First,let me mention I have looked everywhere for this. I bought the repair manual, googled, consulted my tea leaves, and can find no answer.
I want to replace the stock radio that came in my 2000 Saturn S-Series. I’ve replaced stereos in previous cars, but this one has a theft deterrent system, and the guide says to turn this off before switching radios. It doesn’t, however, give you the method of doing so.
Does anyone have any clue how to do this? What would happen if I just skipped that step and switched radios over? Is it something that I have to have professionally done? I’ll take it into the car-audio shop if I have to, but I would prefer to save the cash and do it myself, of course 
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Not too sure how much help this is, but I have a 2000 SL2 with a non-stock CD player.
I had it done professionally, which didn’t cost too much. No problems with the theft-deterrent system that I know of. Have you checked with local audio dealers to get a good price? I think the ~$50 or so is worth saving the aggravation.
If it’s talking about a theft-deterrent radio, I would assume its a matter of programming the reset code to “none.” There should be instructions for changing the code in the owner’s manual or a separate audio equipment booklet, which should have come with the car.
If the radio is not set to “no code,” then it would be necessary to use the anti-theft reset code to get it to work again. If you’re going to throw the thing away, that shouldn’t matter to you. If you want to keep it as a spare, you need to either have the reset code or program it to “no code.”
If it’s talking about a sytem to deter theft of the car itself, I don’t have a clue. That concept doesn’t really make sense to me–I can’t imagine why a vehicle theft-deterrence system should have anything to do with the radio.
Hey, that’s a good idea! Car gets stolen, and the radio plays nothing but Barry Manilow, all the time. Awesome!
Oh, and I’m with Gary on the radio/code thing. 
I don’t have a Saturn, but my Pontiac had a Theftlock stereo and I never set the theftlock code so none was needed when the power was interupted. The easy way to tell is the theftlock was activated is the light will blink when the key is off. If you need to retrieve your code, “theftlock” in google will give you instructions.
I’m sure a quick call to the service center at the Saturn dealership will clear that right up for you.