A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
assumes we must be connected.

Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?

I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
anything for fear of messing things up.

get a new copy of XP, make sure you have all the drivers needed for the
hardware, wipe the previous install and install new.

"(E-Mail Removed)" wrote:

> A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
> local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
> login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
> assumes we must be connected.
>
> Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
> the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?
>
> I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
> anything for fear of messing things up.
>

On Oct 8, 3:24*pm, sgopus <sgo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> get a new copy of XP, make sure you have all the drivers needed for the
> hardware, wipe the previous install and install new.
>
> "paolorica...@gmail.com" wrote:
> > A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
> > local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
> > login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
> > assumes we must be connected.
>
> > Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
> > the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?
>
> > I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
> > anything for fear of messing things up.

Is that the only way to do it?

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> On Oct 8, 3:24*pm, sgopus <sgo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>> get a new copy of XP, make sure you have all the drivers needed for the
>> hardware, wipe the previous install and install new.
>>
>> "paolorica...@gmail.com" wrote:
>> > A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
>> > local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
>> > login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
>> > assumes we must be connected.
>>
>> > Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
>> > the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?
>>
>> > I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
>> > anything for fear of messing things up.
>
> Is that the only way to do it?

Basically, yes. The laptop was a domain member. There will be many
restrictive settings, etc. that will be difficult, if not impossible, to
undo. Your friend should do this the right way.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...alling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

On Oct 8, 11:11*pm, Malke <ma...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> paolorica...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Oct 8, 3:24*pm, sgopus <sgo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> >> get a new copy of XP, make sure you have all the drivers needed for the
> >> hardware, wipe the previous install and install new.
>
> >> "paolorica...@gmail.com" wrote:
> >> > A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
> >> > local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
> >> > login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
> >> > assumes we must be connected.
>
> >> > Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
> >> > the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?
>
> >> > I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
> >> > anything for fear of messing things up.
>
> > Is that the only way to do it?
>
> Basically, yes. The laptop was a domain member. There will be many
> restrictive settings, etc. that will be difficult, if not impossible, to
> undo. Your friend should do this the right way.
>
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html- Clean Install How-Tohttp://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows- What
> you will need on-hand
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> FAQ -http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Malke: thanks. I'll follow your advice.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> A friend was given a laptop which had previously been connected to a
> local network. It still has network domains and the previous user's
> login. We cannot access the 'My Documents' folder since the setup
> assumes we must be connected.
>
> Is there any way I can 'un-network' the various settings and establish
> the laptop as a standalone, unconnected PC?
>
> I am not a networking expert and did not want to change/delete
> anything for fear of messing things up.


With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from strangers
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would definitely be to format the hard drives and start
fresh. You don't want to get in trouble because the original owner may
have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or have problems because
the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or other malware, or
misconfigured the networking.


--

Bruce Chambers

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