Hi VoyK,
I'm far from an expert, but I've done 7 or 8 Win2k installs (I have the MS universal subscription so I get to play with all three). I have it set up on three different computers (one advanced server, one server, and one pro) all acting as ICS servers; one on DSL, one on cable modem, and one on a USR 56K. If you have win98 drivers but not Win2K, I have found that doing a clean install with WinME and then upgrading to Win2K works very well. I have an NEC Z1, (from NEC-Packard Bell) and they have the worst support site on the internet. In fact had I realized it was packard-bell branded, I never would have bought it. The power supply went two weeks after I bought it and they wanted me to drive 60 miles to drop it off at a repair site and then pick it up. I just bought a new one for $75 and replaced it myself. Anyway, it was fairly flaky under Win9x but has worked flawlessly under Win2k Pro after upgrading from the WinME clean install (I assume a Win98 upgrade would be similar). Too bad about NEC. I had APC IV 286 in the 80s that was a super machine as is this machine, but...
As far as a clean Win2k install goes, I just boot from the CDROM and delete the existing partitions and go. Haven't had any trouble. I have also replaced Win2k twice. I also boot from the CDROM and it asks if you want to install in the current directory (\winnt), a different directory, or reformat the partition using NTFS or FAT32. If you do not reformat the drive it will due a security wipe of the winnt and settings directories and then do a clean install. The bennie is you get to keep your other data. If you have multiple multiple partitions/drives it will automatically default to a clean install on the one that does not have your current install. I got to do this twice. The first time was because of a Microsoft flaw where the add/remove programs control panel function gets corrupted (see the MS knowledge base). The second was when I bought a logitech optical mouse (I dislike continually cleaning the fluff out of mechanical mice for smooth action<g>) to replace a logitech wheel mouse and it wouldn't recognize the wheel. I uninstalled, reinstalled, nothing worked. Yet if I installed it as a generic PS/2 mouse it worked fine (but then I couldn't use their software to reprogram the buttons). Anyway, after deleting all logitech references in the registry, no mouse worked so I did a reinstall and it worked perfect.
Sorry to be so long winded, hope this helps.
Best,
Steve |
