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  1. Introduction
  2. Windows 2000 Professional
  3. Windows 2000 Server
  4. Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  5. Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
  6. Application Support
  7. System Operation
  8. Disks and Volumes
  9. Filesystems
  10. Configuration Files
  11. Security
  12. Network Support
  13. Access Management
  14. Processes
  15. AD Structure
  16. AD Objects
  17. AD Object Naming
  18. AD Schema
  19. AD Sites
  20. Domains
  21. AD Functions
  22. AD Replication
  23. DNS
  24. AD Security
  25. AD Installation
  26. AD Configuration
  27. AD Performance
  28. Installation
  29. Installation Options
  30. Unattended Installation
  31. Software Distribution
  32. Remote Installation Service
  33. Language
  34. Accessibility
  35. File Attributes
  36. Shares
  37. Distributed File System
  38. Control Panel
  39. Active Directory Tools
  40. Computer Management Console Tools
  41. MMC Tools
  42. Network Tools
  43. Network Monitor
  44. System Performance Monitoring
  45. Tools
  46. Managing Services
  47. Connections
  48. TCP/IP
  49. DHCP
  50. Printing
  51. Routing
  52. IPSec
  53. ICS
  54. Fault Tolerance
  55. Backup
  56. System Failure
  57. Services
  58. Remote Access
  59. WINS
  60. IIS
  61. Certificate Server
  62. Terminal Services
  63. Web Services
  64. Authentication
  65. Accounts
  66. Permissions
  67. Groups
  68. User Rights and Auditing
  69. Auditing
  70. User Profiles
  71. Policies
  72. Group Policies
  73. Miscellaneous
  74. Terms
  75. Credits

Windows 2000 Installation

See the introduction for information about minimum system requirements. All hardware on the system should be in the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) as listed at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl. The HCL file is also on the installation CDROM at \Support\hcl.txt.

Windows 2000 supports plug and play devices so the Windows NT Hardware Qualifier (NTHQ) program is not included with Windows 2000.

Install Methods

Ways to install Windows 2000:

  • From CDROM - Boot the computer from the CDROM or from the Windows 2000 Setup Boot Disks. The makeboot.exe program on the CDROM "Bootdisk" folder can be used to create setup disks from the installation CDROM.
  • Winnt.exe - Used from a CDROM that is not on the HCL or do the installation over the network.
  • Winnt32.exe

Stages of the Install

  1. Text mode - "You specify whether Setup should install Win2K Server or upgrade another Windows platform, accept the licensing agreement, and select an installation partition. "
  2. GUI phase - "You must enter the product key, along with a user and organization name. You specify regional settings and a password in this stage."
  3. Networking - "Networking settings and components are detected, installed, and configured along with workgroup and domain membership information. "
  4. Final Setup - "Start menu programs are installed, components are registered, and temporary setup files are removed."

Winnt

Winnt is used to install NT on computers running 16 bit operating systems such as DOS, Windows3.x, or even Windows 95. Winnt.exe is used to start an installation of Windows 2000 over ae network. Winnt32 is used to install NT when running an NT system such as NT workstation. The Winnt syntax is :

"Winnt or Winnt32 [/s:sourcepath] [/r:directory] [/rx:directory] [/t:drive_letter] [/a] [/e:command] [/u:answer_file] [/udf:id, [UDF_file]] "

The following is a list of Winnt command line installation options:

  • /? - to see options
  • /a - Turn on accessibility options.
  • /E:command - Will execute the command specified after the install.
  • /I:inf_file - The name of the setup information file without path information. If this option is not used dosnet.inf is the default.
  • /R - An optional directory to be created is specified.
  • /RX - An optional directory to be copied is specified.
  • /S:sourcepath - Windows 2000 or NT set files' location.
  • /T:drive_letter - Setup will put temporary setup files on the drive specified.
  • /U:answer_file - Specifies an unattended install and an answer file location which is required for unattended installation. Use the /s option to specify the location of source files.
  • /UDF:id [,UDF_file] - Specifies the UDF file used to identify the computer. The data from the UDF file is applied to some sections in the answer file. The install program will ask for a disk containing a unique UDF file if the UDF is not specified on the command line.

