Page

Windows 2000
Operating Systems
@head:Get to know Win2KPro
@intro:Link Harris helps you get started with Windows 2000 Professional.
@Drop 3:Microsoft has announced a release date for the commercial version of Windows 2000 Professional (Win2KPro) of February 17 2000, however the following is based on Win2KPro Release Candidate 2 (RC2), build 2128.
@subhead:Before you install
@noindent:Backup. Although installing a new operating system can go without a hitch, don't underestimate the potential for disaster. Before you install Win2KPro -- particularly if you plan to upgrade -- be sure to backup your valuable files. Then, think about the following decisions you will have to make after you slip the Win2KPro CD-ROM into the drive.
@normal:Upgrade or clean? If you're currently running what Microsoft calls a 'supported' operating system -- Windows 95/98 (any release), Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (including all service packs) or NT Workstation 3.51 -- you have the option of upgrading to Win2KPro (Figure 1). Upgrading means that Win2KPro Setup is supposed to replace your current Windows files and also preserve the preferences, as well as retain your existing applications and their settings. Although the documentation supplied with Microsoft's Corporate Preview Program package claims that you can safely upgrade Win2KPro Beta 3, you shouldn't even consider upgrading over any pre-release Win2KPro version.
For supported operating systems, the upgrade alternative is tempting, but there are a couple of compelling reasons to opt for a clean install (Microsoft calls this a 'new' installation). Firstly, in addition to your existing Windows settings, an upgraded Win2KPro inherits any registry rubbish and countless dodgy drivers that your PC has accumulated. Secondly, many applications that work well in Windows 98 (such as PartitionMagic 4.01) or NT4 (such as Norton CleanSweep 2000) fall over in Win2KPro.
If you can spare the hard disk space, my advice is to give Win2KPro its own partition and do a clean install, which Setup will automatically configure to multiboot with your existing operating system(s). Then reinstall your applications in Win2KPro, using different folders from the original installation. Note that if you're installing Win2KPro on a PC that presently dual-boots between Windows 95/98 and NT4, Win2KPro Setup will let you upgrade NT4 but not Windows 95/98.
Hardware. Microsoft has a habit of underestimating the horsepower required for their operating systems. The official minimum requirements for Win2KPro -- a 166MHz Pentium with 32Mb of RAM (64Mb recommended) -- have re-emerged with each pre-release version of the software. However, it's a different story with its "Win2KPro-ready PC" -- the machine it recommends you buy with NT4 now to be ready for Win2KPro when it's released. The minimum RAM is currently 64Mb, and the minimum CPU speed has grown from 200MHz, when Beta 3 was current, to the present 300MHz. It's hard to call this one, but you probably won't be overpowered with a 450MHz Pentium II and 128Mb of RAM.
The hard disk space you need depends on whether you're upgrading or doing a clean install. Win2KPro setup needs at least 650Mb free for an upgrade. A clean install of Win2KPro RC2 gobbled up nearly 800Mb of hard disk space -- an increase of over 100Mb from RC1 -- with little elbow room in 1Gb with the paging file fully expanded. I recommend a minimum of 2Gb free for a clean install.
To determine whether your sound and video cards, scanner, modem and other bits and pieces will work with Win2KPro, check out the hardware compatibility list (HCL) link on the Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional home page www.microsoft.com/windows/professional/. Microsoft says if your gadget's not on the HCL, it won't play with Win2KPro. From that site you can also display the current credentials for a Win2KPro-ready PC.
Applications. It's a woollier story with applications for Win2KPro. The link from the same Microsoft site lets you search by manufacturer, product name or product type. However, don't chuck your favourite program simply because it's not in the database. At press time many major vendors were missing, as well as popular products such as WinZip 7.0 and Paint Shop Pro 5.01, which both perform well in Win2KPro.
File systems. Win2KPro supports FAT16 (also called FAT), FAT32 and NTFS5 file systems. If Win2KPro is the only operating system on your PC, use NTFS5.
The choice is more complicated for multiboot installations, because other operating systems can't access files on NTSF5 partitions. Note that NTFS5 (which Microsoft calls NTFS) is different from NTFS4 (which Microsoft also calls NTFS) used by NT4. Microsoft advises against using NTFS5 for an installation of Win2KPro that dual boots with NT4, because the Win2KPro files might not always be accessible from NT4.
To further confuse the NTFS issue, NT4 service pack 4 (SP4) installs a new NTFS4 driver, which makes NTFS4(SP4) different from NTFS4(pre-SP4). This is an essential difference, however, and it's crucial to apply SP4 or later if you intend dual-booting NT4 running NTFS and Win2KPro. Otherwise, installing Win2KPro will make NT4 unbootable.
Win2KPro Setup can cope with a fresh unformatted, unpartitioned hard disk, and lets you partition and format with FAT or NTFS5. If you choose to format with FAT, you get FAT16 for partitions up to 2Gb and FAT32 for larger ones. Setup will also convert FAT16 or FAT32 partitions to NTFS. Unlike formatting, which wipes a partition clean, converting changes the file system while preserving the files stored on that partition.

