Dell win2k disk help

[daejme]

I have a dell win2k os disk and am trying to install on a second (different brand) computer I bought. Can the security feature on the dell disk be diabled so it will install on the non-dell computer? Please help.

[Shreck]

Originally posted by daejme:
I have a dell win2k os disk and am trying to install on a second (different brand) computer I bought. Can the security feature on the dell disk be diabled so it will install on the non-dell computer? Please help.

Well, seeing as how that's pretty much illegal, I don't think you'll get too much help.

If a person were to ask a similar question in a manner that were more sophmoric, perhaps we could discuss theories...

Shreck

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"Good things come to those who wait... Great things come to those who get there first."

[daejme]

You could always e-mail a reply! Illegal....well that could mean so many things. Remember Clinton's definition of SEX?

[daejme]

Suppose "a person" is trying to install a dell win2k setup on a non-dell computer. This person would NEVER do this since it could be considered "illegal", but if one were to want to do such a devious thing is it possible?

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"we all go a little crazy sometimes".

[Shreck]

Originally posted by daejme:
Suppose "a person" is trying to install a dell win2k setup on a non-dell computer. This person would NEVER do this since it could be considered "illegal", but if one were to want to do such a devious thing is it possible?

I do have some theories as to ways a person could possibly do this, perhaps you'd like to discuss them?

Well, I don't know how the dell disk itself is set up, but I have dealt with several vendor load disks. Usually it is set up with a custom setup.inf. If you can change the settings on this file back to the default you could probably get it to perform a normal install.

Going about this can be fun. If you have a burner, you can simply copy the CD to your hard drive modify the necessary files, then re-burn. If you have no burner, use a second hard drive/partition instead.

The only directory on the cd is the i386 directory. The rest is meaningless crap. Actually, a person should just be able to delete the setup.ini of inf file. I think. Recreate a new blank one, though.

However, it is also possible that a person can simply run <cd drive>:\i386\winnt.exe from a DOS prompt and get it to install without the custom setup. This is possible with NT, I'm not sure with 2000. Someone let me know if I'm wrong.

Good luck with your paper, or term project, or whatever you need this theoretical data for. I'll entertain any comments on my "theories"...

Shreck
MCSE Don'cha know

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_________________________________
"Good things come to those who wait... Great things come to those who get there first."

[daejme]

where would one find a "setup.inf" file? Is it the same as a "setup.ini"? A directory location would be helpful if you have one. For research purposes I tried the dos prompt but had no luck. I ran windows and went to dos prompt...from C: I entered the info you gave but had no luck. Thanks though. If I knew which file to modify I could burn a new cd...For research on this perplexing topic.
If you have any pointers on where this file is located I would appreciate it and will certainally give you credit in this research.
Thanks

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"we all go a little crazy sometimes".

[Grizzly]

Oh no my friend...the install file is there.
boot up into DOS using a Win98 boot disk....
and change directory to your CD drive...
it's absolutely located in the:
i386/winnt.exe
once you're in the i386 folder...do a dir /p, and scan down until you see it...It's there.

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P3-550e@733Mhz
256MB PC-133 CL3 RAM
Elsa Gladiac GeForce2 GTS
40+ Gig's of combined HD
CD-RW 8/4/32X
DVD w/ Hollywood RealMagic DVD Decoder
19" MAG DJ800 monitor
Tornado 1000 case
**Win2k Prof / Win2k Adv Server / Whistler Beta-1 Build 2296**
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[daejme]

I have a Winnt app file that is 48kb's. I click on that file and nothing happens. I try to change to cd drive "F" in dos and nothing happens. Any other ideas?
Thanks

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"we all go a little crazy sometimes".

[ua549]

Dell does not always distribute the full Win2k release. Code that can't be used on any of their systems may be omitted. Ditto for some of the drivers.

Hello, software police, go to . . .

[Shreck]

Originally posted by daejme:
I have a Winnt app file that is 48kb's. I click on that file and nothing happens. I try to change to cd drive "F" in dos and nothing happens. Any other ideas?
Thanks

Well, your CD drive in dos may have a different drive letter than it does in windows, especially if using a win98 startup disk. There is usually a notice indicating what drive letter the CD-ROM is at.

As far as the winnt executable, there are two in the i386 directory. Winnt.exe is a DOS app and will not do anything within a win32 environment. Winnt32.exe is a Windows only executable, BUT it's a pain in the *** to run a full install from within windows.

Good luck,

Shreck

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"Good things come to those who wait... Great things come to those who get there first."