"Winnt32 [/s:sourcepath] [/I:inf_file] [/t:drive_letter] [/unattend[num]:answer_file] [/udf:id, [UDF_file]] [/copydir:directory] [/copysource:directory] [/cmd:command] [/debug[level]:filename] [/syspart:drive] [/checkupgradeonly] [/cmdcons] [/m:directory] [/makelocalsource] [/noreboot]"

The following is a list of Winnt32 command line installation options:

  • /? - to see options
  • /checkupgradeonly - The computer is checked for compatability with Windows 2000 and an upgrade report is prepared.
  • /copydir:directory - An additional directory is copied into the system root directory on the hard disk.
  • /copysource:directory - An additional directory to be copied to the hard disk in the system root directory during installation. It is removed when the installation is done.
  • /cmd:command - A command to be executed after the system setup is complete.
  • /cmdcons - The recovery console is installed and included in the start menu.
  • /debug[level]:filename - Debug log is created with detail level from 1 to 4 specified.
  • /makelocalsource - Source files are copied to the hard drive.
  • /noreboot - The computer is not rebooted after files are copied.
  • /S:sourcepath - Windows 2000 or NT installation files location.
  • /syspart:drive - Source files are copied to the hard drive and the drive is marked as active.
  • /tempdrive:drive_letter - Setup will put temporary setup files on the drive specified.
  • /unattend - Specifies an unattended install and settings are taken from an existing operating system.
  • /unattend[num]:answer_file - Specifies an unattended install and an answer file location which is required for unattended installation. Use the /s option to specify the location of source files. Num specifies the number of seconds to wait before rebooting after files are copied.
  • /UDF:id [,UDF_file] - Specifies the UDF file used to identify the computer. The data from the UDF file is applied to some sections in the answer file. The install program will ask for a disk containing a unique UDF file if the UDF is not specified on the command line.

Other commands which I'm not sure are still supported.

  • /RX:directory - Defines the location option of an executable directory.
  • /X - Setup will not create boot floppies.
  • /B - The boot files are loaded on the system's hard disk, rather than using floppy disks. This option with Winnt cannot be used to install NT on a multi-processor machine since the required installation files are different.
  • /O - Setup will only create boot floppies.
  • /OX - Setup will setup floppies for installation from CD-ROM or a network location.
  • /F - Copy files from boot floppies without verification (Only winnt).
  • /C - Don't check for free space on installation and boot floppies (Only winnt).

Installation Media

Windows 2000 must be installed on a partitioned basic disk. The disk may be made dynamic after installation.

Upgrades

Upgrades to Windows 2000 Professional may be made from the following systems:

  • Windows 95
  • Windows 98
  • Windows NT 3.51
  • Windows NT 4.0

Upgrades directly to windows 2000 from Windows 3.x and Windows for Workgroups are not possible without first indirectly upgrading to windows 95.

Upgrades to Windows 2000 Server may be made from the following systems:

  • Windows NT Server 3.51
  • Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server Edition, and Enterprise Edition

Windows NT version 3.1 to 3.50 can be upgraded to windows 2000 by first upgrading to Windows NT Server 3.51 or 4.0.

An upgrade check may be run prior to performing an upgrade to check computer hardware for system compatability. The report is automatically saved on Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems, but must be manually saved (if desired) on windows NT systems. The upgrade check is done as follows:

  1. Place the Windows 2000 CD in the CDROM drive.
  2. Indicate that you do not want to upgrade Windows and close the dialog box.
  3. Open a DOS prompt and change drives to the drive letter of the CDROM drive,
  4. Type "cd \i386" and type "win32 /checkupgradeonly".
  5. Read the report in c:\Windows\Upgrade.txt.

If you do an upgrade from Windows 95 or Windows 98, it may be necessary to apply upgrade packs (also called update packs) to some applications.

If applications exist on the computer that are not compatible with Windows 2000, contact the application manufacturer to get an upgrade pack for windows 2000. When performing the upgrade the Windows 2000 setup program will ask for upgrade packs for applications.

If upgrading Windows NT domains to Windows 2000, first upgrade the primary domain controller on the domain that will be the root domain in Active Directory.

Installation Folder

Windows 2000 is installed by default in the /Winnt directory.

Custom Setting Selections

Types of components that can be selected when choosing custom settings for network settings:

  • Clients
  • Protocols
  • services

Installation Errors

Installation errors are logged based on the error type. These error loge files are stored in the \Windir directory.

  • Comsetup.log - "Records COM+ information "
  • Mmdet.log - "Stores multimedia device detection information "
  • Netsetup.log - "Records workgroup and domain membership information "
  • Setupact.log - "Logs setup activity chronologically "
  • Setupapi.log - "Logs .INF file entries "
  • Setuperr.log - "Records setup errors"