Windows 2000 Pro - identifying a debug build

[Sanju]

Hi, I bought a W2K Pro CD with COA and license from the
Internet and installed it. Recently when I tried to run
SP4 network install, it gave me a message saying, "setup
couldnt update a checked (debug) build with a free (retail)
version or viceversa". My questions are how do you
identify a Windows version as checked or free? Also is
there a way to switch from checked to free version? Thanks!

 

[Colon Terminus]

The only way I know to identify the version is to watch the
screen during boot. The "free" version will display at the top of
a black screen "Windows 2000 Professional build 2195free" during
boot.

I don't know for sure about the ability to "upgrade" a checked
version to a free version, but my guess is that you'd have to do
a complete reinstall.

 

[Gary Smith]

The only way I know to identify the version is to watch the
screen during boot. The "free" version will display at the top of
a black screen "Windows 2000 Professional build 2195free" during
boot.

You can see that message in the event log. Open the event viewer and look
for event 6009 in the System log. Mine says:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: EventLog
Event Category: None
Event ID: 6009
Date: 10/20/2003
Time: 22:04:44
User: N/A
Computer: HM-GLS
Description:
Microsoft (R) Windows 2000 (R) 5.0 2195 Service Pack 3 Uniprocessor Free.