Windows 2000 Installation Guides

Windows 2000 isn't difficult to setup and configure, but the task can be a bit daunting if you've never done it before. Here are the resources you need to get it done right the first time.

Checklist for Upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional
Follow these steps to prepare for upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional. Source: Microsoft.com

Checklist for Upgrading to Windows 2000 Server
Follow these steps to prepare for upgrading to Windows 2000 Server. Source: Microsoft.com

Client Upgrade to Windows 2000
This article covers the following recommended procedures: Upgrading from Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or Windows NT Workstation 3.51; Upgrading from Windows 98 or Windows 95; Upgrading from Windows 3.1

Deciding Whether to Upgrade from Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 256070 - The information in this article may help you decide whether to upgrade from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows 98 Second Edition to Windows 2000 Professional. This article lists similarities and differences between the operating systems and key points to consider. 

How to Minimize the Installed "Footprint" of Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 255771 - This article describes how to minimize the installed size of Windows 2000 Professional. Note that this article applies only to Windows 2000 Professional, not to any Windows 2000 Server products.

How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 250297 - This article lists some guidelines for preparing to upgrade a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98 to Windows 2000 Professional. Following these guidelines does not resolve all issues that may occur, but may help to eliminate some common issues 

HOW TO: Use Upgrade Packs to Upgrade to Windows 2000 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 317380 - This article describes how to use upgrade packs to upgrade to Windows 2000. If you upgrade from either Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) to Windows 2000, you may have to use upgrade packs 

Planning your Windows 2000 Server Installation
Chapter 3 from "Getting Started with Windows 2000 Server" from Microsoft Press. Source: Microsoft TechNet CD Online.

Preparing Your x86-Based Member Servers for Upgrade to Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 242859 - This article describes how to prepare your x86-based member servers for upgrading to Windows 2000.

Quick Guide to Preinstalling Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 250609 - If you are planning to preinstall the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system for the first time and you do not have any other PCs running Windows 2000, please read and follow the instructions in Part A and Part B of this Quick Guide. 

Required Service Packs before upgrading to Windows 2000
Current Microsoft server applications and server suites©and even legacy applications?are fully supported on Microsoft Windows? 2000 Server. However, some product versions require service packs for full support. Check this table before upgrading your NT 4 Servers if they have SQL. SMS, Exchange, Proxy, SNA, Site Server, SBS, or the BackOffice Server Suite installed.

System Requirements for Microsoft Windows Operating Systems 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 304297 - This article provides information about how to determine the hardware requirements for different Microsoft Windows operating systems. For more information about hardware requirements, refer to the Microsoft Web sites and the Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles

What an In-Place Windows 2000 Upgrade Changes and What It Does Not Change 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 306952 - When you do an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000, some existing information and settings are changed, while other information and settings remain the same. This article explains what changes and what remains the same after an in-place upgrade 

Windows 2000 Evaluation Upgrade Utility
Download this utility if you have installed the Windows 2000 Evaluation Edition and want to upgrade it to full code using the Windows 2000 Upgrade CD. To successfully complete the upgrade, you will need to have a valid qualifying Windows CD such as Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0. If you are trying to upgrade using the Standard (non-upgrade) Windows 2000 CD, you do not need this download. You can successfully upgrade the Evaluation Edition with a Standard Windows 2000 CD.

Windows 2000 Installation Checklist
Microsoft's recommendations for installing Windows 2000. Make sure you give this a once over before you start your install. Source: Microsoft.com

Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer
The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool analyzes your system and reports potentially incompatible hardware devices and software applications. The tool compares the devices and applications on your system against a list of known issues. Although this check also occurs during Windows 2000 Setup, you can download and run the tool before installing Windows 2000 to help ensure your installation will succeed. Source: Microsoft.com

Windows 2000 Upgrade Paths
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 232039 - This article lists the supported upgrade paths for Microsoft Windows 2000. 

HOW TO: Install Windows 2000 Professional 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 304868 - This article describes how to install Windows 2000 Professional. 

HOW TO: Perform a "Clean" Installation of Windows 2000 Server 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 308207 - This article is a step-by-step guide to installing a standalone version of Windows 2000 Server on an unpartitioned hard disk.

How to Perform a Parallel Installation of Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 266465 - This article describes how to perform a parallel installation of Windows 2000. Note that you must know your environmental requirements to complete the installation procedure.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 292175 - This article describes how to use the Windows 2000 Professional Setup CD-ROM to perform an in-place upgrade over the existing installation, if you have first performed the emergency repair process and the computer still does not operate normally. 

How to Upgrade Your Windows NT Server Version 4.0 to Windows 2000 Server 
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 298107 - This article describes how to upgrade your Windows NT Server version 4.0 to Windows 2000 Server. 

Installing Win 2000 Professional
An overview of the installation process for both a new installation and an upgrade, and the types of information you'll need to provide during the installation/upgrade process. Source Windows NT Professional Magazine (Nov 1999)

Installing Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Hotfixes
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 249149 - You can install Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 hotfixes at the same time by copying the Windows 2000 installation files and hotfix executable files to a common distribution folder. These hotfix executable files are named Q6-digit number.exe, where 6-digit number is the 6-digit number assigned to the hotfix. You can then add command lines to the Cmdlines.txt file to run the hotfixes and install the hotfixes during Windows 2000 Setup. You do not need to perform separate installations of the Windows 2000 operating system or the Windows 2000 hotfixes unless you have already installed Windows 2000. 

