Quick overview:
Imagine this: You have Windows 98/Me and would also like to use Windows 2000, but are reluctant to give up your old Windows, which has worked well up to now. So what could be more obvious than setting up both operating systems on one computer? Nothing, because Windows 2000 supports the starting of two operating systems and creates a so-called dual boot menu, which prompts you to select the operating systems each time you start your PC.
However, it is highly recommended that you have two drives. Windows 98/Me will be installed on the first drive and Windows 2000 Professional should be installed on the second. If your hard disk is not divided into several drives, I recommend the Partition Magic 7.0 program, which you can access here Information on find. This makes it very easy to split your hard disk into several drives.
The requirements for your computer
Windows 2000 places particular demands on the Working memory high demands. You should have at least 128 Megabyte to be able to enjoy your work. Computers with only 64 megabytes or less have to cut back and make compromises. It is therefore advisable to switch off the new functions so that Windows runs without complications and sufficiently fast.
Microsoft personally specifies a minimum of 64MB, which I think is an understatement.
The processor should also be able to perform well. The official minimum requirements in this area are 166 Mhz, although I can only guarantee optimum operation from 300 Mhz.
The Windows 2000 manual states that at least 700 megabytes must be stored on the Fixed platee should be free. After the installation, you are surprised that approx. 1 gigabyte is occupied - together with the Removal datei. If programs and data are added later, you should set up at least 2-3 GB of space for 2000 itself and everything beyond that for the programs.
If your computer meets these requirements, you can continue reading with peace of mind.
Blue screen during installation - The ACPI scapegoat
If you see a blue screen right at the start of the installation or during hardware detection, which tells you in English that there has been an ACPI error, you must react immediately.
ACPI is the power management system of Windows 2000 and intervenes quite deeply in the system. It also takes over the management of the various devices. Problems can occur with some motherboards because Windows does not recognize their ACPI support.
To solve the problem, you must turn off the ACPI screen during installation. Right at the beginning (step 5) you will be prompted to install a SCSI adapter the F6 button. At exactly this point, press F5 and you will immediately find yourself in a menu in which you can Standard PC to specify. Confirm this with Enter and continue with the installation.
Installing Windows 2000 - Dualboot made easy!
To ensure that you also have fun with two operating systems running in parallel, I recommend that you carefully read the following instructions and the information provided beforehand.
1. Start Windows 98/Me and insert the Windows 2000 Professional Setup CD into your drive. If the installation program does not start automatically, you must click on Workplace and click on your drive. Now open the I386 folder and scroll down the list of almost infinite files to the entry winnt32 and double-click on it.
2. The welcome screen appears, which also presents you with a very important decision. You can either update your existing Windows 98/Me to Windows 2000 or set up an additional Windows 2000 and leave your existing one untouched. In this case, choose the lower option and confirm your selection.
3. You will now be asked to enter the Windows 2000 serial number and will have the opportunity to change some options in the next window. In general, the default settings are the best, so proceed to the next step. Copying the files starts immediately!
4. Windows requires the first restart after which you will see the Start menu for the first time, even if only for a short time. The entry Windows 2000 Professional Setup leads you to the further installation procedures, while the line Microsoft Windows takes you back to your good old Windows 98/Me. Of course, you stick with the default decision and start the installation wizard.
5. The setup program will respond and a blue screen will appear, which has a status bar with information at the bottom. This shows the drivers that are currently being loaded to ensure that your system works properly.
6. The welcome screen is immediately skipped by pressing the ENTER key, so that you find yourself in the hard disk selection menu. Here you decide on which drive Windows 2000 should be installed. In most cases this will be C:\. Now select the desired hard disk and press Enter.
Note: Are you the proud owner of several partitions? Would you like to create one? Or do you want to delete one? Press the L button to perform the latter action - the data will be lost immediately. Use E to create a partition, the size of which you can adjust as required.
7. The next window gives you the choice between FAT and NTFS. Due to the security features and the improved speed, I recommend using the hard disk in the New Technology File System. format. In addition to the information in the Windows Tweaks dictionary about NTFS can also be found in the Windows 2000 introductory article a lot about the file system.
8. The hard disk is formatted and then checked. In the event that Windows 2000 detects errors, these are corrected and the setup is restarted.
9. The files will now be copied, which may take some time. Windows 2000 then requests a restart, after which you will find yourself in a mouse-controlled installation environment. An attempt will now be made to recognize the hardware - as soon as this is complete, the so-called installation wizard will greet you once again, which you can acknowledge by clicking on Next.
10. Now enter your name and the name of your company in the fields and confirm with Enter. The next window will ask you to choose a computer password and name your computer. Follow these prompts dutifully.
11. One click on Next and the wizard now searches for network cards and components, which takes a long time and is the longest part of the installation.
12. A message will now inform you about the success of the installation. Click with relief on Finish and watch Windows 2000 boot up for the first time. As soon as the operating system has loaded, you will see the message about the network logon. As a single user, I recommend that you enter a fixed password so that Windows 2000 always chooses a password and you no longer have to enter it.
13. As soon as you click on Finish you are greeted by a welcome screen, which also wants to familiarize you directly with the new features. As you can't learn very much from this screen, I recommend that you decline the invitation with thanks and put a cross in front of Do not display this dialog box at startup make.
Congratulations! The Windows 2000 installation has been successful!
You should now view the first basic steps to speed and stability optimization.
NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.

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