1. On the box, at your local retailer.
2. At
www.microsoft.com.
Most importantly, if you are dealing with an older system,
pay attention to the stringent W2k software/hardware
requirements. W2k is not at all forgiving:
1. Software: You must be certain at W2k install time you
have the latest available W2k-specific drivers for all
motherboard and peripheral devices. Drivers written for
older systems will not work.
2. Software: W2k (and all NT-class systems) include a DOS
simulator, but do not include real DOS - as did Win3.x,
Win9x, and WinME. Most, but not all, apps written for a
DOS environment will execute properly. If you are a
gamer, be particularly cautious. The more cleverly a
DOS/Win9x game coder wrote code to optimize speed by
using machine-level routines, the less likely that game
will execute under a W2k-class system.
3. Hardware: there is a published hardware compatibility
list (HCL) at
www.microsoft.com. Checking your hardware
against it is time-consuming but with an older system
can be a very good idea. However:
4. Hardware: if you can borrow a W2k install CD, you can
mount it in your machine and from any 32-bit WinOS run
[CD:]\i386\winnt32.exe /checkupgradeonly
which will scan your system and report any potential W2k
compatibility problems it finds, along with suggestions
for addressing them. With that parameter winnt32.exe
WILL NOT START an actual install, although the program
is the W2k installer. The 16-bit installer version,
winnt.exe, does not have that parameter.
#4 above is by far the quickest way to get a feel for
overall system compatibility with W2k, if you can use it.
And be aware also that street wisdom around here says that
upgrade installations are iffy, and it's a much better idea
in the long run to do a clean W2k install.
Good luck.
