ARCHIVED: How do I upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000?

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Note: For security and support reasons, UITS recommends using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional, rather than NT Workstation 4.0, on Indiana University's network. Microsoft retired both mainstream and extended support for this version in June 2004, which means security updates are no longer being developed. For more information, see Microsoft's Windows Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines page at:

  http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&pr=lifecycle

To help ensure a successful upgrade from Windows NT to Windows 2000, follow these steps:

Determine if Windows 2000 will work on your computer

  1. Check that your computer meets the minimum system requirements:

    When upgrading from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000, keep in mind that Windows 2000 has higher system requirements, requiring both more RAM and more hard drive space than Windows NT 4.0.

    UITS recommends that your computer meet these minimum specifications in order to run Windows 2000 without degraded performance:

    • Pentium II or equivalent processor
    • 128MB RAM
    • 4GB hard disk with 1GB free space

    If your computer does not meet these specifications, you may want to consider buying a new computer with Windows 2000 or XP already installed. For more information about computer recommendations from UITS, see the Knowledge Base document ARCHIVED: At IU, where can I find information about buying computer hardware and software?

  2. Check that all hardware components and software products in your computer are supported by Windows 2000:
    1. Make an inventory of your computer system, and then visit Microsoft's Windows 2000 Check Hardware and Software Compatibility web page at:
        http://testedproducts.windowsmarketplace.com/      
    2. Read the release notes (consisting of Read1st.txt and Readme.doc) in the root directory of the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM. The "Application Notes" section of Readme.doc provides information about programs you need to disable or remove before running Setup.
    3. Either uninstall or upgrade any hardware or software that is not compatible with Windows 2000. Make sure you have upgraded your BIOS to the latest available from your computer manufacturer.

Decide whether to do an upgrade or a clean install

You can install Windows 2000 either as an upgrade, which will preserve your currently installed applications and network settings, or as a clean install, which will reformat your hard drive and erase all your data.

In general, clean installs are more robust and stable than upgrades. This is because the clean install starts with the computer in an empty state, where there is no possibility of conflicts or incompatibilities with your current software.

UITS recommends that you do a clean install, unless you find it infeasible to back up and reinstall your software applications and reconfigure your system after upgrading.

Obtain your network information

If you are connected to a network, you should find out the following things about your network settings. You will need this information in case you have to reconfigure your network connection:

Choose a file system

During setup, Windows 2000 will offer you the choice of installing either the Windows NT File System (NTFS), or one of the file allocation table file systems (FAT or FAT32). For use with Windows 2000, UITS recommends that you install the NTFS file system. For more information, see the Knowledge Base document ARCHIVED: In Windows 2000 or XP, how do I choose between NTFS and FAT32?

Prepare your system for the upgrade

In order to protect your data and enable a smooth upgrade, follow these steps prior to making any changes to your system:

  1. Back up your files.
  2. Scan your system for viruses.

    For more information on scanning for viruses, see the Knowledge Base document ARCHIVED: Using Symantec/Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition, how do I immediately scan a file, folder, or drive for viruses?

  3. Uncompress your hard drive(s).
  4. Uninstall power management or disk management tools.

Begin the installation

Note: For security reasons, you should install Windows or rebuild your Windows computer offline (i.e., unplug your network cable), and then take certain measures to assure its security before putting it back on the network. For instructions, see Safely rebuild your Windows computer

  1. Insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD into your CD-ROM drive.
  2. If a dialog box appears asking if you want to upgrade your computer to Windows 2000 Professional, click Yes.

    Otherwise, from the Start menu, select Run.... At the command prompt, enter:

      d:\i386\winnt32.exe

    Replace d with the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.

  3. The on-screen instructions will walk you through the installation process, including choosing between an upgrade or clean install, and choosing a file system.

Once you have completed the installation, you should check for the latest product updates, hotfixes, and service packs from Microsoft. To connect to Microsoft's Windows Update web site, from the Start menu, select Windows Update.

This is document ajsy in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 13:06:25.