|
 |
Windows
2000 Installation FAQ
|
|
Although there are several
Windows 2000 FAQ's on the web, we decided to put this one
together as a way to "fill in the gaps" that we felt
existed, based on the questions that we were receiving via
e-mail. It is our hope to make this the most comprehensive FAQ on
the Web, so if you have any additional questions that you feel
should be part of this document please drop us a line at feedback@labmice.net
|
| |
|
 |
What are the hardware requirements
for Windows 2000?
|
 |
These are the minimum
hardware requirements for Windows 2000. For acceptable
performance, we recommend doubling processor, memory and disk
space requirements.
|
Win2000 Version
|
CPU |
Memory |
Disk Space |
| Professional |
P133 |
64Mb |
1 GB |
| Server |
P133 |
256Mb |
1 GB |
| Adv Server |
P133 |
256Mb |
1 GB |
| DataCenter |
To be announced |
To be announced |
To be announced |
|
|
|
|
|
What is the Hardware
Compatibility List |
|
|
Windows 2000 is very
particular about the hardware on which it runs, and will run
just fine on most modern off the shelf computers and servers.
However, the support for video cards, sound cards, printers,
scanners, and other peripherals is not as comprehensive as it is
for Windows 95/98/Me. To help you sort through this mess,
Microsoft created a Hardware Compatibility List so you can check
to see which hardware has been tested and certified by Microsoft
with Windows 2000. If you don't find the hardware on the list,
check with the vendor to see if they have released any patches
or updates, or if they support their products on Windows 2000
but have not taken the time to submit their hardware and drivers
to Microsoft. You can search for compatible hardware on Microsoft's
Compatibility Database |
|
|
|
How can I make sure my
hardware and software will work with Windows 2000 before
installing or upgrading?
|
|
|
The Windows 2000
installation CD includes a tool called the Readiness Analyzer,
which 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 run the tool before installing Windows 2000
by using the following command <CD
drive>:\i386\winnt32 /checkupgradeonly.
If you don't have a copy of the Windows 2000 installation, you can
download the Readiness Analyzer here.
|
|
|
|
How much hard drive space
should I allocate for Windows 2000?
|
|
|
Depending on the version
of Windows 2000 you are installing (professional, server,
advanced server, etc.,) you should expect a "fresh"
installation to take up about 650-950Mb of hard drive space
depending on how many options you have chosen, and what file
system you are using. You will also need to leave room for your
paging files, memory dumps, space for your registry to grow,
service packs, anti-virus definitions, event logs, and enough
free space to permit disk defragmentation. Generally a Windows
2000 Professional installation should allow at least 2-4 GB of
space on the primary partition, and Windows 2000 Server should
receive 4-8GB of space depending on the amount of physical
memory and its role. (i.e. If it will function as a domain
controller in a large environment.) |
|
|
|
What is the difference between
the System and Boot partitions?
|
|
|
In Microsoft parlance,
the System partition refers to the disk volume containing
hardware specific files needed to boot Windows NT/2000 (NTLDR,
BOOT.INI, and so on). Ironically, the boot partition contains
the Windows NT/2000 operating system files (usually \WINNT) and
it support files (usually \WINNT\SYSTEM32). The boot partition
can be (and often is) on the same partition as the system
partition. This difference is only important if you install
Windows 2000 to a partition other than the primary partition (.i.e
to a drive letter other than C:\).
|
|
|
|
Should I choose FAT, FAT32, or
NTFS as a file system?
|
|
|
For most Windows 2000
installations, Microsoft recommends that you format your
partitions using NTFS on all drives over 1GB in size. If you are
a home user and have no security requirements, or plan on dual
booting your workstation between Windows 98 and Windows 2000,
you may wish to use FAT32 instead of NTFS. NTFS is
much more efficient than FAT32 on large volumes, provides file
level security, encryption, compression, and support for RAID.
Also keep in mind that you can convert a FAT32 partition to NTFS, but you cannot go back without reformatting your drive and
losing your data. For more information, see our section on Windows
2000 File Systems |
|
|
|
Should I upgrade my Windows
9x/NT installation, dual boot, or just start with a brand new
installation?
|
|
|
If at all possible, you
should always try to create a fresh installation of Windows 2000
on a clean partition, or a new hard drive. Although you can
upgrade Windows 9x and Windows NT Workstation to Windows 2000
Professional, you'll have better results if you start fresh.
Although most (94%) of the upgrades we've performed have gone
smoothly, they required a bit of preplanning
and we were already aware of the more common Windows
2000 installation bugs as well as Windows
9x and Windows NT
upgrade issues. If you are a Windows 98 user and gaming is
important to you, you may wish to setup your computer to dual
boot. For corporate users, the issue becomes more complex
and is beyond the scope of this FAQ. |
|
|
|
How do I create a set of boot
disks?
|
|
|
In order to create a set
of Windows 2000 Boot disks, you'll need to run the Makeboot.exe
utility from the Bootdisk folder on the Windows 2000
installation CD. Just insert the CD into the drive of a Windows
9x or Windows NT machine and Start>Run>drive:\bootdisk\makeboot
a: You'll need 4 formatted floppy disks. |
|
|
|
How do I install the Recovery
Console?
|
|
|
The recovery console is a
system recovery utility designed to give you limited access to
your disk volumes in the event your computer won't boot to the
graphical interface. You can access this console by booting from
the setup floppy disks (or the Windows 2000 CD) and at the
"Welcome to Setup" screen press F10, or press R to
Repair, and then C to start the Recovery Console. A simpler way
is to install the Recovery Console before you need it by by
using Winnt32.exe with the "/cmdcons" switch. (This
requires approximately 7MB of disk space on your system
partition to hold the cmdcons directory and files.) |
|
|
|
Can I run Windows 2000 on my
Laptop?
|
|
|
Windows 2000 is an ideal
operating system for laptops, provided your laptop can support
it. Since laptops often feature proprietary hardware in the
motherboard, display, network cards, video cards, integrated
modems, and sound cards, not all laptops can run Windows 2000.
If you're vendor supports Windows 2000 on your model, or if you're buying a new
laptop that comes preloaded with Windows 2000, you'll like the
stability and security that this OS brings. Windows NT just
didn't support advanced power management, USB, or native file
encryption, and Windows 95/98 doesn't have any security. Windows
2000 brings you the best of both worlds. I travel with an IBM ThinkPad
i1400 that has a 650Mhz Pentium II processor and 128Mb of RAM
and Windows 2000 performs flawlessly on the road. |
|
|
 |
Send us your feedback!
If
you have any questions, comments, or suggestions
that would help us improve this page, please drop
us a line and let us know! |
|
|
|
