Getting Started
It was never difficult to install Windows NT 4.0, but its lack of support for Plug and Play and the somewhat limited (by Windows 95 standards) list of compatible hardware made installing NT more of a chore than it needed to be. Windows 2000, which is easy to install and accepts most peripherals, changes all that.

Supports Most Peripherals
Windows 2000 isn't perfect, though. For example, Microsoft isn't beating down the doors of joystick makers for Windows 2000 drivers (best wait until next year for Windows Millennium for gaming support). But the new OS does support an extensive list of hardware that's appropriate for business use, including USB (Universal Serial Bus), and IEEE 1394 (FireWire) peripherals. Of course, it also accepts all standard sound, graphics, network, and SCSI cards.
In fact, we tested four different systems, including an IBM ThinkPad 600E laptop, a 450-MHz Pentium III, and a dual-processor Pentium Pro HP Vectra, and we encountered only a couple of glitches with our peripherals. For instance, an ancient AccelGraphics video card caused one PC to freeze on start-up (swapping to a more recent card solved the problem), and our HP PhotoSmart scanner wouldn't load one driver. Admittedly, however, neither device was on Microsoft's list of supported peripherals, so we strongly recommend that you investigate whether your peripherals will work with Windows 2000 before you decide to upgrade.

No Need to Overwrite Your Old OS
If you have authorized hardware--which includes most machines made in the last couple of years--it's a breeze to set up Windows 2000. With its new support for Plug and Play, the OS correctly identified our systems and peripherals and automatically installed drivers without any help from us. Even better, Windows 2000 lets you upgrade from either Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 systems without overwriting the existing configuration. That way, you won't have to reinstall all of your software (as you did with NT 4.0).
Whether you upgrade or do a fresh installation, you shouldn't experience serious problems. When we upgraded a Windows 98 machine, we had only two small glitches: we had to reinsert our Outlook 2000 disc after setup so that Office 2000 could update a component, and some of our software (such as PowerQuest's PartitionMagic) wouldn't work. But the installation program provided a list of such incompatible products and gave us a chance to change our minds before the final installation began.
On setup, Windows 2000 proved to be one of the easiest installations we've encountered--it beats NT 4.0 by a mile.

Laptop Ready
Windows 2000's biggest surprise is that it makes such a good laptop operating system. Windows NT 4.0 didn't appeal to most notebook users and manufacturers because of its hit-and-miss support for laptop hardware, and because it had few power management options. But Windows 2000--with its enhanced support for advanced power management, docking stations, and other laptop features--is an ideal OS for the latest portable hardware.

Sychronize and Encrypt Files With Ease
One of our favorite Windows 2000 laptop goodies is the Offline Files tool. Windows 98's and NT's old Briefcase system, a portable folder that synchronized files between your laptop and a desktop system, wasn't terribly elegant or flexible. The new Offline Files feature in Windows 2000, on the other hand, lets you automatically update cached copies of critical files on your laptop; you won't have to move them to a special folder or briefcase to make sure they sync when you reconnect to your network. When disconnected from your network, you work on the cached versions. Once you reconnect, the files automatically synchronize based on the last time they were modified. Best of all, your network folders look and act the same whether or not you're connected to the network. It's a slick tool we became fond of quickly.
The updated OS also lets you encrypt files and folders on your hard drive, a serious boon to laptop security. If you have critical files that need protection from prying eyes, simply select the Encrypt option in the file's or folder's Properties dialog box, and Windows 2000 locks out anyone who doesn't log in with your username and password.

New Power Management Options
Windows 2000's support for the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is another bonus for the latest laptops. If your system supports ACPI, Windows 2000 automatically turns off your screen and hard disk or switches into low-power standby mode after a set amount of time; you decide how long. Nothing new there. But ACPI also lets applications talk to hardware and vice versa. For instance, your laptop could tell applications when it goes on battery power, giving them a chance to stop performing power-draining tasks. And if you put your portable into a docking station, Windows 2000 will detect the new hardware in the system you're docking into, then reconfigure itself on start-up (or even on the fly, if your hardware supports hot docking).

One Caveat
We ran Windows 2000 on an IBM ThinkPad 600E and a Toshiba Tecra 740CDT for several weeks, and we won't be switching OSs anytime soon. But we have one big caution: Windows 2000 isn't compatible with every laptop, particularly some older models. Before you upgrade, check Microsoft's site for compatibility information.

Smooth Performance
All along, Microsoft has touted Windows 2000 as the fastest Windows yet. But while our testing showed that it certainly isn't any slower than Windows 98 under typical conditions, most users probably won't notice a significant increase in speed as they perform daily tasks.

Behind-the-Scenes Speed Tweaks
Windows 2000 adds numerous security, administrative, and ease-of-use features, yet it stays nimble on its feet thanks to some behind-the-scenes technology. For instance, Windows 2000 handles memory better than Windows 98 or NT do. When your applications need specific data from RAM, Windows 2000 makes it easier to find. It also creates a Registry cache that stores commonly accessed information from the Registry while eliminating less important data, which further boosts performance. And most of these new optimization features do their work when you're not working (for example, during typing breaks while you think and stare at the screen). As a result, you may never notice that anything is going on.

Don't Skimp on Hardware
Windows 2000's performance enhancements become most obvious on systems with faster processors and more memory. Boost your PC's RAM from 64MB to 128MB, and Windows 2000 can take advantage of the extra space far more efficiently than any previous Windows operating system could. If you have serious hardware, Windows 2000 can help you get the most out of it.

