Windows 2000 System Requirements
Windows 2000 System Requirements
The following table lists the minimum and recommended hardware specifications for each edition of Windows 2000.
| Component | Professional | Server | Advanced Server | Datacenter Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 133 MHz Pentium | 133 MHz Pentium | 133 MHz Pentium | 4x Pentium III Xeon |
| RAM (min) | 64 MB | 128 MB | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| RAM (max) | 4 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB | 64 GB |
| Disk Space | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Max CPUs | 2 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
Recommended Specifications
For production server deployments, Microsoft recommends at least a Pentium III 500 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, and 4 GB of disk space. Domain controllers running Active Directory should have at least 512 MB RAM for environments with more than 1,000 user objects.
Hardware Compatibility
Always check the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) before deploying. Devices not on the HCL may cause blue-screen errors or data corruption. The HCL is available at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl or on the Windows 2000 CD in the \Support\HCL directory.
Disk Subsystem Notes
- NTFS is required for Active Directory, disk quotas, and file encryption (EFS)
- FAT32 partitions are limited to 32 GB in Windows 2000
- Hardware RAID controllers are strongly recommended for server deployments
- Dynamic disks support RAID-5 (software) with at least three disks