Windows 2000’s installation process is largely automated and relatively simple and includes a number of improvements over previous versions of Windows NT. This section examines the Windows 2000 installation process, from simple installations to large-scale automated installations.
Before installing Windows 2000 Professional on a computer, you should determine the computer’s compatibility with Windows 2000. You should also have an idea of the type of network and filesystems that will be used and the method of installation. These considerations are discussed in the sections that follow.
Before installing Windows 2000 Professional, be sure the computer meets the minimum hardware requirements. You should also consider the requirements of your users and network in selecting a machine. The minimum and recommended hardware for Windows 2000 Professional on Intel-based computers are described in Table 3-3.
Table 3-3. Windows 2000 Professional Requirements
|
Item |
Minimum |
Recommended |
|---|---|---|
|
Pentium 133 MHz |
Pentium 200 MHz or faster | |
|
32 MB |
64 MB or more | |
|
VGA |
Super VGA or better | |
|
SCSI or IDE; 650 MB of space required for OS |
2 GB or more | |
|
CD-ROM |
SCSI or IDE (not required for network installations) |
12X speed or faster |
|
Network interface card |
Not required |
Any supported by NT; only required for network access |
There are more specific requirements for each of these devices: for example, certain CD-ROM drives or video adapters may not be supported by Windows 2000. Each version of Windows 2000 includes a hardware compatibility list (HCL) that describes hardware that has been tested and verified to work with that version.
The HCL is included on the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM as HCL.TXT in the SUPPORT directory. An updated version is always available from Microsoft’s web or FTP sites.
Windows NT can be installed in a FAT, FAT32, or NTFS partition. The installation program is able to create either of these if there is empty space available on a hard disk. If you have existing partitions on the disk, you can delete them from the installation program. You can also choose to install in an existing partition; this may overwrite data in the partition.
Another factor in planning Windows NT installations is the filesystem or filesystems to be used. Windows 2000 supports three different filesystems:
- FAT (file allocation table)
The filesystem originally implemented by DOS. It is limited to 8-character filenames with 3-character extensions and supports partitions up to 2 GB (Windows 95/98/Me) or up to 16 GB (Windows NT 4.0/2000).
- FAT32
A new version of the FAT system implemented by Windows 95 (OSR2 and later), Windows 98, and Windows Me. This system is not backward compatible with FAT. It provides more reliable storage and more efficient use of space and raises the partition size limit to 4 TB (terabytes).
- NTFS (NT filesystem)
An improved filesystem, supported only by Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. NTFS is not based on the FAT system. It supports long filenames, partitions as large as 16 EB (exabytes), fault tolerance, security, and compression. Windows 2000 uses NTFS Version 5, which is compatible only with Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later.
When installing Windows 2000, you will need to choose among these three filesystems. Here are some guidelines:
FAT or FAT32 should be used for dual-boot systems, because they can be accessed by DOS or earlier versions of Windows. These systems also have a lower overhead than NTFS and are more efficient for small volumes. FAT is compatible with DOS and supports partitions up to 2 GB; FAT32 is compatible with Windows 95 OSR2 and later, Windows 98, and Windows Me, and supports partitions up to 4 GB.
NTFS has many advantages: it stores files more efficiently, supports file-level security, is more reliable, and supports Windows 2000’s more advanced fault-tolerant features, such as disk striping. NTFS is particularly more efficient with larger drives; Microsoft recommends using NTFS exclusively with partitions 400 MB or larger.
Another factor to consider is the ability to convert between filesystems. Windows 2000 includes a utility, CONVERT.EXE, to convert FAT or FAT32 partitions to NTFS without loss of data. Windows 2000 cannot convert NTFS partitions to FAT or FAT32 without backing up data and reformatting (and permissions will be lost in this process).
The Windows 2000 operating system is provided on a single CD-ROM. The OS can be installed using one of two basic methods:
- CD-ROM installation
The SETUP.EXE program can be started from the CD-ROM from an existing operating system (Windows 95/98/Me or NT). If no operating system is installed, setup can be started with boot disks or by booting the CD-ROM if the computer’s BIOS supports this feature.
