Read the requirements associated with W2K installations. Both hardware and
software need to meet a certain criteria. Since the hardware was designed
for Win98, chances are that a bios upgrade would be helpful to achieve ACPI
compliance (at a bare minimum).
Next time you face a situation where an upgrade is about to be processed,
run "winnt32 /checkupgradeonly" from the W2K CD. It creates a log file with
a preliminary list of software and hardware issues an upgrade to W2K will
entail. And entail it will.
Let's face it, how do you know if W2K has a driver available for your
display adapter, for example? You can consult the Hardware Abstarction List
or verify the adapter's mnaufacturer's website for W2K specific drivers.
This isn't anything new, it's common knowledge when upgrading from any OS or
when installing from scratch. Not verifying compatibility more often than
not gets you the very symptoms you see.
Lastly, consider that an upgrade is never a good idea since a clean install
will at least not carry over any problems the old OS has. Upgrades should
only be considered when a multi-unit OS upgrade is performed in a
controlled/tested environment. "There are bugs but we know what they are,
testing has confirmed this". In such environments, upgrades can provide a
shorter deployment time (imagine deploying to 2000 units).