@boxhead:Installation tips
@noindent:Time. Allow one to two hours to install Win2KPro. You'll have to be on call to interact when Setup needs a decision, but in between interactions there's a lot of waiting around -- so have a good book handy.
Plug and play? If you're using a local printer, external modem or other external hardware, connect their cables before you power on your PC. Turn on the mains power to those external devices before Win2KPro Setup reboots for the last time.
Setup floppies. Make these four floppies before you install Win2KPro. You can create them from any flavour of DOS or Windows that has CD-ROM support, by running \Bootdisk\Makeboot.exe from the Win2KPro installation CD-ROM. You'll need to boot from the Setup floppies:
1) If you're installing Win2KPro onto a PC that's not running one of the supported operating systems listed in Upgrade or clean?^ above, or
2) To use the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) if Win2KPro packs it in.
CD-ROM install. If you can boot to a supported operating system, you can set the floppies aside and launch Setup from the Win2KPro installation CD-ROM. When it starts, Setup will ask whether you would like to upgrade to Windows 2000. If you click Yes, it brings up the Setup Wizard shown in Figure 1, where you can choose to either upgrade or do a clean install. If you click No, you can still start the same wizard from the CD-ROM menu by clicking Install Windows 2000.
Regional Settings. On the System and User screen, click Customise and, on the General tab, drop down the Locale (Location) list and change the entry to English (Australian). This automatically makes the appropriate changes on the Numbers and Date tabs.
Password. On the Computer Name and Password screen, record what you enter for Administrator Password. It's case sensitive, and you won't be able to log on to Win2KPro without it.
Networking. If you're connected into a peer-to-peer network (one without a server), you probably use NetBEUI protocol, rather than TCP/IP. If so, choose Custom settings in the Networking Settings window. Then click Install, select Protocol and click Add. In the Select Network Protocol Windows, select NetBEUI and click OK. NetBEUI will appear (checked) in the Networking Components window. Leave TCP/IP enabled for your Internet connection.
In the Workgroup or computer Domain window, accept the default No, this computer is not on a network or is on a network without a domain. Then replace the default WORKGROUP with the name of your workgroup.
@SUBHEAD:Win2KPro first foray
@NOINDENT:Users and passwords. After Setup has finished and boots you into Win2KPro, you're greeted by the Network Identification Wizard. There you choose whether to have accounts on your PC for several users or a single user (the default). If you're the only user, the wizard offers your name as the default username. Although it's personal choice whether you choose your name or Administrator, it makes sense to use the same username (and password) that you use for logging onto your network.
@NORMAL:If you choose Administrator for your username, be sure to use the same password that you chose during Setup. Otherwise, Win2KPro won't automatically log you onto your PC. Provided you remember the original Administrator password, you can still logon by typing it into the box. Then you can change the password by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and clicking Change Password.
To set up accounts for other users, click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Users and Passwords. There you can also control security at logon by choosing whether to make users enter a name and password and, if so, whether they have to first press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Printer. To see whether Win2KPro has detected and installed your printer, click Start, Settings, Printers. If there's no icon for your printer, be sure the cable is connected and mains power is on. Then double-click Add Printer and go to work with the Add Printer Wizard. If Win2KPro still can't find your printer, select the driver manually from the list.
Modem: As of RC2, modems are still an iffy proposition. To check the modems Win2KPro has installed, click Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click Phone and Modem Options and click the Modems tab (Figure 2). If your modem isn't shown, you can install it by clicking Add to invoke the Modem module of the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard. In the Ports window, click to choose Selected ports. If the COM port you want is greyed out, click to select it (this sounds wrong, but that's how it works). As with printers, you can manually select your modem if the wizard can't find it.
Unlike a printer, which stays installed even if you boot to Win2KPro with the printer powered off, the port for an unpowered modem usually reverts to Not present, as shown in Figure 2. Again unlike a printer, you can't get Win2KPro to recognise the modem by simply turning its power on. You have two options: either reboot Win2KPro, or the much faster alternative of removing and reinstalling the modem.
Network. To check whether you're locally connected, double-click My Network Places (on the desktop) and double-click Computers Near Me. If you can't see the other PCs, return to My Network Places, click in the window to deselect all the icons and click the Network and Dial-Up Connections link (at the left). In the Network and Dial-Up Connections window, click the Network Identification link.
When that tab appears, click Properties to be sure the name in the Workgroup field is correct. To continue troubleshooting, return to the Network and Dial-Up Connections window, right click Local Area Connection and click Properties. This lets you check the settings for your network card, view and configure the Win2KPro networking components installed and add new ones.
Online Help. If you've used Help in previous versions of Windows, you'll barely recognise Win2KPro's supercharged version. From the Start Here window of the Contents tab you can access over a dozen troubleshooting wizards and learn about Help's exact phrase and Boolean search features. As well, users familiar with Windows 98 or NT4 can quickly determine what has become of their favourite features. If you're an utter Windows ^newby, click through Introducing Windows 2000 Professional, Getting Started Online Book, Windows 2000 Professional Getting Started. Then check out Chapter 4, Windows Basics (Figure 3).