- Network installation
If the CD-ROM or a copy of the Windows 2000 Professional installation files can be accessed over the network, this can be used to complete the installation. This option requires an existing operating system and access to the network. Similarly, Windows 2000 can be installed from installation files that reside on the computer’s local hard disk if an existing operating system is present.
The installation program is called SETUP.EXE and is located in the root directory of the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM. If you use boot disks or boot the CD-ROM, Setup will start automatically. If you are starting the installation from an existing OS, run SETUP.EXE manually. On Windows 95/98/Me systems, Setup will start when the CD is inserted if the Auto Insert Notification feature is enabled.
You can also start the Windows 2000 setup from the winnt.exe (DOS or Windows 3.1/95/98/Me) or winnt32.exe (Windows NT) programs in the i386 directory on the CD-ROM. This is convenient for network or file-based installations.
The setup process consists of a brief text-mode phase, after which the GUI components of Windows 2000 load and the Setup Wizard completes the installation. The steps involved in each phase are described in the following sections.
The text-mode phase performs some basic tasks before starting the Setup Wizard. These include the following:
Start the SETUP.EXE program using one of the methods described earlier. The Setup welcome screen is displayed; press
Enterto continue.If an existing operating system is installed, choose whether to upgrade to Windows 2000 or install a new copy (referred to as a clean install).
The Windows 2000 Professional license agreement is displayed. Press
F8to accept the agreement and continue; pressEscto abort the installation.Select a partition for the installation. You can press
Cto create a new partition orDto delete an existing partition.The setup program scans the installation partition for errors or formats if a new partition was created. Installation files are then copied to the hard disk. This may take several minutes.
Restart the computer to continue the installation.
After you restart the computer, the GUI phase of installation begins and the Setup Wizard appears. Follow these steps to complete the installation:
Click Next at the initial Setup Wizard screen to continue the installation.
The setup program detects and installs drivers for hardware devices. This may take several minutes.
You are now prompted for regional settings. Use the Customize button to change settings for the locale, language, and keyboard layout.
Specify the name and organization for the user of this computer.
You are now prompted for the Windows 2000 Professional product key, which is printed on the CD-ROM package. You must have a valid key to continue the installation.
Specify a name for the computer and a password for the local Administrator account.
Next, you are prompted for modem dialing information. Specify the region, area code, any keys needed to obtain an outside line, and tone or pulse dialing.
You are prompted for the date, time, and time zone. You can also choose whether to automatically account for daylight savings time changes.
The setup program now detects and installs network components. This may take several minutes. Choose Typical or Custom settings. The Typical option installs the Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Print Sharing, the TCP/IP protocol, and automatic IP addressing.
Choose whether the computer is on a network. If so, enter the appropriate workgroup or domain name. If you select a domain name, you must enter a username and password with Administrator status.
Files are now copied to the hard disk. This may take several minutes.
The final phase of the Setup Wizard installs Start menu items, registers components, saves settings, and removes temporary files; this takes about five minutes.
The installation is now complete. Click Finish to restart the computer.
After the computer restarts, the Network Identification Wizard runs and prompts you for a default network username for the computer. You can also choose to automatically log on if the computer is not attached to a domain.
The Windows 2000 installation program can upgrade systems running Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT. To perform an upgrade, start SETUP.EXE (or WINNT32.EXE) from the existing operating system. The following sections discuss the upgrade process.
The Windows 2000 setup program includes an option to test a computer for compatibility before an upgrade. Although these tests are also performed during an actual installation, you can use this option to find out whether an upgrade is likely to succeed. Use this command from the existing operating system to check compatibility:
winnt32 /checkupgradeonly
The setup program displays a report summarizing the compatibility of the computer’s hardware. You can also create the same report without the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM with the CHKUPGRD.EXE utility, available for download from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/default.asp.
You can start an upgrade installation from Windows 95, 98, or Me by running SETUP.EXE, which in turn runs WINNT32. If you start the installation in this manner, a Windows-based Setup Wizard replaces the text mode phase of installation.
Upgrading from Windows 95/98/Me saves most settings, but because of differences between operating systems, not all settings are kept in the upgrade. Also, some settings (such as security) are unique to Windows 2000 and must be set manually as with a new installation.
