Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Upgrade - Old Version

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00003JAU7
• Item model number: B23-00079
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 2, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (123 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,154 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #2 in Software > Operating Systems > Microsoft Windows > Windows 2000
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

With its responsive user interface and improved reliability, Windows 2000 Professional is truly the most appealing version yet of Microsoft's operating system. Provided you have the hardware to run it (at least 64 MB of RAM is required), you won't find a better, more serious OS for business computing.

If you are upgrading from previous editions, the Windows 2000 wizards are particularly useful; they'll detect all your software and possible compatibility problems before you make the switch. In testing, our upgrade for a laptop was smooth and sure, and all previously installed software was automatically brought onboard to the new version.

Previously, Microsoft offered only limited support for notebook users within Windows NT 4.0. Windows 2000, however, allows most recent laptops to take advantage of power-management features, plug-and-play standard, plus recent hardware advances, such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IrDA for infrared devices, and FireWire. All these improvements mean that Windows 2000 will run on a greater array of systems.

There are some unexpected additions, too. You can also "hibernate" your Windows 2000 notebook to save and restore your work quickly as you go out on the road. In addition, this new OS adds more support for working offline with data saved from the Internet. (The Windows 2000 version of Internet Explorer 5.0 and Active Desktop, which allows you to access Web content from the desktop, are bundled here too.)

Besides support for mobile users, Windows 2000 beefs up reliability and greatly reduces the need to reboot as you update drivers, settings, and the like. Although you can still expect your Linux friends to brag that their favorite OS is even more reliable, the ease of configuration in Windows 2000 and its new-and-improved reliability make for an excellent choice for any serious computer user. Of course, if your business is using Windows 2000 Server on the back end, you will also benefit from easier installation and configuring of software, since these tasks can now be automated by remote administrators.

In all, Windows 2000 is a great-looking operating system, with a slick visual style, a responsive user interface, and plenty of power beneath the hood. For desktop and mobile users, it's a state-of-the-art choice for running today's Windows applications and for getting to the Internet. --Richard Dragan

Product Description

Full Product Built on NT Technology Windows 2000 Professional offers rock-solid reliability and improved manageability that simplify desktop management. And its integrated Web capabilities and broad support for mobile computers and hardware devices make it easy for business users to connect to the Internet and work anywhere anytime. Windows 2000 Professional is built upon the rock-solid reliability of Windows NT technology which makes it significantly more reliable than either Windows 95 or Windows 98 technology. Reliability improvements in Windows 2000 Professional make it even more stable than Windows NT Workstation. Windows 2000 Professional offers high system uptime dynamic system configuration and resilience to application failures. The support for standards-based security in Windows 2000 Professional protects corporate data in stand-alone and networked environments. Windows 2000 Professional offers a set of built-in tools that make it easier to deploy and manage. In addition Windows 2000 Professional offers an intelligent user interface that adapts to the way users work thereby making the users more efficient. Windows 2000 Professional extends the capability of notebooks through support for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) Smart Battery and Advanced Virtual Private Network (VPN). It enables users to Work Anywhere Anytime through support for offline folders and files. The improved hardware support in Windows 2000 Professional includes support for the latest hardware standards including Universal Serial Bus (USB) Infrared Data Association (IrDA) and IEEE 1394. Windows 2000 Professional is designed to make it easier for organizations to embrace the Internet. The built-in Internet Explorer (IE) a tightly integrated browser provides users with a faster and richer Internet experience. With support for Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and Extensible Markup Language.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Windows 2000 is far superior to Windows 98, February 17, 2000

By 

2SLS (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Upgrade - Old Version (CD-ROM)

