Install Windows 2000 Pro over XP

Question

My Inspiron 8000 with Windows 2000 Pro just died.  I need to buy a new computer that will run the MS Dos version of Lotus 123.  I have spent thousands of hours creating macros for Lotus 123 spreadsheets.  Others people I've talked to were sadly dissappointed to find that XP will not run their old DOS Lotus spreadsheets and macros.  I use my laptop at home, brows the Internet using Internet Explorer.  My email program is Outlook Express. I download digital picture from a camera and bank on the Internet. I also take my laptop on extended trips in a recreation vehicle. I understand that new computers no longer come with the option of Windows 2000 Pro.  I still have the Windows 2000 pro install disk and a disk containg Service Pack 4. (1)  If I buy a new computer with XP installed, how big a job would it be for me to install 2000 Pro over it? (4)  If I install 2000 Pro, would I still be able to use all of the software that comes with a new computer? I definetly need to know what I am getting into before I order a new computer. Thanks for your input

SloMoShun · Answer

Q. 1) 'If I buy a new computer with XP installed, how big a job would it be for me to install 2000 Pro over it?' One cannot install the older Windows 2000 over the newer Windows XP.A 'clean install' of Windows 2000 is required. The Windows 2000 CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary to partition and format your drive. Prior to the 'clean install', it would be a good idea to have you new computers hardware drivers and motherboard chipset drivers downloaded to a cd to speed up the installation without connecting to the Internet. If you would like to read a 'How To' on the W2K installation procedure, check out this site: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/win2k_pro_install.asp Q. 2) 'If I install 2000 Pro, would I still be able to use all of the software that comes with a new computer?' Ummm...tough question. The best answer that I can offer is 'maybe yes; maybe no'. This is because much of todays software is written with Win XP in mind - particularly when it's OEM software.In many cases it has been 'tweaked' to work with the specific computer and operating system in mind. Basically, I wouldn't count on it and I would purchase the new computer with the smallest software bundle available to avoid disappointment and extra expense. Message Edited by SloMoShun on 07-01-200601:44 PM

chaistt · Answer

Or you could create another partition on your hard drive and dual boot Win XP and Win 2K, then anything you need to run on 2K you can boot into 2K but still keeping XP.

Shobs8900 · Answer

Despite the above posting, it is possible to install Win 2k over XP on the same partition, though not easy for a novice.  I happened to successfully install 2k over XP on a Latitude D610.  The reason why it is not easy is because the older 2k operating system won't recognize the newer XP OS.  As a result, when 2k is running its bootstrap loader files, it won't include the XP install as an option to boot to.  Thus, the XP install is still on your hard drive and would work just fine if your computer just knew that it could boot to it.  To fix this, first back up your XP NTLDR and Ntdetect.com files (or just have your XP CD handy; they're in the I386 folder).  (I forgot to do this and didn't have my CD since the XP is owned by my work and was fortunately able to find a valid file on the internet).  Then install 2k as you normally would, just don't delete or reformat the partition.  Simply install 2k over XP, as you have desired.  Then simply replace 2k's NTLDR and Ntdetect files with the newer XP ones and restart.  The boot file will then try to boot XP and when it does so, it will notice the 2k installation and add this to the list of boot options.  Problem solved.  Only glitch that I had with this is that Windows Media Player 9.0 doesn't work for me in 2k.  I think it has something to do with WMP 10 being installed on XP and there being some sort of driver/application/registry conflict.  No biggie.  Even though I prefer WMP, I just downloaded another music application to use while logged into 2k.   As an alternative to the above, I believe (though I haven't tried it) that you can fix the bootloader issue by installing XP over 2k or by using the Recovery Console to fix the boot files.  Search MS Knowledge Base Article 315233

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