lupld Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 ok, I have a gateway Solo 2000 series, and I have to load any working OS onto it. The user bought it at a yard sale and would prefer a windows OS, but I think I'll need linux to get it to work anyways. The previous user has a password on the bios, and it will not boot from CD Rom drives. I think it's capable, cause it came with a windows 95 CD-Rom. I need to reset CMOS, and I found directions on how to overwrite the password for the BIOS with MS-DOS, but I don't have any floppies that I can write MS-Dos install discs to. WinImage gets a track 0 head 0 error. I have windows NT install discs, but because it can only have either the CD or Floppy in the drive slot at a time, I can't use the floppy discs to start the install and switch over to the CD. I need to either reset CMOS, or boot from floppy and switch to a cd, or install a smart boot disc from a floppy to the MBR of the hard disc and then boot from CD with that. I post this here because I think I'll need linux and I believe the phpfreaks community is the best for quick and useful replies. Also, had windows 95 installed, but it won't boot past the command line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupld Posted August 6, 2008 Author Share Posted August 6, 2008 hey, if anyone has any suggestions I'll let the guy I'm working on it for know, but I'm giving it back to him and telling him I've tried everything I know and failed.. I don't want to be responsible for it anymore, it's a little less compatible than I'm comfortable with. I can't even move the hard disk, install an OS, and move it back it's so old. Thanks for anyone who read this and I'll look back for stuff to pass on to him, but I'm done working on it. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardRotterdam Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 maybe i'm thinking very simplistic here but wouldnt it be easier to contact the previous owner and get the password for that computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupld Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 Probably, but he bought it at a garage sale and thought it was newer. He stopped back and the husband of the woman who sold it to him tried a few passwords, but nothing worked and he didn't seem to care that he sold something that didn't work and was obviously outdated to the point of nearly no value. They said it was a working windows 95 laptop that she had stopped using only cause she had bought a new computer and didn't need the old one. There was a floppy that was made to reset the pass, but it has a bad sector that won't let it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviewdr Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 You need to flash the bios in order to reset the bios security password. The procedure is very simple, a case of opening up the computer, removing a "jumper" connection and placing it over two pins for a few seconds. There may be a diagram of your motherboard on the inside of the case telling you what jumper connection to use. -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neylitalo Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Steve, that may be a bit tricky with a laptop. I've looked at several models, and even after completely disassembling them, I was unable to find an easy way to reset the BIOS settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mchl Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I doubt the BIOS is flash in 1996 model, so there's bound to be a BIOS backup battery somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviewdr Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 neylitalo: indeed. I misread the laptop bit Aye - you'll need to look for the BIOS battery. You could also look towards unplugging the IDE drive, and connecting it to a cd drive to boot off that. You can get a 2.5ide to 3.5ide connection. -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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