Windows 2000

Windows 2000 is a major release of the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT</a> <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> developed by <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>, targeting the server and business markets. It is the direct successor to <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_4.0/EcKYxrkx">Windows NT 4.0</a>, and was <a href="/facts/Software_release_life_cycle/z4Q4RElA">released to manufacturing</a> on December 15, 1999, and then to retail on February 17, 2000 for all versions, with Windows 2000 Datacenter Server being released to retail on September 26, 2000.
Windows 2000 introduces <a href="/facts/NTFS/dryNM3BK">NTFS</a> 3.0, <a href="/facts/Encrypting_File_System/bAnARp48">Encrypting File System</a>, and basic and dynamic disk storage. Support for people with disabilities is improved over <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_4.0/EcKYxrkx">Windows NT 4.0</a> with a number of new <a href="/facts/Assistive_technology/xYdAXG3y">assistive technologies</a>, and Microsoft increased support for different languages and <a href="/facts/Locale_(computer_software)/Hwbtpj4e">locale</a> information. The Windows 2000 Server family has additional features, most notably the introduction of <a href="/facts/Active_Directory/VWd9HhjU">Active Directory</a>, which in the years following became a widely used <a href="/facts/Directory_service/6fsVdntu">directory service</a> in business environments. Although not present in the final release, support for <a href="/facts/DEC_Alpha/4eN7LuXG">Alpha</a> 64-bit was present in its alpha, beta, and release candidate versions. Its successor, <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">Windows XP</a>, only supports <a href="/facts/X86/Kypq5fgu">x86</a>, <a href="/facts/X64/cyWvUFlP">x64</a> and <a href="/facts/Itanium/0wkjSDpe">Itanium</a> processors. Windows 2000 was also the first NT release to drop the "NT" name from its product line.
Four editions of Windows 2000 have been released: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server; the latter of which was launched months after the other editions. While each edition of Windows 2000 is targeted at a different market, they share a core set of features, including many system utilities such as the <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Management_Console/SkY3jHFG">Microsoft Management Console</a> and standard <a href="/facts/System_administration/zNhThrh9">system administration</a> applications.
Microsoft marketed Windows 2000 as the most secure Windows version ever at the time; however, it became the target of a number of high-profile virus attacks such as <a href="/facts/Code_Red_(computer_worm)/FIpF7P8R">Code Red</a> and <a href="/facts/Nimda/0JhyJeHK">Nimda</a>. Windows 2000 was succeeded by <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">Windows XP</a> a little over a year and a half in October 2001, while Windows 2000 Server was succeeded by <a href="/facts/Windows_Server_2003/3vIJam5L">Windows Server 2003</a> more than three years after its initial release on March 2003. For ten years after its release, it continued to receive patches for security <a href="/facts/Vulnerability_(computing)/jg0Gr71M">vulnerabilities</a> nearly every month until reaching the end of support on July 13, 2010, the same day that support ended for <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">Windows XP SP2</a>.
Both the <a href="/facts/Xbox_(console)/2FuQrJeX">original Xbox</a> and the <a href="/facts/Xbox_360/dYlE3mL5">Xbox 360</a> use a modified version of the Windows 2000 kernel as their <a href="/facts/Xbox_system_software/A5jyrWMB">system software</a>. Its source code was <a href="/facts/Source_code_leak/6jKcdHGy">leaked</a> in 2020.

Windows 2000 open-in-new

Windows 2000