Bitcoin first versions Please excuse my ignorance.
I think I purchased some bitcoin quite some time ago within the early adoption phase, back then I think passphrases were non existent, Is there a way to access the old bitcoin or bitcoind software/platform, or what should I do? would that login if I can find it still work or will it automatically say enter passphrase? I am downloading the most recent full node to support although I am a at a bit of a loss at the sheer amount of information and need some expert advice please :)
If you purchased Bitcoin a long time ago, and it's on an exchange, and that exchange still exists, and you can recover your username and password to that exchange, then you should be able to transfer your money off of there.
If you used your own Bitcoin wallet software such as Bitcoin Core, then you will need to have your wallet.dat or other wallet file to recover the coins. Without this file, the coins are gone for good.