Sounds like whoevr had the machine previously wiped the drive to avoid data theft. You'll need to purchase a full version of Windows in order to get the machine running.

Unless you're confident in your computer abilities I would not mess with the Linux garbage. Although it's free it is more of a hassle than anything to get things working in regards to your situation. Stick to finding a copy of Windows 98 and try starting with a fresh install. Linux would be a waste of time.

Per System Summary it did not come with WIN2000. It came with WIN98SE.

One way to get reasonable setup is to use Puppy Linux boot cds.

They work and are not a horrible download.  Regular puppy is 60 megs and Fat Puppy is 90 Megs.

http://www.goosee.com/puppy/

You need windows with the chipset driver and Soundblaster PCI drivers.

System Type: OptiPlex GX110
Ship Date: 11/29/2000
Dell IBU: Americas

Quantity Parts # Part Description

1 36XMT PRINTED WIRING ASSY, PLANAR (MOTHERBOARD), GX110, NETWORK INTERFACE CARD/CONTROLLERS, NOSND, OPPLX
1 61CMH PROCESSOR, 80526, 733, 256, 133, FIBER CHANNEL, C0
1 2879T GUIDE, SFTY/REG, GX200, GX300, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 5120P CORD, POWER, 125V, 6FT, SPT2, UNSHIELDED
1 463CD KEYBOARD, 104, 6P, UNITED STATES, NMB, RUBBERDOME, SMALL BOX
1 886MJ MOUSE, PERSONAL SYSTEM 2, 6P, 2BTN, WHEEL, MICROSOFT
1 1324P PAD, MOUSE, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 25515 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 128, 100M, 16X64, 4K, 168
1 088GF CARD (CIRCUIT), MULTI-MEDIA, AUDIO, CT5807, PCI64, FRONT AUDIO JACK
1 57589 CABLE, AUDIO, MOLEX TO MOLEX
1 18614 CABLE, DORADO/ATHENS/TUALATIN/ALMODOR, 40P, INTERNAL, ENHANCED INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS
1 456MT COMPACT DISK DRIVE, 680M, I, 5.25" FORM FACTOR, 48X, SC148F, SAMSUNG
1 5000T CABLE, I/O-RJ11, MODEM, GREEN
1 8644U MODEM, V.90, INTERNAL, DATA FAX, AZT, UNITED STATES, MICROSOFT COLOR SPEC
1 832DX DISPLAY, MULTISCAN, COLOR, 17, DUAL, E770P, NONGSA
1 2020T FLOPPY DRIVE, 1.44M, 3.5" FORM FACTOR, 3MD, NO BEZEL, TEAC, B380
1 9019C ASSEMBLY, CABLE, DORADO/ATHENS/TUALATIN/ALMODOR, 34P, FLOPPY DRIVE, 1DROP, HUNNICUT/MEDIUM DESKTOP
1 908WD REMOVABLE MEDIA STORAGE, ZIP DRIVE, 100M, 3.5" FORM FACTOR, NEC CORPORATION, ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE
1 67YGJ HARD DRIVE, 15G, 7.2K, I, 1N, NO CONTROLLER/NO CABLES, IBM-TELSTRO
1 8751P ASSEMBLY, CABLE, ATA66, 2DROP, HTRP/EVT
1 83HVT SYSTEM INTEGRATION, 231606, COMPACT DISKETTE, RESTORE, WINDOWS 98
1 8697R SYSTEM INTEGRATION, FEE (CHARGE), INTEGRATION, #1
1 0797R SYSTEM INTEGRATION, FEE (CHARGE), INTEGRATION, #3
1 76PFK KIT, COMPACT DISKETTE, OPERATING SYSTEM, DELL 98, SECOND EDITION, ENGLAND/ENGLISH
1 1424D PRINTED WIRING ASSY, RISER, M CHAS, 5PCI

Message Edited by SpeedStep on 02-27-2006 03:46 PM

I wasn't trying to put down Linux, I was simply stating that most "average" users would have problems trying to install and configure any sort of Linux. I personally have nothing against Linux, Unix, QNX, Linspire or any of those OS's. I just think that unless you're an advanced user Linux will give you headaches.

---

@J_M_arnold wrote:
Unless you're confident in your computer abilities I would not mess with the Linux garbage. Although it's free it is more of a hassle than anything to get things working in regards to your situation. Stick to finding a copy of Windows 98 and try starting with a fresh install. Linux would be a waste of time.

---

Linux is not garbage and with a Live CD it boots and installs on the fly.
Linux is definitely not a waste of time.

Perhaps you are bill gates lurking here or you are part of the gates borg collective.

Linspire is also a good package.

http://www.linspire.com/

Chubby Puppy Linux includes open office.

You can get a CD in the mail for $20 or less

http://www.goosee.com/puppy/download/downpage.htm#Purchase

 

If you havent tried a "live" linux CD then you need to take a second look.
Most good live Linux distros have wizards or utilitys that allow the average user
to water chicken install via hitting enter about 8 times.

Here is a very good list.

The reason I recommend Puppy linux is that its very small.  Can be put on a 128 meg USB flash
drive and F12 boot on a GX260 for example.

The GX110 is too old to do USB boot so a LIVE CD would be the way to go.

Because its 64 megs download for the ISO Image for puppy Linux most users even
dialup can use it.

There is also a version of puppy linux that will co exist on WIN95 or WIN98 or DOS
aka its a zip file you unzip from the root and run a batch file to GRUB and boot and install
onto a DOS or FAT32 partition.  Takes 60 megs to download and 200 megs of space including
its special container file.  You can make this smaller but its less useful that way.

Live Linux CD means a Boot CD that runs in RAM and then saves to USB flash or Hard drive etc only if you want it to.  AKA it doesnt modify or mess with your windows or registry etc.
Unlike Bill gates Linux plays nice.

http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

WIN95/WIN98 Puppy.
http://www.psyplan.com/puppy.htm

WARNING: Do not power-off nor reset — your data will be lost.
Puppy Linux runs entirely in RAM. Files are saved to disk only upon shutdown.

Chubby Puppy is Puppy Linux with Open Office already installed.

http://www.openoffice.org/

 

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I knocked it before I tried it. I'll give Puppy Linux a try. I personally don't use Linux unless I'm at work but I'll see what I can do with this version. Is it effective in recovering unbootable Windows systems?