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I have acquired an old computer, with an AOpen motherboard and Pentium 4 CPU, that is currently running Windows 2000 Server.

I have no idea how to connect my broadband modem to this PC. All I see under Network Connections are Dial-Up and LAN.

Would I be able to run Windows 7 on this PC? I don't know very much about the hardware. How do I find out?

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There is a tool called CPU-Z that you can download and run, which will give you a lot of information about the PC without having to open it up. Windows 7 hardware requirements are listed on Microsoft's website. As for the broadband modem, most come with an Ethernet port, so you should theoretically be able to plug the modem into the Ethernet port on the PC, assuming it has the right plug in the back. Since you don't have a lot of hardware knowledge, I would recommend finding a technically inclined person to help you. – Randolph West Jul 22 '12 at 4:48
I know how to physically connect to the modem. I just don't know how to get the computer to connect to it. – Evan Jul 22 '12 at 4:56
That depends entirely on the modem. Some you just plug in, and on the network card on your PC you set to DHCP. Others need software and it runs via USB. You may need to call your ISP for further assistance. – Randolph West Jul 22 '12 at 5:09
I can plug it into my computer with windows vista and it automatically connects. The server computer only has options for dial up and LAN, since the os is server 2000, I guess that is the reason anyway. Is there anyway in the network and dial up connections menu to access broadband? – Evan Jul 22 '12 at 5:11
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As I said previously, if you set the network card properties to DHCP, it may pick up the connection. There's no knowing how it was set up before you inherited this machine, so start with that. – Randolph West Jul 22 '12 at 5:13
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