Upgrade Win95 to Win2000

[LV]

I have Win95 on an old machine and have the Win2000 software to upgrade it.
Can I use the Win2000 CD to "upgrade" from Win95, or do I have to do a
complete rebuild? Does that involve reformatting hard drive, installing all
drivers, operating system, etc.? If so, I'm am very hesitant since I've
never rebuilt a machine from scratch, although I'm plenty experienced
installing apps, updating existing drivers, etc.. Could someone give - or
point me to - good instructions for upgrading from Win95 to Win2000?

Dumb question, but if you reformat C:, how do you access the CD drive to
even install Win2000? Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Thanks.

 

[Dave Patrick]

IMO it's simply not worth the trouble, given that you'll more than likely
end up with an unstable OS with all the remnants/ corruption left behind
from the upgrade. Best to blow it all away and go for the clean install.

To do a clean install, either boot the CD-Rom or boot the Windows 2000 setup
disks. The set of four install disks can be created from your Win2k CD-rom;
change to the \bootdisk directory on the cd-rom and execute makeboot.exe
(from dos) or makebt32.exe (from 32 bit) and follow the prompts.

When you get to the point, delete the existing NTFS and or other partitions
found. After you delete the partition(s) abort the install, then again
restart the pc booting the CD-Rom or setup disks to avoid unexpected drive
letter assignments with your new install.

During Windows 2000 setup, at some point, will want to confirm the previous
operating system for the upgrade; at that point you'll simply insert the
qualified product install CD for it to verify. Then the install will
proceed.

Check the pc, mb or hardware manufacturer's web site for the latest bios and
or Windows 2000 drivers for your devices.

 

[Donald]

I have Win95 on an old machine and have the Win2000 software to upgrade
it.

Can I use the Win2000 CD to "upgrade" from Win95, or do I have to do a
complete rebuild?

Yes, but your system has to meet the minimum hardware requirements, must
have a bios that support W2k , older hardware may not have available w2k
drivers (check vendor support sites, and check the MS HCL
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/search.mspx ) and some of your
applications may not be supported by w2k pro.

Minimum/Recommended system hardware requirements for W2K:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/professional/howtobuy/upgrading/default.asp

Also might find this MS Knowledgebase article useful:
250297 - How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;250297&Product=win2000
Support Webcast on installing w2k:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/webcasts/wc071800/wc071800.asp?fr=1
Technet:
Client Upgrade to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/w2kclupg.asp
Important Upgrade Issues to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/impupg2k.asp

If you do perfom an upgrade, I suggest NOTchanging to the NTFS file system
immediately, and sticking with what you are using now, either fat 16 or fat
32, both of which are supported by W2k, but don't have the reliability and
security of NTFS. Do so after you have upgraded to W2k from 95 using Disk
Management.
Others may disagree, my preference comes form personal experience. All these
upgrade concerns are of course avoided by doing a clean install.

The suggestion to do a clean install was wise, unless you absolutely need to
use certain old apps. If that's the case, I' suggest just getting a second
HD and installing w2k on that drive, and running a dual boot setup. I'm
assuming your hard drive is smaller than 5 GB.

My experience is that you need to allot at least 3.5 - 4 GB for your boot
partition, especially if you intend on installing several apps and/or
backing up after patching/updating service packs.

Dumb question, but if you reformat C:, how do you access the CD drive to
even install Win2000? Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Depending on the age of your motherboard, a BIOS UPDATE may have been
released that enables booting from the cd drive, thus enabling you to boot
from the W2k insalll cd.

Your bios may already be capable of doing that.

If it is, you'll want to change your booting sequence, so that it starts
with "CDROM", instead of "C" or "A".

Otherwise, use your startup disk (if you still have one) or download one
from (my suggestion, several sources out there online):
http://www.putergeek.com/downloads/

Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Yes, switch to the cdrom drive, then goto: / I386/winnt32.exe

 

[Donald]

I have Win95 on an old machine and have the Win2000 software to upgrade
it.

Can I use the Win2000 CD to "upgrade" from Win95, or do I have to do a
complete rebuild?

Yes, but your system has to meet the minimum hardware requirements, must
have a bios that support W2k , older hardware may not have available w2k
drivers (check vendor support sites, and check the MS HCL
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/search.mspx ) and some of your
applications may not be supported by w2k pro.

Minimum/Recommended system hardware requirements for W2K:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/professional/howtobuy/upgrading/default.asp

Also might find this MS Knowledgebase article useful:
250297 - How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;250297&Product=win2000
Support Webcast on installing w2k:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/webcasts/wc071800/wc071800.asp?fr=1
Technet:
Client Upgrade to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/w2kclupg.asp
Important Upgrade Issues to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/impupg2k.asp

If you do perfom an upgrade, I suggest NOTchanging to the NTFS file system
immediately, and sticking with what you are using now, either fat 16 or fat
32, both of which are supported by W2k, but don't have the reliability and
security of NTFS. Do so after you have upgraded to W2k from 95 using Disk
Management.
Others may disagree, my preference comes form personal experience. All these
upgrade concerns are of course avoided by doing a clean install.

