Preparing Domains and Computers for Upgrading

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The first step in upgrading to Windows 2000 is to prepare the domains and the computers. This important step will streamline the upgrade process and make it go as smoothly as possible.

Preparing the Domains

To prepare domains for upgrading to Windows 2000, make sure that all servers that you plan to upgrade are running Windows NT 4. It's also a good idea to clean up the directories and user accounts to eliminate old baggage. When you upgrade the domain to Windows 2000, all user accounts are moved into Active Directory, and while Active Directory is extremely scalable, it does take up a decent chunk of hard disk space. There's no point in storing disabled and unused accounts indefinitely, so delete them before you upgrade. Clean out unused directories and uninstall outdated software. Disable trusts that you don't want preserved. Synchronize the PDC with all of the BDCs, and then implement the recovery plan described earlier in the section "Making a Recovery Plan," including taking one of the BDCs offline and disconnecting it from the network.

Preparing the Computers

To prepare the computers for the upgrade, follow these steps for each computer involved:

1. Check the Windows 2000 system requirements to make sure that the computer meets them. Just because the computer fulfills the minimum system requirements doesn't necessarily mean that it's up to the tasks you have planned for it. (For a reminder of Microsoft's minimum system requirements for running Windows 2000 Server, as well as our recommendations for a more realistic set of requirements for a useful system, see Table 5-1.)

REAL WORLD  Departing from the HCL

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While it's true that many devices not on the HCL can be made to work most of the time, servers are needed all of the time. If you depart from the HCL when configuring a domain controller or other important server, you are taking an unjustifiable risk. Sooner or later, some traceable-to-the-hardware fault will show up, and you'll have no recourse. Microsoft will rightly point out that you should be using hardware from the HCL. And the manufacturer of the hardware will shrug and say that they're "working on" drivers. This is not a good position to be in.

If you have machines that are not 100 percent compatible, try them out as clients. Often, Windows 2000 Professional will work perfectly well with hardware that's not on the HCL. Certainly, Windows 95 and Windows 98 aren't fussy and run on almost any machine with an adequate processor and the minimum amount of RAM.

2. Check the HCL in the Support folder on the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM. If you don't see the system listed, check the HCL on the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest/hcl/). If updated drivers are available for the hardware, download and copy them to a floppy disk or available local disk so that you can use them during installation, if necessary. If a component in the system is not listed in the Microsoft HCL, you can visit the manufacturer's Web site or contact the manufacturer of the device to see if updated drivers are available. In general, you probably want to replace components that are not listed as 100 percent compatible.
3. Read the Read1st.txt and Relnotes.doc files on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to check for application or hardware issues.
4. Uninstall any virus protection programs you have installed, unless you know that they work under Windows 2000 without modification.
5. Perform and verify a full system backup.
6. Create or update the emergency repair disk or Windows 95/98 boot disk.
7. Record the hardware configuration of the system for reference in case of a hardware conflict or problem. Items to record include installed devices, IRQs, jumper settings, and the hard disk configurations.
8. Disable disk mirroring if you are using it. (You can enable it after you finish upgrading.)
9. Uncompress the hard disk. (This applies to Windows 95/98 clients only.)
10. Disconnect the serial cable to any serial port uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices. (USB UPS devices can be left plugged in.)
11. Locate all drivers and get the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or connect to the network share with the Windows 2000 installation files.

Take a deep breath and begin. The remainder of this chapter covers upgrading systems to Windows 2000.