From Leo's mailbag:
> From: A Computer User
> Sent: April 10, 2007
> To: Ask Leo!
> Subject: Installing Windows or something on an
>
> Leo,
> My friend just gave me his old Compaq Deskpro 2000 and I can't get it to
> go anywhere. He knows absolutely nothing about it, which doesnt help me
> any, but hopefully you can.
>
> First, I'll explain some things.The first thing I unwittingly
> attempted to do was use my Compaq QuickRestore System Recovery CD
> containing Windows XP. Everything seemed to go fine. It installed
> everything, cd by cd, until all 3 were installed and everything was
> completed. It said it would reboot itself and startup and nothing ever
> happened, so I turned it off figuring that when I turned it back on,
> Windows would come on, but when I turned it back on, it had me pick a
> way to start windows, and everyway I tried after that never got that
> far. It went through that whole bar thing at the bottom of the screen
> that shows its progress, filled up, then froze up at the end, or
> atleast went no further.
>
> I figure maybe this was because the computer wasnt made for Windows
> XP. Then I discovered that there was a floppy disk with the computer,
> which when I entered it, I understood it to be a Windows Millenium
> Emergency Startup Disk, or something very close to that. When it turns
> on, it seems to be working, it says its diagnostic something has
> downloaded, then it says that to wait a few minutes, and nothing ever
> happens.
>
> At first I wanted to get the thing running with Windows XP and
> install a 60-gb Hard Drive in order to make it a worthwhile computer,
> but now I just want to make it work in some way or another so I can
> atleast get into the computer itself and worry about the other stuff
> later, if they're even possible at all.
>
> I just want to know what your take on things are, and if you have any
> suggestions on what i need, or need to do to get an operating system on
> there and running so that I can get on the computer. I also would love
> to know, if you have any idea or suspicions on how/if I could later get
> Windows XP running on the computer, and how/if I could get that 60 gb
> hard drive in there. Any insight at all would be much appreciated since
> Compaq/HPs "support" team aren't very supportive or helpful in any way
> now that theres no warranty, and they're site is ridiculously
> uncomprehensive and aggrivating. Thank you for your time. I am sorry if
> my explanation was too long, but I wanted to let you know as much as
> possible. Hope to hear from you soon!
A machine that old probably doesn't have enough RAM to run Windows XP.
I'd try and locate a copy of Windows 98se, if you need windows, or try
one of the many Linux variants. Ubuntu, Xubuntu, PuppyLinux all come
to mind. They could turn it into a usable box once again :-).
Good luck!
Thanks for asking,
Leo
Article 11384
| Category:
Windows
