Number 195 - August 1999
Windows 2000 Beta Kit
by Wayne Steen, Q-Bits co-editor, July 1999, Quad Cities Computer Society
    The biggest beta test in the history of the computer software industry is currently underway and you can participate. Microsoft is currently beta testing Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server.

   Anyone can participate in this beta evaluation program. All you have to do is go to:
            http://www.microsoft.com/windows
and click on the Windows 2000 beta kit evaluation link. You can then sign up for beta 3 trial versions of Windows 2000 Professional (formerly known as Windows NT Workstation 5.0) and Windows 2000 Server (formerly known as Windows NT Server 5.0) for $59.95 plus shipping and handling. The beta versions are good for 300 days from the day you first install them on your computer(s).

   You should, however, have experience with computers and software to participate in this program. You also should never1 use beta software in a mission critical computer environment. In other words, use beta software in a computer setting that you can mess things up in, because you probably will mess things up. This is what Microsoft wants--they want to know what problems people have with their software before they release the final version of Windows 2000 later this year.

    I will give you some advice on Windows 2000 Professional. Windows 2000 Server should only be used by computer users who have networking experience! Windows 2000 Professional can be used as a standalone software program or can be part of a network.

    In order to use Windows 2000 professional you should have a Pentium 166 (or faster) computer with at least 64 MB RAM and a CD-ROM drive. I do not recommend that you put Windows 2000 Professional on a computer with less than 64 MB RAM, because otherwise Windows 2000 Professional runs slower than a turtle stuck in hardened concrete. Microsoft does include a special 25% discount on upgrading memory on your computer(s) from Kingston Technology in the beta kit.

    Before you install Windows 2000 Professional you should do the following. First, fully backup your computer and then insert the Windows CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.

    When the Windows 2000 installation start up screen appears close it. You need to find if your computer's hardware is compatible with Windows 2000. In Windows Explorer double click on on your CD-ROM drive. The contents of the Windows 2000 Professional CD will appear in the right-hand screen of Windows Explorer. Double click the I386 folder in the right-hand part of the screen. The contents of the I386 folder then appear in the right-hand screen of Explorer.
    Scroll through the right-hand screen of Explorer until you find the file Chkupgrd (they are listed in alphabetical order). When you double click Chkupgrd, your computer will open a MS-DOS batch file that will examine your computer.

    This program will then return a compatibility list of what hardware and software components which work and not work with Windows 2000 Professional. You should print this list. You may have to uninstall some software that is not compatible with Windows 2000 Professional and you may have to find drivers on the Internet for hardware that is not compatible with Windows 2000 Professional.

    You should complete the tasks above before installing Windows 2000 Professional. When you are ready to install Windows 2000 Professional you have two options. Option 1 will install Windows 2000 over your present operating system (under this option your old operating system will be gone forever unless you have backed up your old operating system to a storage device).

    Option 2 (which I recommend) will allow you to dual boot your computer with your present operating system or your new Windows 2000 Professional. You should create a new partition for Windows 2000 Professional. For example, you should have Windows 95 on your C: partition and Windows 2000 Professional on your D: partition. The partition for Windows 2000 should be at least 500 MB.

    Under Option 2, you will have to reinstall your software on Windows 2000, but this is a better option than installing a beta version software program as your only operating system on your computer.

    Good luck and remember to fully back up your computer before installing any new software. Windows 2000 is crucial to the future of Microsoft. This is one time that Microsoft will listen to us (the consumers) about their software. If you have ever complained about Microsoft in the past, this is your chance to do something about it. You can help create the next century's first important operating system.

1TOGGLE Editor's Note:

    Repeating: You also should never use beta software in a mission critical computer environment. For example, in our case, we wouldn't use it on the computer used to produce the newsletter, or run the Website, or keep a company's books or payroll records. This may seem obvious, but it always amazes us how trusting (dare we say gullible?) some folks are. Trust no one with your Operating System.
 
  Number 195 - August 1999