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esr_quantum
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November 12th, 2007 11:00
Loading Windows2000 on new Dell PC platform.....
I have a customer that smoked a PC which was purchased and set up back in 1998. The operating system was Windows NT4.0 and the software that was running on it is no longer supported and no upgrades will be made. They want to get this system set up again... I know that the various software has been validated under Windows 2000 pro. The issue is that I am not sure if I can get Windows2000 pro running on new PC hardware such as a new Dell Optiplex or something similar. They have some leftover W2K licenses & software that we can load with, so the legal stuff wont be an issue, nor will the software.
Has anyone had any luck doing this, or any advice to offer?
Thanks,
esr_quantum
esr_quantum
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Posted November 12th, 2007 11:00
There are comm ports on a PCI card that will be installed and will be used by a few of the applications. So the virtual PC option may be out.I guess as long as the answer to running an older operating system on new hardware is not 100% 'NO', then I at least have a chance of getting a lab environment set up to check things out. I just need to make sure I have my ducks in a row so I can discuss the options and potential brick walls with our customer.Thanks for the reply!- You could always look on Ebay for a 2nd hand Optiplex GX260 or so (stay away from the GX270) and then maybe pick up a 2nd one for spare parts in case something fails on the first one. Dell seems to have driver downloads for Windows 2000 for that system for sure.
Old software (OSes) on new hardware may not have full hardware support, so matching the hardware to the software may be needed for the most compatible environment.
Dev Mgr
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Posted November 12th, 2007 11:00
If not, have you considered downloading and installing VMware Server (free product) or Microsoft Virtual PC and using that to run a virtual instance of NT4 or Windows 2000?
You may be able to find XP drivers that may work on Windows 2000, but it becomes a lot of "may" and if the functionality is important enough a virtual environment could be the answer to your requirements.