When you upgrade from Windows NT 3.51 or later to Windows 2000 Professional, the following settings are preserved:
Control panel settings, including network configuration
Registry settings
Start menu contents and desktop layout
Preferences for some Windows NT utilities
Users, groups, and other security settings
The Windows 2000 installation program supports the use of an unattended installation file, also called an answer file . This is an ASCII text file that includes the information that the installation program would normally prompt for during installation. An example answer file is included on the Windows NT CD-ROM as UNATTEND.TXT.
The answer file includes sections corresponding to each portion of the installation process. You can create the answer file manually with a text editor, or you can use the Setup Manager utility, described in the next section. After you’ve created the answer file, use the WINNT or WINNT32 program to begin the installation:
WINNT32 /U:pathunattend.txt/S:pathI386
The /U option specifies the path to the answer
file, and the /S option (required) specifies the
path to the installation files.
The Setup Manager utility provides an alternative to manually creating the answer file. This utility prompts you for various installation options and then creates an answer file that can be used for an automated installation.
The Setup Manager utility is located in the Deploy.cab archive in the SupportTools directory of the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM. After extracting the files, run SETUPMGR.EXE to execute the utility.
The initial Setup Manager screen, shown in Figure 3-1, includes three options: creating a new answer file, creating an answer file that duplicates the current computer’s configuration, or modifying an existing answer file.
After choosing to create a new answer file, you can choose the level of user interaction for the automated installation. The following options are available:
- Provide Defaults
Allows you to specify default choices for the installation options. Although these are selected by default, the user can still modify any options.
- Fully Automated
No prompts are displayed to the user. For this option, you must provide answers for all installation options.
- Hide Pages
Prompts the user only for options not specified by the answer file. The remaining dialogs are not displayed and use the choices in the file.
- Read-Only
All installation dialogs are displayed, but the user cannot change the options selected by the answer file.
- GUI Attended
The GUI portion of installation proceeds normally; only the text mode portion uses the answer file.
After selecting an option, you are prompted for the appropriate installation options. After selecting all options, you are prompted for a name and path for an answer file to be saved. You are also prompted for the location of the setup files, which are copied to a folder called WIN2000DIST for use by the automated installations.
New to Windows 2000 is a disk duplication option, System Preparation Tool (SysPrep), which allows you to create a disk image from an existing installation and copy that image to other computers. This option can only be used when the computers are identical in configuration and can only be used for clean (non-upgrade) installations. Because a disk image is used, this option can also copy applications installed after the Windows 2000 installation.
You must use a third-party utility, such as PowerQuest DriveImage or Norton Ghost, to perform the actual disk imaging. Normally, disks copied from the same image may not work correctly with Windows 2000, because a unique security identifier is required for each computer. Windows 2000’s System Preparation Tool corrects this potential problem.
The System Preparation Tool also creates a mini-Setup Wizard to prompt the user for information specific to the computer, such as username and computer name. This information can also be specified in a script created by Setup Manager, as discussed in the previous section.
You can install the System Preparation Tool from the Deploy.cab file in the SupportTools directory of the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM. After installation, run SYSPREP.EXE to begin. After the preparation tool finishes, the computer is restarted.
Remote Installation Services allows you to create a bootable image that can be used to start installations from any networked computer, using a central distribution of installation files. This works with a boot floppy or with computers that support remote boot with a boot ROM.
Windows 2000 Server is required to use Remote Installation Services. RIS requires the following services and configuration:
A DNS server.
A DHCP server.
An Active Directory domain controller.
A shared NTFS volume for the RIS files; this volume must not be the same volume on which Windows 2000 Server is installed.
Service packs are packages of fixes and enhancements to Windows 2000, periodically released by Microsoft after the release of the operating system. Each service pack includes a utility, UPGRADE.EXE, that installs the service pack.
New to Windows 2000 is a
slipstreaming
feature, which allows the corrections from service packs to be
automatically included with installation. If you have a distribution
of installation files on the network, you can use the
upgrade.exe /slip command to modify the
appropriate files using the service pack. After this is done,
installing from that distribution will automatically include the
updates provided by the service pack.