@subhead:The Internet
@noindent:Get Connected. To set up Win2KPro to connect to the Net, you can open the Internet Connection Wizard by doing any of the following: click Connect to the Internet on the Getting Started with Windows 2000 opening screen, double-click the Connect to the Internet icon on the desktop or open Internet Explorer 5 (IE5, which installs as part of Win2KPro). The wizard's opening screen (Figure 4) gives three options: go online to get a list of ISPs near you, use your existing dial-up ISP account and configure manually. The first two options don't work properly in RC2, but choosing manual configuration only adds a few steps to what should appear in the second option.
@normal:On the Internet account connection information screen -- unless you call STD to connect to your ISP -- click to uncheck Use area code and dialling rules. Most ISPs now use PPP, automatically assign IP and DNS addresses and have automatic logon. If that's not the case for your ISP, click the Advanced button on that screen and modify according to your ISP's instructions. On the next screen (2 of 3), edit the username to the one you use for your ISP, which will probably be different from your Win2KPro logon username that the wizard wants to use.
You can configure for e-mail now or later, using details supplied by your ISP. After you quit the wizard, starting IE5 pops up the Dial-Up Connection window shown in Figure 5. Unless you want to type your password each time you connect, click to check Save password. Clicking Settings brings up IE5's Internet Properties box, where you can reconfigure for your ISP by clicking Setup on the Connections tab. You can also access Internet Properties from IE5 by clicking Tools, Internet Options.
Modem sharing. You can have Win2KPro share its Internet connection with any PC connected to the local network by clicking to check Enable Internet Connection Sharing for this connection (Figure 6). To get that Properties window for your ISP from the previous Connections tab, select your ISP and click Settings, Properties. Alternatively, you can double-click My Computer and click the Network and Dial-Up Connections link. Then right-click the icon for your ISP and click Properties.
The other PCs on the network don't have to be running Win2KPro. However, they must have TCP/IP bound to their network card (even if you're using NetBEUI for the local network), and preferably set to automatically obtain an IP address from a DHCP server. Then the browser, e-mail software or any other Internet application on that PC can share the Win2KPro Internet connection.

^^Caption for SetupGUI.bmp follows ^^

@caption:Figure 1: When you start Win2KPro Setup from the CD-ROM, your first choice is between upgrading the operating system that is running the CD-ROM and making a separate multiboot installation of Win2KPro.

^^Caption for Modems.bmp follows ^^

Figure 2: If you boot with a modem powered off and Win2KPro labels it Not present, you can bring the modem online by turning on the power, clicking Remove and reinstalling it.

^^ OPTIONAL screenshot. Caption for Help.bmp follows ^^

Figure 3: The Win2KPro online Help will look after you, even if you've never used any version of Windows.

^^Caption for Netcon3.bmp follows ^^

Figure 4: Select the third option to set up for your existing dial-up ISP account or for connecting to the Net over a LAN.

^^Caption for DialUp.bmp follows ^^

Figure 5: If you want to automatically dial your ISP every time you open IE5, click to check Connect automatically.

^^Caption for NetShare.bmp follows ^^

Figure 6: If you share an Internet connection and want Internet software on the other PCs to be able to start the modem dialling, click to check Enable on-demand dialing. ^^ It's "dialing" in the dialog box. ^^

^^ OPTIONAL Tip Breakout follows. ^^

@boxhead:Modem madness
@boxtext:If your modem connects and your ISP accepts your username and password -- but you can't send e-mail or connect to any Web sites -- try a different modem. As weird as it sounds, this happens with the internal 3Com (USR) WinModem. The driver that was well behaved in beta 3 and RC1 was changed in RC2, creating this incredible behaviour.

^^Opening boxes follow ^^

User Level:
^^70% on the Easy-to-Expert range ^^

What you need:
Windows 2000 Professional Installation CD-ROM
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