This article shows how to set up Windows 2000 on a new virtual machine using Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software.
The Windows 2000 operating system, released on February 17, 2000, and designed to replace Windows 95 and 98, was an upgrade to Windows NT 4.0.
Microsoft released four editions of Windows 2000, Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Data Center Server.
Windows 2000, although very similar to Windows 98, was a highly improved version regarding system security and stability.
This system from Microsoft authenticates the user identified first when accessing files, printers, or other computers, thus enabling a more secure data exchange. It also supports TCP/IP, NWLink, and AppleTalk protocols in computer networks and supports data exchange in decentralized workgroups and centralized domains.
Today, instead of running the Windows 2000 operating system on physical computers, you can enable Hyper-V on new platforms such as Windows 10 and follow this video or the steps below to use it in virtual machines.
Step 1: To install the Hyper-V virtualization software on your Windows 10 computer, open the Turn Windows Features On or Off tool in the start menu, select the Hyper-V option, click OK, and restart your PC after the necessary files of the program are installed.
Step 2: Before installing a Windows system after running Hyper-V, you must create an External Switch to add guest machines to your local network. With the Default Switch, virtual machines cannot obtain an IP address from the IP block in your local network. Therefore, you should use External Switch, as assigning an IP address to the VM from the local DHCP server is healthier. Create the External adapter after opening the Virtual Switch Manager tool from the Actions section.
Step 3: Open Virtual Switch Manager and select External, click the Create Virtual Switch button, and then select your physical computer’s Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter in the External Network setting and click OK to close the window.
Step 4: Since Windows 2000 is a legacy operating system, you must create a VHD virtual disk that supports legacy systems to run it more efficiently in the VM. Create a 2 GB VHD disk in the wizard that opens after clicking New and Virtual Disk in the Actions pane.
Step 5: After creating the external adapter and virtual disk, click Actions / New / Virtual Machine to start the virtual PC creation wizard.
Step 6: Click Next to continue creating a manual VM in the Before You Begin window.
Step 7: In the Specify Name and Location window, type the name of the system you will install and click the Browse button to back up the VM on an external disk, and specify the location on your external storage device.
Step 8: In the Specify Generation window, select Generation 1, which supports BIOS firmware for Windows 2000.
Step 9: In the Assign Memory window, assign a suitable size to the Windows 2000 virtual computer according to the RAM capacity of your host. If you are going to run more than 2000 virtual machines in HyperV, you can enable Dynamic Memory for better memory management. But if you use only one guest OS, do not use the Dynamic Memory feature and assign a fixed size of 1024 MB (1 GB) to VM.
Step 10: Continue without adding any adapters to the VM in the Network Configuration window.
Step 11: In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk window, enable the Use an existing virtual hard disk option to add the 2 GB virtual disk with the VHD extension you created for your virtual system and show the location of the disk file with Browse.
Step 12: Review your settings on the virtual machine in the summary window and close the wizard.
Step 13: Open the VM’s settings, select DVD Drive, tick Image File, and add the Windows 2000 ISO file to the virtual machine.
Step 14: Delete the existing new type of Network Adapter in the VM and add Legacy Network Adapter from Add Hardware and change the Virtual Switch setting to External.
Step 15: Finally, connect to Windows 2000 and click the Start button to start the installation.
Related Articles
1. How to Create a Virtual Machine in Hyper-V
2. How to Install Windows 8 with Hyper-V
3. How to Install Windows 10 with Hyper-V
4. How to Install Windows XP with Hyper-V
5. How to Install Windows 7 with Hyper-V