and then
put it back and job done
Click to expand...

Certainly the simplest approach! And leave the battery out while you
have a cup of coffee; it takes a while for the stored settings to
evanesce. Usually a minute or two, but I've seen some boards recommend
an hour. On restoring the battery, you'll likely have the "system
defaults", which you can then tailor. And record on parchment in a safe
deposit box.
 
John said:
We have a computer with Windows 2000 on it, on which we have forgotten
all passwords to all accounts (including BIOS setup), effectively
rendering this machine useless. However, there is not anything on this
computer which we want/need to keep. Therefore, we have decided to try
to install Fedora Core 2, as the Windows 2000 install CD has gone
missing. Sounds simple enough, BUT:

The password resetting tool from
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html failed to detect
the partition it needed to reset the password on, so that was no help on
getting into win2000.

The boot device order prevents booting from the CD drive as long as
there is a bootable hard drive there...and being locked out of the BIOS
prevents any alteration to this configuration. (unplugging the hard
drive lets us boot the FC2 CD fine...but then there's no HD to install
onto...) I've considered flashing BIOS to gain access to the boot device
order, but I'm not sure of the manufacturer or any other necessary
information for that.

We have tried using a Windows 98 boot disk from one of our other
computers to reformat the drive (format c:) so as to enable booting from
the CD, but to no avail. ("boot failed" is the informative error message
it gives.)

Does ANYBODY have ANY ideas on how to accomplish this task? Would
something like swiping a magnet over the drive work and just require
that it be formatted again, or would it be ruined then?

Thanks for any suggestions!

John
Click to expand...
I would suggest taking out your bios battery and jumping the 2 connectors
with a paperclip or similar item =) works for mine. btw its just a small
round flat battery usually close to the side of the board.
 
LJ said:
John wrote:

(snip)

I would suggest taking out your bios battery and jumping the 2 connectors
with a paperclip or similar item =) works for mine. btw its just a small
round flat battery usually close to the side of the board.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing out that obvious solution that I didn't think of!
One more question though: Am I correct in thinking the cmos/bios battery
is the only battery on the motherboard, or would that depend on the
motherboard? See, there's another problem; I don't have physical access
to the computer in question at the moment...it's my sister's and I've
been trying to instruct her on dealing with this long-distance (she's
away at college). Would she, not knowing what exactly to look for, be
able to find the battery and remove it without damaging her board,
assuming it's described properly?

Also, (one more thing, on account of I'm a curious young fella :) from
all I've read about CMOS, the battery is what allows it to keep the BIOS
program stored on it. But, removing the battery doesn't clear the BIOS
program from the CMOS chip; it simply restores the factory settings it
had originally. Is that right? So the chip's BIOS program will be there
whether there's a battery or not, but the options that I set only stay
there while the battery is in place, assuming it still has some juice?
 
No, this is just a common way of resetting the CMOS to factory default
settings - including wiping out any passwords in the BIOS. Shouldn't
hurt anything.
 
["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.]
Also, (one more thing, on account of I'm a curious young fella :) from
all I've read about CMOS, the battery is what allows it to keep the BIOS
program stored on it. But, removing the battery doesn't clear the BIOS
program from the CMOS chip; it simply restores the factory settings it
had originally. Is that right? So the chip's BIOS program will be there
whether there's a battery or not, but the options that I set only stay
there while the battery is in place, assuming it still has some juice?
Click to expand...

That's right, removing the battery doesn't clear the BIOS program, just
the settings. It is possible to change the BIOS program through a
procedure called "flashing", but I don't think you need to worry about
that now.
 
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