Installing Windows 2000, Part 1: Partitioning and Formatting

Windows 2000's installation procedure is quite different from that of Windows 98.  One of the biggest differences is in the way that it creates partitions.  It does not use the separate FDISK tool; instead, it includes partitioning as part of the installation procedure.

		Reboot the computer with the Windows2000 CD in the CD drive, and let it boot from CD. Windows Setup will begin and start loading the files it needs.
You will be asked if you want to set up Windows, repair an installation, or quit.
		Before you begin actual installation, you will have to partition and format you hard drive. Partitioning is important (as I mentioned in the Windows 98 section) because it causes Windows to see the different partitions as separate drives. If you keep Windows and program files on one partition and your data on another, you will be saved a lot of headaches should you have to reinstall the OS. Here, press “C” to create a partition in the unpartitioned space.
With a 20GB hard drive, a 5GB partition for Windows is reasonable, though it certainly need not be this large, even for Windows 2000.
		After the first partition is made, you still will have a lot of space left over (in this case 15GB). You can use all that space for a single data partition, or make multiple partitions for multiple operating systems, i.e. Windows 98 or Linux.  (However, if you are installing multiple operating systems, it is preferable to install Windows 2000 last.)
In this case, I am choosing to make a single 15GB second partition.
		After all your partitions are created, you can continue setting up Windows on your C: drive (or first partition).
Before you can install, you will have to format the C: drive. You will be asked if you want to format it using the NTFS or FAT file system. In some ways NTFS is more efficient than FAT, but as Windows98 cannot use it, do not select NTFS unless you are sure that only Windows 2000 computers will access the files on this drive.
		You may have to wait some time while the drive is formatted.
When formatting is finished, Setup will copy the files it needs into the installation folder. This too may take some time.
		At this point, the computer will have to reboot.