Well, not to be a stickler for details there "Van", but actually I do have
one. As a matter of fact I'm using it as I write this...and it is one of many
I "own".
Now as I understand the licensing issue "according to Microsoft" when a copy
of the OS is purchased (at least these days) it can only be loaded onto one
machine legally. While I find it odd that one can duplicate other copyrighted
material such as music so long as it is for their own personal use (once they
purchase the original factory issue of course) yet one CANNOT do likewise
with "some" proprietary software, let's say for the sake of the argument that
concept is fair and just.
Your poke at the legality of my using the loaded copy of the OS on the
machine in question however, is not only insulting (more as a discredit to
your own common sense) but also weak in it's fundamental argument. It is no
more unethical for me to use the installed OS we are discussing (if I can
unlock it's potential of course) than it is for an off-the-shelf retail buyer
to boot up his new system for the first time when he gets it home. FYI: The
rights of use for that copy TRANSFER with the machine upon which it is
installed. Frankly, what I find more unethical is that boot discs are not
included in every single retail purchase from the manufacturer, but that then
is another story...
At any rate, let me update by noting that the nifty little shortcut at
petri.co.il which Lem recommended did not work, at least not the
loginrecovery.com tool. The system will not boot to the floppy and so the
password cannot be extracted at startup. The (admin I assume) settings prompt
a DOS message to remove the media from the drive so the system can start, and
I don't know how to get it to boot to disc. I'll try another of the methods
later, if for no other reason than that I like a challenge and this is a
learning experience.
Besides, who would buy a new OS for an older corporate machine with a 13G
hard drive and limited capabilities given the rate which this technology
advances anyway, right? I'm just trying to get the thing capable of doing
rudimentary tasks with internet capability for someone relatively new to
computing.
Honestly Vanguard, I think maybe you must be a product of the new-age
plug-and-play generation, but I am old-school and believe in preserving what
you have and making it work. Call me Clark Howard if it makes you feel
better...
Now forgive my inexperience, but let's say I would like to simply wipe the
hard drive clean and start afresh, but with the same legally purchased copy
of the OS that came with the machine which now for the record belongs to me.
Isn't the authentification code published under control panel>system>general
on the PC? Is there a way to download a reboot copy from Microsoft using that
code, and burn it to a CD?
If there is, will there be any drivers that I might need to restore as well,
provided of course I can get the machine to boot to the freshly resurrected
restore CD?
