Computer crashed, how do I reinstall win2000?

[joanil]

Help! My win2000 pc crashed. It is stuck in a endless loop where it starts up, goesinto the window2000 start page and when it gets to the 'administrator'/password wincow I see that my password has vanished! Then the screen goes black and the pc again tries to start. I went into the safe mode by pressing f8 and tried to reinstal a password but it will not work with the original password. I am stumped! I have the win2000 cd and a 'magic floppy' that was given to me before my nephew moved out of state, and he is not available right now. How can I reload this win2000? I am using my web tv right now to message, but it sure is slow! Thanks!

[dennisw]

Just re-install MS XP Pro ....... I'm guessing you did not get an XP disc with this computer.

[Zavien Doombringer]

You cannot get around the Admin password on 2000, however if you can get on a newgroup that has Password recover software, you can change the password.

[AZamericonnie]

Why not go to the system registry & reset to a date that the computer was functioning properly. By no means too savy here but I know that reformating the drive is alot of work.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

. In other words, is there a specific point or critical time to insert the win cd? Or some kind of prompt command I need to use in dos or safe mode to get the cd to start up?

If the PC does not boot from the CD it is not configured to do that. You will need to insert the 3.5" floppy disk (Magic disk?) and then let the PC boot from that. What you do next is determined by what state the PC is in when the boot from the floppy is done.

[zeugma]

Ah yes, the joys of running windows

[joanil]

it is a boot floppy that my Nephew called a 'magic disc' to use to restart the system, but it does not seem to do anything when inserted into the floppy drive. Yes, I have a valid win2000 cd but I do not know any 'code' or numbers to begin the startup! This all started when I downloaded the recommended June 3rd service pak from ms. When asked to restart after a successfuldownload of the service pack, I restarted the computer, and that i when it went into the endless startup loop with password loss. Forgive my typing in typo's, this web tv keyboard is downright medival!

[CLRGuy]

sciencediet:

Use this [1] tool to change your Administrator password. Instructions and tool are on the webpage. It's a free and proven solution. Make sure to thank the author, it's a fine piece of work.

[1]http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

[Zavien Doombringer]

Reformating isn't that bad...

It is a pain seeing all your files disappearing. Windows Registry can only be accessed in windows...It isn't like DOS

[dennisw]

Yes, I have a valid win2000 cd but I do not know any 'code' or numbers to begin the startup! ............

Valid win2k numbers are all over the internet. Go to usenet via google. Since you have a legit disk I consider it OK to scoop up a win 2k number.

[Space Wrangler]

You need to make sure your first boot device is set to 'floppy' in the CMOS. Or if you have the Win2k CD, you can set the first boot device to CD-ROM and boot from it and re-install Windows.

[Lady Jag]

You're right, no disk came with the laptop, so I bought XP Pro upgrade and my hubby installed it, but it didn't work.

Maybe I should have bought the whole program instead of the upgrade?

[Lady Jag]

Thanks, I didn't know that password recovery software existed. Will definitely look for it.

[Zavien Doombringer]

There is that nasty _RESTORE Folder isn't there :)

[Lady Jag]

Guy, that looks good. Bless you!

[dennisw]

Maybe I should have bought the whole program instead of the upgrade?...........


XP Upgrade is as good as the non upgrade version. (I have installed both) They are exact same except that upgrade asks your computer if it has a previous version of windows on it. Failing that it asks you to insert your windows 98/ME/2000 disk in the CD drive to confirm you indeed possess a prior version of windows. Your husband should give it another try or pay a geeky teenage neighbor to do it for you

[Not_Who_U_Think]

More than a few had problems with the Sp3 update. If you could get it up in safe mode you could try uninstalling Sp3, but in this case use the reinstall instructions I gave and you'll be ok.

[Lady Jag]

We used to be geeky but we drifted. As a FReepers, we'll never drift. Can't, because this thread is an example of what an amazing lifeboat it is. Thank you very much.

[mbynack]

I used to work on Gateways and the motherboards used to have a jumper that you could change to disabled the passwords. You'll need to find out the manufacturer and model of your motherboard and consult them.

[11th Earl of Mar]

You first need to log in.

[mbynack]

Isn't there a "Registry Restore" command that you can use to restore the previous version of registry? I thought that it was contained in the Win 2000 operating system, but it might be an aftermarket software program.

I use Norton Antivirus and I try to keep the restore disk up to date. It saved me a lot of trouble when my system was infected with KLEZ32.