Slow on Start-Up
But even if your apps do run with a bit more zip under Windows 2000, expect to waste some time when you boot up your machine. In our start-up tests, Windows 98 still reigned supreme, with Windows 2000 Professional dragging behind anywhere from 22 to 34 seconds slower, depending upon the PC. Of course, if Windows 2000 remains as stable as it first appears, you won't need to reboot nearly as often. And on laptops, you may choose to go into Suspend or Hibernate modes instead of shutting down entirely, further reducing your boot-up times.

Sophisticated Server
Any company that uses Windows should consider switching to Windows 2000 Server. And any small business with an eye on Linux as a server platform should at least evaluate the features and integration that Windows 2000 offers before making a decision. Yes, Windows 2000 Server is expensive--at least $599--but Microsoft does everything it can to make it easy to administrate this complex server system, particularly for basic tasks. This simplification allows the less experienced IT technicians to keep your Windows 2000 servers running smoothly, while the more experienced pros can concentrate on other issues, such as setting up Active Directory.

Active Directory: Powerful, Potentially Confusing
What's Active Directory, you ask? In essence, it is a database of objects on the network. It's also the most talked-about aspect of Windows 2000 Server. Here's why: you can quickly place everything, from users and computers to printers and shared folders, into the directory and then administer them from this single location with just a few clicks. Developers also can program their software to take advantage of the directory. For example, Microsoft's upcoming SQL Server 2000 will automatically register its servers in the directory for easier management. Active Directory also lets administrators install Windows 2000 and other software on remote computers. Plus, its IntelliMirror service lets users roam from machine to machine. As users move, their data, applications, and personal settings automatically appear wherever they log in.
But while Active Directory is powerful, it isn't simple. Its flexibility and integration into nearly every aspect of your network can become more confusing than helpful if you don't set things up carefully. To make optimal use of what Active Directory offers, IT departments must create detailed plans of their implementation strategies. To assist in those efforts, Microsoft's help system now includes a large number of best practices documents and preflight checklists that suggest how to make efficient and secure use of the services that Windows 2000 provides. Even with this extra help, the Active Directory setup is no job for beginners, as the myriad options and terminology could quickly overwhelm them.

Easy Alternative to Active Directory
Of course, you don't have to use a directory. Windows 2000 Server can act as a peer-to-peer server for small businesses or workgroups that don't need to manage hundreds or thousands of resources. By skipping Active Directory altogether, we were able to set up Windows 2000 as a print, file, DHCP, and Internet connection server in about two hours with barely a glance at the documentation.
As for stability, we were more than satisfied. We ran our dual-processor Pentium Pro server constantly for more than a month without being forced to reboot because of a crash or slowdown. That's not a bad record in our books.

Pricey Proposition
On the downside, Windows 2000 Server isn't cheap. It starts at $599 if you upgrade from a previous version of NT Server. And it doesn't include built-in tools for mail and proxy servers, something any decent Linux distribution bundles for free; you have to purchase these separately. If you need to do a small job on the cheap, Windows 2000 Server is probably not a cost-effective choice; look to Linux instead.
Still, we enjoyed our time with Windows 2000 Server. The online help proved truly useful, its bundled tools did what we wanted without requiring us to jump through too many hoops, and Windows 2000's stability made us confident that our system would be there when we needed it.

Stable Workstation
When Windows NT 4.0 launched in 1996, Microsoft touted it as the ultimate desktop OS for businesses. But it didn't work as well as it should have. NT 4.0 Workstation lacked Plug and Play for easy installation, didn't support as much hardware as Windows 95, and wasn't as stable as originally advertised. In most cases, it simply didn't offer enough extras to justify its lofty price. Windows 2000 Professional resolves all of these issues.

System Crashes Disappear
As we noted before, the Windows 2000 installation routine works like a charm. And we didn't run into any system crashes the first time we booted Windows 2000, as we did with Release Candidate 2. All of our software ran smoothly from the start. In fact, everything ran better with Windows 2000 than with Windows 98. Under Windows 98, one of our test systems consistently crashed when we browsed the Web with Internet Explorer 5.0. Under Windows 2000, the crashes stopped. Even more amazing, after more than a month of daily use, we were never forced to reboot our Windows 2000 test systems. That's a degree of stability that few Windows 98 users, and not that many Windows NT 4.0 users, will ever experience.

Souped-Up Interface
Windows 2000's interface is easier to use than NT 4.0's, too. The taskbar now includes customizable, quick-access icons such as those in Windows 98, and the reorganized Start menu provides a shortcut to dial-up and network connections. Plus, it offers personalized menus, such as those in Office 2000: the tools you use most often stay on the pull-down lists, while the rest hide from view. To see the full list of your menu options, simply click a small double arrow. While some people will find the feature annoying, anyone who uses just a few Windows features regularly will welcome the new, uncluttered presentation, and you can always turn this feature off.

Built-in Tech Support
If you run into problems using Windows 2000 Workstation, its updated help system will lend a speedy hand. Its Contents list offers more tutorials than NT 4.0's and includes information on how to personalize your computer, work with the Internet, set your security profiles, and use your printers. Plus, many of the help subjects offer wizards and step-by-step lists for nearly every imaginable Windows 2000 tool. You can even add help topics to a Favorites list for quick access whenever you need them.
In addition, the Add/Remove Software applet is far better than that in any previous Microsoft Windows product. It doesn't just present an alphabetical list of installed programs that you can remove. Instead, its new dialog box lists the programs, how much space they take up, how often you use them, and when you used them last. All of this aid makes it much easier to decide which apps to delete when you need to free up some disk space.
For businesses, Windows 2000 is a serious improvement over NT 4.0. Even if you don't run Windows 2000 Server, you'll still see better stability and enhanced ease of use over Windows 98 or NT Workstation 4.0 with Windows 2000 Professional. Unless you're running ancient desktop hardware with minimal memory and slow processors, or you need an OS strictly for home use, upgrading to a Windows 2000 workstation makes sense.