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The Nuts and Bolts of Switching to Windows 2000

Despite the complexity of Windows 2000 Professional, the upgrade process is surprisingly easy and largely automatic. A full upgrade, in which Windows 2000 overwrites your old operating system, is easiest--though a clean install of the OS alongside Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT is only slightly more complex.

Simplicity aside, you'll still need to do some homework before popping the Windows 2000 CD-ROM into your PC.

1. Do a Complete System Backup. You are about to make major changes on your PC. So be sure that you have a means of going back if things go wrong during the installation (such as a power failure) or after Windows 2000 is installed (such as serious compatibility problems). In addition, you may lose all the files in your Recycle Bin, so be sure there's nothing in it that you really want. We used PowerQuest's Drive Image utility to back up and restore existing Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 installations. It's a good idea to also have a recent Windows Startup floppy that includes a CD-ROM driver.

Note: Restoring an old operating system is even easier if you segregate your personal documents (word processing files, spreadsheets, and the like) on a separate hard drive partition. That way, you can delete, reformat, and restore other partitions without affecting your personal files. You may also want to install applications to a separate partition.

2. Choose Upgrade or Clean Install. With your current version of Windows up and running on your computer, insert the Windows 2000 upgrade CD into your CD-ROM drive; the Windows 2000 Setup Wizard should start automatically. Once the install begins, the crucial first step is to specify whether you want to upgrade your existing version of Windows or do a "clean" install. See "Which Way to Go?" for help on determining which upgrade route makes the most sense for you.

3. Install Upgrade Packs (if Any). If you are currently running NT 4.0, make sure you get Service Pack 4 or later (and back up) before you install Windows 2000. Whatever type of installation you're performing, Windows 2000 scans all of your local hard disks for NT File System partitions and upgrades them to NTFS5.

That Service Pack is essential if you want to dual-boot between NT and Windows 2000 because the original versions of Windows NT 4.0 can't read NTFS5 partitions, meaning your existing NT installation could be trashed. (Microsoft says that Windows 2000 will warn you before the conversion, but I received no such warning during multiple upgrades using the Windows 2000 Release Candidate 3.) Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 and later (SP6 is the newest) let NT 4.0 read NTFS5 partitions, allowing you to dual-boot between both OSs. Just be sure to install the service pack before you install Windows 2000 if you ever want to boot that NT 4.0 partition again.

4. Decide On NTFS. The NT File System in Windows 2000 Professional has a number of advantages over the old File Allocation Table (FAT) system used by Windows 9x. NTFS offers much more efficient use of disk space than FAT, and better security. If you're upgrading over your old OS or doing a clean install next to NT, NTFS is a wise choice. But if you're doing a clean install and plan to dual-boot between Windows 2000 and Windows 9x, you can only use NTFS on a separate drive partition, which Windows 9x won't recognize.

5. Check on the Upgrade Report. Next, Windows 2000 Professional will run an analysis of the PC's configuration and prepare a report that you can save or print. If you followed our first steps, you shouldn't see many surprises at this stage. Note that if you're upgrading from Windows 95 or 98 (instead of doing a clean install alongside another OS), the report is likely to indicate that some entries in your autoexec.bat and config.sys files aren't compatible with Windows 2000. This usually isn't a cause for concern.

6. Sit Back. This one is easy. If you are performing an upgrade, the process becomes virtually automatic at this point, although it can last an hour or more. Windows 2000 Professional will restart your PC several times, copy all the files it needs, and migrate the settings and applications from your prior version of Windows. There will be long periods of time (5­10 minutes) when nothing appears to be happening, including no hard disk activity. Don't panic. The installation is proceeding.

7. Select Clean Install Options. With a clean install, you must provide information such as user name, password, date, and time. If your PC is connected to a network, a wizard will lead you through the network setup process.

8. Almost There: Final Steps. When you start up Windows 2000 for the first time, you'll be asked to create a log-on password before you can begin using the new OS. After logging on, take the introductory tour and make sure everything's working correctly. If you have problems, check the Compaq of the Microsoft Windows 2000 Web page.

The Top Down

Cost: Upgrade from Windows 95/98: $219; upgrade from Windows NT: $149

Time Required: 60­90 minutes

Minimum Requirements: Pentium-133 or above running Windows 95, 98, or NT; 32MB of RAM (64MB recommended); 2GB hard drive (with at least 650MB free space); CD-ROM drive

Expertise level: Beginner-intermediate

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