• The Setup program
• The Setup wizard
• Installing Windows networking
• Completing the Setup program

The Setup Program
The first step of the installation process begins by preparing the hard drive for the other stages of installation by copying the files that are needed to run the setup wizard, which is the second step. At this point the text portion of the setup is seen. The Windows 2000 installation can be started by either using the Setup Boot Disks or by booting from the CD-ROM. If the Setup Boot Disks are chosen, insert the first disk into the computer and turn it on. Follow the steps to insert the other three disks to begin copying the files. Using the Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM is much easier. After booting from the CD-ROM, a minimal version of Windows 2000 is copied into memory, which is used to start the Setup program. This is where the text-based portion of Setup starts. The administrator will first have to read and accept the licensing agreement. The next step is to choose to delete a partition or, if necessary, to reconfigure the hard disk partitions. At this point create and format a new partition to install Windows 2000 in or reformat an existing partition. After deciding on which partition to install the operating system in, the administrator selects either FAT or NTFS as the type of file system. Setup will then format the partition with the file system selected. Once the partition has been formatted, the Setup program will begin to copy the necessary files to the hard disk and save configuration information. Setup will then automatically restart the computer and start the Windows 2000 Setup wizard. By default, the Windows 2000 operating system files are installed in the C:\Winnt folder.

The Setup Wizard
The Setup Wizard begins the Graphical User Interface (GUI) portion of the installation process and prompts the administrator through the next stage of the installation process. It gathers information about the administrator, the organization, and the computer. This step installs the security features and configures the system devices. The administrator will then be prompted through a series of setup screens in which the Windows 2000 Setup wizard asks for some information:

• Regional settings – Windows 2000 was designed to be a global operating system. Information designed to customize language, locale, and keyboard settings must be entered. Windows 2000 can be configured to use multiple languages and regional settings.
• Name and organization – The name of the person who is going to be the user of the computer and the organization to which the copy of Windows 2000 Professional is licensed.
• Product Key – Microsoft ships every copy of Windows 2000 with a specific 25-character Product Key that is usually located on the back of the CD case.
• Computer name – When connecting the computer to a network, each computer on the network will need a unique name so it can be identified on the network. A computer name must be entered and it can be no longer than 15 characters. The Windows 2000 Setup wizard will display a default name, using the organization name that was entered earlier in the setup process but this can be changed.
• Password for the Administrator account – Windows 2000 has the capability of having many different profiles for the users of that computer. There is also a built-in administrator account that includes privileges to make any changes to the computer. At this point the administrator must supply the password for that administrator account.
• Modem dialing information – Because networks now use high speed LANs and Network Cards, this option will first depend on whether a modem is being used. Most laptops still use them so it could be necessary to enter information here. First select the country or region where the computer is located. Often this is already completed, based on the selected regional setting. The area (or city) of the computer location must also be entered as well as the number for obtaining an outside line. Finally, select whether the phone system is tone dialing or pulse dialing.
• Date and time settings – The correct date and time as well as the time zone that the computer will be in must be specified. Indicate if Windows 2000 will automatically adjust the computer clock setting for daylight saving time.

Installing Windows Networking
Windows 2000 was designed to be a network operating system, and installing the network settings is therefore a major step in the installation process. After gathering information about the computer, the Windows 2000 setup program automatically installs the network software.

Windows 2000 Professional installs networking components in a series of steps:

• Detect network adapter cards – The operating system first needs to detect the network cards. If there are none installed then it will not detect any and this step will be skipped.
• Install networking components – There are necessary files that must be installed to allow the computer to connect to other computers, networks, and the Internet. The Setup program next prompts the administrator to choose whether to use typical settings or customized settings to configure the following networking components. If typical is chosen then the system will install the default settings. By choosing the customized option, the administrator can enter the information that is specific to the company network. For example, Client for Microsoft Networks allows the computer to gain access to network resources. File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks allows other computers to gain access to file and print resources on the computer. TCP/IP protocol is the default networking protocol that allows a computer to communicate over Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs). At this stage, other clients, services, and network protocols (such as NetBIOS Enhanced User Interface (NetBEUI), AppleTalk, and NWLink (IPX/SPX/NetBIOS-compatible transport) can be installed if the network requires them.
• Join a workgroup or domain – The administrator will now need to decide whether or not the computer will be part of a domain or workgroup. This information will most likely be known before this step. If a computer account is created in the domain for the computer during the installation, the Windows 2000 Setup wizard prompts the administrator for the name and password to join the domain.
• Install components – The last step is to install and configure the networking components that have just been selected.

Completing the Setup Program
Once the networking components have been installed, the Setup wizard copies additional files to configure Windows 2000 Professional. The Setup program will automatically start the fourth step in the installation process to perform a set of final tasks. There are four basic steps to the final stage of the installation process:

• Installs Start-menu items – Shortcut items that appear on the start menu are installed.
• Registers components – Windows 2000 begins to apply the configuration settings that were specified in the Windows 2000 Setup wizard.
• Saves the configuration – After the configuration settings are applied, they need to be saved to the hard drive so they are used every time the computer is started.
• Removes temporary files – During the OS installation there are many files that need to be copied in order to run the installation steps, and then are no longer used. The setup wizard will automatically delete these files. After this step is complete, the computer will automatically restart. The administrator can then log on to finish the installation procedure.