i bought a used laptop compaq evo n600c...running win 2000..and when i boot it up it shows a screen with the words ..' power on password " ..with a key symbol. I tried pressing F10 to get into system ..it says system set up but i can't even get in to setup ! it beeps ??..i want to get the win2000.out ( reformat ) & put XPpro..but i don't know how ?..i don't have a floppy drive. i have a dvd drive ..can someone please help me out how do i disable power on password ??..i can't get in touch with the person i bought the laptop from .. i thought he was running windows 98 !!...please help me !!! any help would be much appreciated !!!...

Because win xp pro can be installed with a cd-rom. Go into bios and make sure first boot device is cd-rom, save and exit bios and reboot with the xp cd-rom. just follow the screen shot after that (make sure your system is compatable for XPpro

you didn't read my question properly !!!i can't get into nothing !! when i boot up the comp. a small blue screen comes on that says "power on password "with a picture of a key !!..i pressed f10 to get into system but i can't get into it .

If you could disable or get by a power on password, then there would be no point in having a power on password. Attempt a few hacks at the password then take it back to where you got it and have them deal with it, or contact the manufacturer and see what they can do for you.

Joe, you can get passed any password scheme especially one this simple. Mikeeee, I answered you in another post. Read that one.

On normal PC's you can remove the CMOS battery for 30 seconds and it will revert to defaults, this removes all passwords on the BIOS. I however haven't got a Laptop but assume there will be a backup battery to save CMOS data, So find it and remove it, if your unlucky it might be soldered onto the motherboard, in this case desolder it or get someone who knows what he's doing to remove it. Ps Be very careful if you decide to unsolder anything on the motherboard, it doesn't take much to fry you motherboard.

1.2 Clearing a Password If the notebook you are servicing has an unknown password, follow these steps to clear the password. These steps also clear CMOS. 1. Prepare the computer for disassembly (refer to Section 5.3, “Preparing the Computer for Disassembly,” for more information). 2. Remove the RTC battery (refer to Section 5.7, “Real Time Clock (RTC) Battery”). 3. Wait approximately five minutes. 4. Replace the RTC battery and reassemble the computer. 5. Connect AC power to the computer. Do not reinsert any battery packs at this time. 6. Turn on the computer. All passwords and all CMOS settings have been cleared. also see: ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/maintenance_guides/235393-001_rev1_us.pdf for the Maintenance and Service Guide for your notebook.