# Please rate windows 2000 professional for me
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 10, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901 "2003-06-10T16:37:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/1 "2003-06-10T16:37:20Z")
So, I inherited a registered copy of windows 2000 professional,
I will be using it in my home. Principally I want to know if supports DOS games, can I expect on board component problems (sound/video card etc), will it recognize my 20 gig hard drive or do I need an overlay, can I still run office 97, let me know your experience please, and anything you think I should know - the fewer surprises the better.
The machine is a “true” Pentium 2 - mmx, 300 mhz, 256 megs of memory, 20 gig HD, on board everything –
Sound Pro 3d, 8 megs shared memory for the video card,
My modem is still the old US robotics 28.8
(Damn! I remember way back 4 years ago when this machine was a Reeeeeal hot rod) :smack:
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/2 "2003-06-10T17:12:09Z")
Yes to all questions. I use 2000 Pro on my home machine, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Very stable and consistent. Only decent OS MS ever made.
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/3 "2003-06-10T17:50:51Z")
thanks \*\* silenus \*\*, I hope the other responses I get are as favorable!
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/4 "2003-06-10T17:52:44Z")
You may have some problems with games. EA games do not support 2000 in any flavor, as far as I know. Other games may work OK.
Otherwise, what **silenus** said.
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### Author:  [@ThreeLeggedBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThreeLeggedBob)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/5 "2003-06-10T17:58:56Z")
1. DOS games. Probably work with most.
2. Component problems. I had an odd video board (Appian Geronimo Pro with two monitor outputs) which works under 2000, but needed new drivers. In this case, they were downloadable, but not necessarily. It doesn’t work exactly as it did under NT 4.0, but close enough. Mainstream components should be fine.
3. 20 GB drive. No problem.
4. Office 97. No problem.
5. 300 MHz. Well, if it works for you now, it probably still will. May conceivably be a little slower on some things than 95/98/ME.
Silenus is right about the stability. I like 2000 a lot.
TLB
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### Author:  [@racekarl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racekarl)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/6 "2003-06-10T18:09:41Z")
Windows 2000 Pro is a terriffic OS, and will meet all your needs. Your system should also be adequately powerful enough to run Win2k without any undue slowness. It should have no trouble reocognizing any of your hardware.
The only caveat is that Win2k sometimes runs DOS programs slower than a DOS based OS.
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/7 "2003-06-10T18:21:00Z")
\*\* BrotherCadfael \*\* wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> EA games do not support 2000 in any flavor, as far as I know.
Ohhh \*\* Nooooo\*\* you mean like Sim City and The Sims! Ohhh RATS! Thems my FAVORITE games. Seriously, I would re-think the whole issue if I can’t play with my sim games, especally Sim City. Anyone know of any pathces?
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/8 "2003-06-10T18:32:43Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \*
> \*\*You may have some problems with games. EA games do not support 2000 in any flavor, as far as I know. \*\*
Wrong. I used to play Madden 2003 and MOHAA all the time on my Windows 2000 machine. They ran great, too. There’s a very common misconception that Windows 2000 has poor game support. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve never purchased or even read a review of a game I wanted that didn’t support Windows 2000.
It’s the best OS Microsoft ever made, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/9 "2003-06-10T18:52:20Z")
But any word on The Sims or Sim City?
(How could I live without my widdwe Simmies, hell 2 of them just had a baby!)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/10 "2003-06-10T19:02:54Z")
SimCity4 runs just great on 2000.
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### Author:  [@racekarl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racekarl)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/11 "2003-06-10T19:20:46Z")
I have run the Sims on Windows 2000 Server, so I would think 2000 professional should have no troubles.
Windows 2000’s reputation as not being able to play games was well deserved when it was first released. Early versions of Windows 2000 only supported an older version of DirectX. This has long since been remedied, though, so nearly anything that ran under windows 98 or runs under XP should run fine under Windows 2000.
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/12 "2003-06-10T19:28:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by neutron star \*
> It’s the best OS Microsoft ever made, IMHO.
Talk about damning with faint praise. 😉
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/13 "2003-06-10T19:38:14Z")
WHEEEEEW!
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/14 "2003-06-10T19:41:32Z")
Oh yeah, how about DOOM?
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/15 "2003-06-10T19:42:19Z")
We have a copy of Triple Play Baseball, and have never been able to run it. EA’s tech support confirmed that it is not compatible with 2000, and that they have no plans to make it so. Bastards.
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/16 "2003-06-10T21:10:05Z")
So, that’s it then? No other humble opinions out there?
I’m bumping this because im thinking of installing it tonight, I already formatted the HD so it will be a clean install, the only question is – will it be Win2k or Win98.
Oh the stress! I avoided windows 95 until about 1999 then avoided windows 98 till about 2002 all over the same anxiety, sticking with what I knew rather then what was (perhaps) better.
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### Author:  [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/17 "2003-06-10T22:37:25Z")
I’ll chime in and agree that Win2k is the best Microsoft OS I’ve ever used. It’s stable and customizable and I’ve had very few problems with it. Compared to WinME, which we had multiple issues with, 2000 is a blessing.
As for games, I’ve never had a problem with any games on it, including EA games. I often play Clive Barker’s Undying (EA), Homeworld (Sierra), Thief (Eidos), and others on it and it’s never given me a problem. I have noticed that many games _say_ that they don’t support Win 2000, but those same games seem to run just fine under it.
I say, go for it! Win 2000 all the way!
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### Author:  [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/18 "2003-06-10T23:06:33Z")
Love it – have 5 servers, several dozen workstations, all on Win2K. Most trouble-free of all the Windows products I’ve ever used (and I started with Windows 2.0). Wouldn’t trade it for XP, not on a bet.
I have Win2K and Linix (Red Hat) on my home system – Win2K is more robust, installed more easily, and supports all my cards. I thought I’d install Linux so I could use the computer for fancy stuff, but it’s never worked quite right. I’ll probably uninstall it and use that partition for something else – something worthwhile.
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### Author:  [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rate-windows-2000-professional-for-me/180901/19 "2003-06-11T12:52:58Z")
Well, first of all THANK YOU all for your input, to those who responded. Since most all the reviews were positive I went and installed it. At first it did not find my sound card, It identified it but had no driver. I put in the driver CD and it searched the whole thing looking for the right one (win98 wont do that, and you can spend lots of time searching a manufacture’s CD looking for your driver). Reboot and POW - Music came back on start up. I have not installed anything else on that machine yet but if all goes as smoothly as the install went, I don’t anticipate any more problems. If I have some, I’ll let you know!
Thanks again!