Windows 2000/XP questions

yunghungwell · 04-05-2006, 10:44 AM

I sincerely hope that someone here can provide some advice in this situation.

I was working for Company A and Company B purchased Company A. New PCs and a new server were installed so that everyone would be on Company B's network. Now Company A's old desktops are being sold to employees at a pretty good price, $125.

All of the old PCs are Dell Optiplex GX260s. All were running Win2k and were networked within Company A. My boss, who doesn't know that much about computers, had the secretary's husband come in because he wanted to make sure that there wasn't any residual data from the company on the PCs before employees took them home. (A valid concern.) Since the administrator for the system was 4 states away and is no longer with the new company, this guy reformatted the hard drives and installed XP. I have been told that he "downloaded" it. This doesn't sound kosher to me.

Anyway to my question. We still have all of the reinstallation and driver CDs from Dell, but none of the software was stored in a way that would indicate which PC it went with. So my question is, if I buy one of the PCs and take all of the original supporting software that came with it, can't I just reformat and install Win2K? Is there a problem with not knowing which Win2k cd goes with which PC, or will any valid Win2k product key (i.e. the one on the sticker on the PC) work for the installation?

Thanks in advance for any help, and feel free to ask any questions if you need additional details from me.

YHW

04-05-2006, 10:44 AM	Topic Starter
yunghungwell Whip it, whip it good. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: In a rusty cage. Casino cash: $10004900	Windows 2000/XP questions I sincerely hope that someone here can provide some advice in this situation. I was working for Company A and Company B purchased Company A. New PCs and a new server were installed so that everyone would be on Company B's network. Now Company A's old desktops are being sold to employees at a pretty good price, $125. All of the old PCs are Dell Optiplex GX260s. All were running Win2k and were networked within Company A. My boss, who doesn't know that much about computers, had the secretary's husband come in because he wanted to make sure that there wasn't any residual data from the company on the PCs before employees took them home. (A valid concern.) Since the administrator for the system was 4 states away and is no longer with the new company, this guy reformatted the hard drives and installed XP. I have been told that he "downloaded" it. This doesn't sound kosher to me. Anyway to my question. We still have all of the reinstallation and driver CDs from Dell, but none of the software was stored in a way that would indicate which PC it went with. So my question is, if I buy one of the PCs and take all of the original supporting software that came with it, can't I just reformat and install Win2K? Is there a problem with not knowing which Win2k cd goes with which PC, or will any valid Win2k product key (i.e. the one on the sticker on the PC) work for the installation? Thanks in advance for any help, and feel free to ask any questions if you need additional details from me. YHW
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