Windows 2000 tips, tricks, updates & tools.
Introduction:
Windows 2000, deemed the ‘professional’ brother of Windows ME. Internally, Windows XP became an updated Windows 2000 as it was known for its stability. That being said Windows XP drivers can work in Windows 2000 with some tweaks.
Installation:
Custom disk images:
First, you’ll need to get Windows itself installed, which I recommended to do using this ISO:
Windows 2000 ISO image with all updates
Windows 2000 ISO with more extra’s. (MiniDVD sized)
ISO’s are disk image files, which you can burn to a CD with tools like ImgBurn.
Thus the first ISO includes most updates to get you started, but doesnt do anything else.
The MiniDVD sized ISO does a lot more: (1.2GB)
Windows 2000 Custom: 2020 Edition
Firefox 10, Silverlight 4, Flash Player 11, OpenOffice 3.2.1, lotsa .NET Framework updates for runtimes, WMP 9, some other updates and pre-configured to run BlackWingCat custom drivers/kernels.
Extra: Office 2003 Pro (Self-activating + Unattended: right click on CD icon)
Also use the AutoRun menu to execute the Extended Kernel 2.9i installer after installation.
Things of note:
They are both bootable, doen’t require a product key, and the install is FULLY unattended.
It creates an admin user “WIN2K” which logs in automatically with no user/pass prompt, it’ll set the timezone to EST (GMT – 5hrs) and set the workgroup to “RESEAU” but you can change any of these post-install.
After the regular install part is done it should reboot twice. Before the last reboot it will load into the operating system and install some final updates that nLite can’t integrate.
Wait until everything is done and it will reboot for the last time.
This will install all updates that were officially released until November 2010. To get Windows Update working though, it’ll require some extra tools & updates that were released later on:
NOTE: Since August 8 2020, Microsoft no longer supports Microsoft Update due to end of life of its SHA-1 signing. Updating this way is no longer possible!
Windows Update no longer initiates on Windows 2000 unless the following requirements are met:
- Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is installed here Clicky
- Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 is installed here Clicky
- Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 is installed Clicky
- Windows Update Agent 3.0 is installed – most important! Clicky
- March 2012 Root Certificates Update is installed: Clicky
Other updates / tweaks
BlackWingCat Extended Kernel: Clicky (Japanese website)
Most recent version can be found at the site mentioned above, just look for “Windows2000-KB935839-v29b-x86-ENU.exe” or a file in that format.
The v29b mentions the version, be sure to grab the latest one, plus ENU means that it’s English, not Japanese.
If you can’t figure out the Japanese website: Clicky for local link (faster)
This adds a LOT more internal features to Windows. This will let you run a LOT more software on Windows 2000, from XP or even Vista and Windows 7!
For more tools, software & other tweaks that’ll help you run Windows 2000 better, see BlackWingCat’s website: (Japanese) Clicky
For more information, tools, updates. I recommend looking at:
- HFSLIP, lots of updates, tips & tricks: Clicky
- Windows 2000 ESSENTIAL FREE Upgrades + Fixes: Clicky (warning: MDGx is GINORMOUS)
- GreyGhost’s Unofficial Updates page: Clicky
- ERPMan’s Windows 2000, XP & Server 2003 System Updates Page Clicky
Browsers
- Firefox 10.0 Extended Support Release (Official) Clicky
- Opera 12.02: (Fully tested) Clicky
- Firefox 47.0 will work if you’re running the Extended Kernel (see above) Clicky
- If installed with Extended Kernel, you can use Firefox 52: Clicky
Conclusion:
Windows 2000 is deemed as Abandonware, and thus is readiliy available all over the internet. With some tweaks and tricks you can get a lot more out of this old operating system then otherwise possible. All thanks to great community support and enthusiasts!
I hope your enjoy the custom ISO disk images and see what the improved hardware support can do for you.
Thanks for reading!