MS Windows 2000 Professional Getting Started, Chapter 2, Setup
Sample chapter from the Getting Started w/ Windows 2000 Professional book by Microsoft Press. Source: Microsoft.com

MS Windows 2000 Professional Getting Started, Chapter 3, Advanced Setup
Sample chapter from the Getting Started w/ Windows 2000 Professional book by Microsoft Press. Source: Microsoft.com

MS Windows 2000 Server Getting Started, Chapter 4, Running Setup for Windows 2000 Server
Sample chapter from the Getting Started w/ Windows 2000 Server book by Microsoft Press. Source: Microsoft.com

Step by Step Guide to installing a Windows 2000 Server as a Domain Controller
This document explains how to build a common network infrastructure, beginning with the Windows© 2000 Server operating system configured as a domain controller. Administrators can evaluate Windows 2000 by building the infrastructure in their labs. Source: Microsoft.com (Jan 21,2000)

Step by Step Guide to installing a Windows 2000 Workstation and connecting it to a domain
This document describes how to install the Windows© 2000 Professional operating system on a workstation and connect that workstation to the domain controller server that was created in ?Part I: Installing a Windows 2000 Server as a Domain Controller.© Following the steps in these two guides creates a common infrastructure with which to evaluate the Windows 2000 operating system. Source: Microsoft.com (Jan 21,2000)

Windows 2000 Professional Configuration
A step by step guide from Microsoft on installing Windows 2000 Professional. Source: Microsoft.com

WebCast: Windows 2000, The Setup Process
Level:200 This presentation is a basic overview of the installation process for Windows 2000. We will discuss the process in general and make note of changes made between the installation of Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0. The objective of this presentation is to inform the customer of what installation options are available, what they would encounter during an installation and what new features are available to assist the customer

Building, Maintaining, and Tuning the Box
Sample Chapter 5 from Windows 2000 Server: Planning And Migration, published by New Riders After you've selected the server hardware, you must deal with the other half of the equation: the server software. You must build the operating system, maintain it properly to maximize the server's availability, and be able to diagnose and head off performance problems.

Connecting Your Network to the Internet
Using Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, making a connection to the Internet is easy, secure, and can be accomplished with relatively inexpensive hardware and basic Internet service provider (ISP) services. This guide is intended for users of medium-sized Windows 2000 domain-based networks who want to set up Internet access and share it with local area network clients. Source: Microsoft.com (February 2000)

Configuring Windows 2000
Before you begin your rollout, create a configuration checklist. Here's where to find Win2K's configurable options. Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (Jan 2000)

Configuring Windows 2000 Professional to Work in a Peer-to-Peer Workgroup
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 258717 - Windows 2000 Professional may have difficulty communicating with other computers that are running Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows 98 in a peer-to-peer workgroup. 

Default File System Choices During Windows 2000 Setup
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 211249 - During the text-based portion of Windows 2000 Setup, you can choose to convert your hard disk from the FAT32 file system to the NTFS file system. There are many benefits to converting to the NTFS file system, including increased file security (updated 962000)

Description of the Application Compatibility Tool
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 251062 -  The Application Compatibility tool (Apcompat.exe) is a tool that attempts to convince programs that perform compliance checking in Windows 2000 that they are actually running under an earlier operating system. (updated 2/14/2000)

Description of the Windows 2000 Upgrade Report
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 228213 - When you perform an upgrade to Windows 2000, you may be presented with an Upgrade report. This report provides information about hardware, software, and settings on your computer that are incompatible with Windows 2000.(updated 10/20/2000)

Home Networking with Windows 2000 Professional
Set up a home network between desktops without using a server. Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (June 2000)

How to Save a Device Manager Report to a Text File
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 255979 - This article describes how to generate a Device Manager report and save it to a text file. (updated 3/31/2000)

How to Manually Remove Windows 2000 and Restore Windows 95/98
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 250456 - This article describes an overview of available options for removing a Windows 2000 upgrade and restoring Microsoft Windows 95/98.

How Windows 2000 Determines ACPI Compatibility
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 216573 - This article describes the process used by Windows 2000 to enable and install Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) functionality. 

Installing MS-DOS Version 6.2x After Windows NT is Installed
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 104429 - If you install MS-DOS version 6.2x on a computer that has Windows NT installed, the Windows NT boot sector may be erased. This prevents Windows NT from loading. 

Issues with Removing Windows 2000 and Reinstalling Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 257754 - Removing Windows 2000 and installing Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 is a manual process; there is no uninstall process available. This article describes preventative steps that you should take to preserve data before you attempt to remove Windows 2000

Some Applications May Fail to Uninstall Properly Under Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 252672 - Some applications may fail to uninstall properly. For example, after you run an uninstall program for an application, you may find that some files installed by the application are still on your computer. 

Windows 2000 Deployment Tutorials
A long list of walk-throughs and tutorials on setting up Win2000 Server and its components. Source: Microsoft.com

Windows 2000 Evaluation Copy Expiration Behavior
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 250920 Describes the behavior of the Windows 2000 Evaluation version and what happens when the 120-day evaluation period expires.

Windows 2000 Installation Hints and Tips
Windows NT Magazine Columnist Paula Sharick shares a sampling of the hazards you'll face when you install or upgrade to Windows 2000. Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (Nov 1999)

Windows 2000 Post Installation Checklist
A look at some things you may want to tweak after installing Windows 2000.Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (Nov 1999)