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People do not like uncertainty. When faced with uncertainties such as the one I am facing at the moment ("will my flat purchase go through?") the temptation is to take action to resolve the uncertainty, even though this might lead to a less than optimal result. "we just want to get the not knowing over with". "It's the not knowing that we can't bear", people say.
Here the Zen of Poker and the benefits therein translate into everyday life. I am in an uncertain situation. I would like it to be reolved. That's understandable. But I'm not going to commit myself either way until I know what price is on offer. It's a bit like saying to yourself "I'm going to call here" before you know how much your opponent is betting. You always have to wait until you have as much information as you can practicably get before committing yourself one way or the other.
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I must have Ukrainian forebears. So, I get the reclaimed machine home. I plug in a keyboard, mouse and monitor (like all semi-geeks, I obviously have spare ones hanging around) and turn it on. Windows 2000 NT appears, as does the requirement to enter a password. Hmm, I should have expected that.
The temptation was to wipe the machine anway. But, well, I like a challenge.
A quick hunt of the web and a quick burning of a CD-Rom later, plus a shift into the BIOS of the new machine to change the set-up order, and, voila, I've reset the Administrator password to nothing. It took me 35 minutes in total. Running the Linux program that blanked the Windows password for the Administrator took me all of 10 minutes. It took me longer to remember how to burn an ISO CD-Rom on Nero.
You have a computer that you can't access because you've forgotten the log-in?
I'm your man.
So, although all the personal files were wiped, I still have a functioning Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint (not that I would have any use for the latter), plus of course a free Windows 2000 NT. Should be fun playing around with the registry here as well, because the CD-Rom I burnt also has a registry editor should I screw things up.
Ahh, God bless non-Windows programs.
Here the Zen of Poker and the benefits therein translate into everyday life. I am in an uncertain situation. I would like it to be reolved. That's understandable. But I'm not going to commit myself either way until I know what price is on offer. It's a bit like saying to yourself "I'm going to call here" before you know how much your opponent is betting. You always have to wait until you have as much information as you can practicably get before committing yourself one way or the other.
++++++++
I must have Ukrainian forebears. So, I get the reclaimed machine home. I plug in a keyboard, mouse and monitor (like all semi-geeks, I obviously have spare ones hanging around) and turn it on. Windows 2000 NT appears, as does the requirement to enter a password. Hmm, I should have expected that.
The temptation was to wipe the machine anway. But, well, I like a challenge.
A quick hunt of the web and a quick burning of a CD-Rom later, plus a shift into the BIOS of the new machine to change the set-up order, and, voila, I've reset the Administrator password to nothing. It took me 35 minutes in total. Running the Linux program that blanked the Windows password for the Administrator took me all of 10 minutes. It took me longer to remember how to burn an ISO CD-Rom on Nero.
You have a computer that you can't access because you've forgotten the log-in?
I'm your man.
So, although all the personal files were wiped, I still have a functioning Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint (not that I would have any use for the latter), plus of course a free Windows 2000 NT. Should be fun playing around with the registry here as well, because the CD-Rom I burnt also has a registry editor should I screw things up.
Ahh, God bless non-Windows programs.