The suggestion to do a clean install was wise, unless you absolutely need to
use certain old apps. If that's the case, I' suggest just getting a second
HD and installing w2k on that drive, and running a dual boot setup. I'm
assuming your hard drive is smaller than 5 GB.

My experience is that you need to allot at least 3.5 - 4 GB for your boot
partition, especially if you intend on installing several apps and/or
backing up after patching/updating service packs.

Dumb question, but if you reformat C:, how do you access the CD drive to
even install Win2000? Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Depending on the age of your motherboard, a BIOS UPDATE may have been
released that enables booting from the cd drive, thus enabling you to boot
from the W2k insalll cd.

Your bios may already be capable of doing that.

If it is, you'll want to change your booting sequence, so that it starts
with "CDROM", instead of "C" or "A".

Otherwise, use your startup disk (if you still have one) or download one
from (my suggestion, several sources out there online):
http://www.putergeek.com/downloads/

Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Yes, switch to the cdrom drive, then goto: / I386/winnt32.exe

 

[Donald]

I have Win95 on an old machine and have the Win2000 software to upgrade
it.

Can I use the Win2000 CD to "upgrade" from Win95, or do I have to do a
complete rebuild?

Yes, but your system has to meet the minimum hardware requirements, must
have a bios that support W2k , older hardware may not have available w2k
drivers (check vendor support sites, and check the MS HCL
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/search.mspx ) and some of your
applications may not be supported by w2k pro.

Minimum/Recommended system hardware requirements for W2K:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/professional/howtobuy/upgrading/default.asp

Also might find this MS Knowledgebase article useful:
250297 - How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;250297&Product=win2000
Support Webcast on installing w2k:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/webcasts/wc071800/wc071800.asp?fr=1
Technet:
Client Upgrade to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/w2kclupg.asp
Important Upgrade Issues to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/impupg2k.asp

If you do perfom an upgrade, I suggest NOTchanging to the NTFS file system
immediately, and sticking with what you are using now, either fat 16 or fat
32, both of which are supported by W2k, but don't have the reliability and
security of NTFS. Do so after you have upgraded to W2k from 95 using Disk
Management.
Others may disagree, my preference comes form personal experience. All these
upgrade concerns are of course avoided by doing a clean install.

The suggestion to do a clean install was wise, unless you absolutely need to
use certain old apps. If that's the case, I' suggest just getting a second
HD and installing w2k on that drive, and running a dual boot setup. I'm
assuming your hard drive is smaller than 5 GB.

My experience is that you need to allot at least 3.5 - 4 GB for your boot
partition, especially if you intend on installing several apps and/or
backing up after patching/updating service packs.

Dumb question, but if you reformat C:, how do you access the CD drive to
even install Win2000? Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Depending on the age of your motherboard, a BIOS UPDATE may have been
released that enables booting from the cd drive, thus enabling you to boot
from the W2k insalll cd.

Your bios may already be capable of doing that.

If it is, you'll want to change your booting sequence, so that it starts
with "CDROM", instead of "C" or "A".

Otherwise, use your startup disk (if you still have one) or download one
from (my suggestion, several sources out there online):
http://www.putergeek.com/downloads/

Start from a DOS prompt, I presume...?

Yes, switch to the cdrom drive, then goto: / I386/winnt32.exe

 

[Donald]

apologies for the multiple posts

Yes, but your system has to meet the minimum hardware requirements, must
have a bios that support W2k , older hardware may not have available w2k
drivers (check vendor support sites, and check the MS HCL
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/search.mspx ) and some of your
applications may not be supported by w2k pro.

Minimum/Recommended system hardware requirements for W2K:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/professional/howtobuy/upgrading/default.asp

Also might find this MS Knowledgebase article useful:
250297 - How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;250297&Product=win2000
Support Webcast on installing w2k:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/webcasts/wc071800/wc071800.asp?fr=1
Technet:
Client Upgrade to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/w2kclupg.asp
Important Upgrade Issues to Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...ndows2000pro/deploy/upgrdmigrate/impupg2k.asp

If you do perfom an upgrade, I suggest NOTchanging to the NTFS file system
immediately, and sticking with what you are using now, either fat 16 or fat
32, both of which are supported by W2k, but don't have the reliability and
security of NTFS. Do so after you have upgraded to W2k from 95 using Disk
Management.
Others may disagree, my preference comes form personal experience. All these
upgrade concerns are of course avoided by doing a clean install.

The suggestion to do a clean install was wise, unless you absolutely need to
use certain old apps. If that's the case, I' suggest just getting a second
HD and installing w2k on that drive, and running a dual boot setup. I'm
assuming your hard drive is smaller than 5 GB.

My experience is that you need to allot at least 3.5 - 4 GB for your boot
partition, especially if you intend on installing several apps and/or
backing up after patching/updating service packs.


Depending on the age of your motherboard, a BIOS UPDATE may have been
released that enables booting from the cd drive, thus enabling you to boot
from the W2k insalll cd.

Your bios may already be capable of doing that.

If it is, you'll want to change your booting sequence, so that it starts
with "CDROM", instead of "C" or "A".

Otherwise, use your startup disk (if you still have one) or download one
from (my suggestion, several sources out there online):
http://www.putergeek.com/downloads/


Yes, switch to the cdrom drive, then goto: / I386/winnt32.exe