Perform Pre-installation Tasks

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It is recommended that you perform certain tasks to make sure that system files remain safe and the installation goes smoothly. These tasks are:

Read the Pre-Installation Documents

There are three important documents that the network administrator should read before performing an upgrade.

  • Hardware Compatibility List
    The Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) contains hardware compatibility information that will assist you in determining if your current hardware is compatible with Windows 2000 Server. The list is comprehensive, but be aware that Microsoft continually updates the information. To determine if the hardware in your organization is HCL-certified, see the Hardware Compatibility List link on the Web Resources page at https://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources .

  • Read1st.txt
    The Read1st.txt file provides late-breaking, critical, or other preinstallation and upgrade information that supplements the Windows 2000 Server documentation.

  • Relnotes.txt
    This document provides release notes concerning late-breaking or other Windows 2000 Server information, and is also a supplement to the documentation. This file contains a detailed, technical description of additions to the operating system. You can use it to make informed decisions concerning the deployment of member servers in your network.

Record System Information

It is important that you record all system information pertinent to each server before an upgrade begins. This will provide an important reference document if it becomes necessary to return a member server to its original condition.

To view server system information in Windows NT Server 4.0, from the Administrative Tools menu, click Windows   NT   Server Diagnostics . To print the information, click File and Print Report from within the Windows NT Server Diagnostics Manager.