Let me tell you Microsoft has done something right finally. Windows 2000 has the stability of NT and the compatability of 98(well almost). I have it running for a week(I had advanced copy) so far and there hasn't been a crash nor a blue screen of death like in Windows 98 SE. The basic requirement I think is a lot of ram, 64+ is fine but I think 128 is good and 256 the optimal. Windows 2000 Professional is easy to use, it looks just like Windows 98 except underneath all of it, it's the NT kernel, which means stability. Windows 2000 has gotten rid of DOS(almost) there is very little dos support and you may not be able to play certain legacy games. The good thing is that companies are writing drivers so that there is a lot of compatability with new things. Basically everything you have in Win98 can probably run in Win2000. There is a program you can download at Microsoft.com to check if there are any compatability issues. The fact that Microsoft must first approve software drivers before it is made available to the public is another boon. I hope this has helped you! Windows 2000 is really great compared to Win98 or 95!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I only have one fault with this OS..., September 8, 2001

By 

Jonathan DeWoskin (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Upgrade - Old Version (CD-ROM)

If you're a gamer, you will be disappointed with this OS, because it is not designed to support many popular Win9x games. Happily, this is the ONLY drawback to Windows 2000. In every other respect, this operating system is excellent! For the first time ever, Microsoft brought a product to market that was solid and reliable from the moment you install it.

A compatibility checker program is included on the installation disk to warn you if you have hardware that lacks Windows 2000 support. If you have a popular computer platform, such as a Dell or Compaq, most (if not all) of the necessary drivers will be setup during the installation.

My computer consulting business depends on a solid and reliable operating system. My laptop came with Windows Me and crashed DAILY! Why Bill Gates pushed Windows Me into production without the same care as Windows 2000 is a mystery and a shame.

Here's the deal...

-If you have Windows 98 and use your machine specifically for business, GET WINDOWS 2000! Don't wait for XP. You will pay a lot for multimedia features that require more memory and processor power.

-If you're into gadgets, music and video games don't bother with Windows 2000. Windows 9x/Me will play your titles much better than Windows 2000. You can also wait for Windows XP Home or Professional editions, which Microsoft claims has twice the software compatibility of Windows 2000 and is backward compatible all the way back to DOS. In addition, you will get the stability of Windows NT with your gaming and office work. Bear in mind that XP is for computers less than three years old. Make sure you meet the hardware requirements!

-If your machine is on the older side, (Pentium II 200Mhz or slower) you will not be happy with the XP upgrade. To play games on these systems, I recommend staying with Windows 95/98. Windows 2000 will run on these computers provided the system has at least a Pentium 166 and 64MB of RAM.

Think of Windows 2000 as an all business, no nonsense OS. You get limited multimedia support and a rock solid platform to run your programs. Windows XP will be a combination of the multimedia and plug and play ease of Windows 98 and the stability of the Windows NT architecture. I've read nothing but glowing reviews of XP and intend to experiment with it on my next PC.

Another benefit...
In addition to running on older systems, Windows 2000 Professional was designed specifically for laptops. Those of you running Windows NT4 on a laptop are familiar with the headaches of data corruption and driver installations. Win2000 was designed for laptops. Advanced power management is built in and the hibernation mode is an excellent convenience. I save my work, close the screen and pack the machine in my bag. The computer stores RAM on disk and shuts off. Wake up time is less than one minute on my Dell Inspiron.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best OS Microsoft ever conjured up, June 12, 2002

By 

impitbosshereonlevel2 "impitbosshereonlevel2" (Merced) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Upgrade - Old Version (CD-ROM)

As it often happens with Microsoft, Windows 2000 is another mystery. It was released after one disaster (Windows ME) and before another one (XP).
True, it's not as multimedia-friendly as XP. But 2000 is true to its goal - successor to Windows NT. It's stable as no other Windows OS, much more multimedia-friendly than NT ever was and doesn't require devices made yesterday - it flawlessly supports all devices I currently have (and some of them date from 1992).
From a developer's point of view, 2000 is robust, stable and doesn't waste CPU cycles on stupid things, like soccermomish GUI (*cough* XP! *cough*). I would even go so far as to say that it runs faster on older systems than Windows NT 4 itself (the pinnacle of all things minimum).

I often toyed with the idea of switching to Linux, but Linux GUIs are still either a) too crash-prone or b) unpolished and repugnant to the eye (all this if you look past software availability limitations). Windows 2000 offers the stability of a Unix command-prompt with a pleasing GUI - a combination that will probably not be achieved any time soon.