Do you really need to upgrade your operating system? Did you already make the switch from Windows 95 to 98? And if so, are you using your computer for recreational or business purposes? These questions need to be answered before you even think about getting a copy of Windows 2000 and loading it on your computer.

There are four different versions of Windows 2000 that are currently being sold. These new versions of Windows actually replace Windows NT 4, not Windows 98. The versions are Windows 2000 Professional ( for use on power workstations and business desktops) , Windows 2000 Server (used at small or medium level businesses), Windows 2000 Advanced Server (large businesses) and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server (data warehousing and critical applications).

Does this mean that home users can't run Windows 2000? No, a computer that is for home use can be run on Windows 2000. But there are some serious trade-offs in doing so. If you have an older computer with 64 MB of RAM you will suffer huge lag times and frequent system crashes. And you will probably have to upgrade every hardware driver on your system, from video cards to hard drives.

Another thing that might scare away the home user is the price. The upgrade for Windows 2000 Professional is over $ 150 and the full version is about double that.

If the pricing doesn't discourage the home user, the compatibility problems might. There are a lot of low end software products that will not run under Windows 2000. Remember what I said earlier about this being a replacement for Windows NT? Microsoft has made a huge effort to support software that is business related. Some of the lesser products were left in the dust.

Even some business software won't work in the NT/Windows 2000 environment. (This happened just last week in my office when someone tried to use a CD-ROM based training program that was designed for Windows 95 on an NT machine. The program would work only part way, losing some of the audio and
video segments). And there are various hardware items that won't work under the Windows 2000 environment

The minimum system requirements for Windows 2000 Professional are a 133mhz Pentium compatible computer with 64 MB of RAM. The recommended set-up is a Pentium II with at least 128 MB of RAM.
You will also need a 2 GB hard drive with about 650 MB of free space on it. You will need either a CD-ROM or a DVD drive to install the program.

If you are running a small business out of your home, Windows 2000 Server might seem appealing. It offers some advanced Internet functions, along with remote access features not found in Windows 98. If you need a secured environment, the operating system now has new safeguards to protect your data from prying eyes. There are also less system crashes so critical data won't be lost and you can find relief in the fact that your down time will reduce considerably.

For high dpi scanners and printers, Windows 2000 Server offers updated support. There again, some drivers may need to be updated to accommodate the needs of the operating system. But you won't have to overwrite your entire config.sys files or reinstall all of your software, just certain ones.

Using a notebook computer in your business? Windows 2000 Server has a few goodies for you. You will be able to change out your PC Card peripherals without having to shut down and reboot the system. There is also a Remote Folders feature that allows you float files between the notebook and a desktop or server system.

One of the best features of Windows 2000 Server is the Windows Active Directory. This feature is actually a database of all the elements of your network. It lists all of the users and the restrictions for each. There are listings for each node on the network. Each system and peripheral has information about it in the Active Directory.

Are you running a Web server? Then Windows 2000 Server is definitely worth upgrading to. Part of the installation process of Windows 2000 Server (and Advanced Server) adds the Internet Information Server 5.0 to your system. This element will make managing and hosting web sites easy and unassuming. No longer do you have to grapple with obscure remote administration tasks. They are handled simply and quickly through IIS 5.0.

Using Active Server Pages for your sites take on an added value with Windows 2000. With some of the gee whiz stuff that it does behind the scenes, there is a visibly shorter transfer rate from the server to a user. You will also be able to make the web page that the user sees compatible with their browser.

If you are running a multiple processor server, there is now four-way symmetric multiprocessing support (SMP) in Windows 2000 Server. The Advanced Server has an eight-way SMP. This can prop up the performance in the server by as much as 200 to 300 percent. You can also cluster computers together with Windows 2000 Server in a RAID type of environment.

The built-in support system has been beefed up. There are now a lot more tutorials in the Contents listing than NT 4 had. Some of the subjects that are covered have wizards to step you through the problem.

If you like your Desktop jazzed up a little, the taskbar is similar to the one in Windows 98. There are customizable icons and the Start menu has been changed for ease of use. Menus can be set up the way you want them.

Another feature that has been beefed up in Windows 2000 is the Add/ Remove applet. There is now a dialog box that lists each program along with details like how large they are, how often they are used and
the last time a program was accessed. If you need specific information about a program that could possibly be deleted, it is now as easy as pie to make the decision based on the information that Add/Remove now provides.

The Offline Files feature is also very appealing. This replaces the Windows Briefcase, which was cumbersome at best. You can automatically update and move files from a remote computer like a notebook on to your workstation or server. You will also be able to encrypt files so that they are secured and unavailable for viewing by unauthorized persons.

There are licensing structures for each version of Windows 2000. The Server version can come with as little as five user licenses or as many as twenty-five. The Advanced Server has twenty-five user licenses.

The pricing for Windows 2000 Professional, Server and Advanced Server versions vary between retailers. Egghead has Win 2000 Pro at a $ 189.95 upgrade price. They have an upgrade price of $ 499.95 for a 5 license version of Windows 2000 Server and $ 2,399.95 for a 25 license upgrade version of the Advanced Server. PC Mall and PC Connection both have slightly higher prices.

So, after reading all that I've put down about this new operating system, there is still the questions that were posed to you at the beginning. Do you need really need to upgrade your operating system or are you trying to play Keeping Up With The Jones?

Is your computer used for recreational or business purposes? If you use the computer just for fun or non professional stuff, it probably would be best to wait until next year when Microsoft expects to release the new upgrade to Windows 98. It is tentatively being called Windows ME ( Millinum Edition)

You will also need to look carefully at the restrictions and requirements for the various versions. If you need to change a lot of your software or add hardware items to accomidate the new operating system, it might be wise to determine the costs before doing this. The outlay may well be more than you had ever intended to spend on an operating system.

The bottom line is that if you are using Windows NT , Windows 2000 should be the next step up the ladder. If not, then wait till Microsoft releases the sequel to Windows 98.

Before making a final decision, go and visit the official Microsoft web site. They have a lot more information about the products than I have given here. There is even some compatibility charts so that you can see if your computer is really ready for Windows 2000. The site can be found at www.microsoft.com.

Copyright © 2000 Bruce E. Von Stiers