Help Installing Windows 2000 Server over Windows XP

[jwalz]

I need to install Windows Server 2000 on a desktop system that is already running WinXP. When I try to install from the CD, the install options are disabled because XP is a newer operating system. When I try to boot from either the CD-drive or using Win2K boot disks, it begins the install and then tells me that it can't find any hard drives and quits.
How can I force this machine to let me install Win2K Server? I need to test an application on it using this operating system and can't find any other information on how to do this.
Thanks,
Janet

 

[GrnEyedLdy]

Fdisk and start from scratch...


Just a thought,

Patty

 

[crystlnewbie]

Since Windows 2000 is an older OS, this would need to be on the system first. Your best bet would to scrub the system and install Win2k and then WinXP. Otherwise, the Win2k install may not start or if it does, you run the risk of getting some of the XP system files overwritten by the older Win2k files.

 

[wolluf]

Booting from the 2k server install CD should work. If its not finding any hard drives, does it need drivers (eg, SCSI, RAID, unusual IDE - I know at least one mobo needs IDE drivers for 2k0 - press F6 when prompted during install.

Once it finds drive, it should let you remove exisitng XP partition & create new one for 2k server.

 

[jwalz]

I am getting the "I can't find the hard drive" message. I don't think that it shouldn't need drivers because when I boot it normally, everything comes up just fine (it is a SCSI hard drive.). Any suggestions?

Janet

 

[BWilson77080]

you cant update from a non server operating system, nor dual boot

 

[BWilson77080]

you need a second hard drive in there, and then you need to adjust the boot.ini file appropriately to point to the second drive as an option on the o/s selection.....i think thats the only way youll get it to work due to the differences in NTFS structures...

to start from scratch you would need to use the WinXP disk to reformat your drive as FAT32 (only way Win200 will see the drive), and then in the Win2000 setup you can reformat using NTFS

never know, could be wrong though, but thats not too often...lol

 

[ricpinto]

wolluf is on target, you need to know what SCSI controller and download it's driver for win2k server, save it to a diskette and boot from CD. Press F6 during the start of installation then it will prompt you to load the driver.

 

[underpayed]

It may not be finding the Hard Drive because it's been upgraded to a dynamic disc, in which case fdisk as suggested earlier would be the solution.