Windows 2000 has plainly arrived. You're itching to grab one of those shiny new Win 2000 discs and turn it loose to do its work on your PC. But you've got questions.

Just how big a deal is the Win2000 setup process, anyway? Should you clean-install, or upgrade your existing Windows installation? Will the new Windows like your hardware? What should you check before you get started?

The good news is that installing Win2000 may be easier than installing NT 4.0. In fact, it could be easier to install than Win98 on some PCs. But attaining that state of setup grace requires a foresight and planning. Before you pick
up that disc, you need to know exactly what you want from
Windows 2000, and what the pressure points are. What, for example, should you do to make Win2000 and Win98 co-exist on your PC? What file system should you choose? And what's the best way to set up your disk partitions? Will you have trouble finding device drivers?

That's where this third installment in Winmag.com's series of Essential Guides to Installing Windows comes in. This story is the step-by-step guide to installing Windows 2000 Professional. You'll find everything here you need to set up the new Windows smartly and successfully. Everything from the Pre-install Checklist, to Step-by-step Setup Instructions, to prudent Post-install Tweaks. Follow this story from beginning to end (using the navigation links at the bottom of every page) and you'll master the process of setting up Win2000 -- and save yourself a lot of potential frustration to boot.

To stay on top of your game about Windows 2000, you need the inside scoop every week. Subscribe to the free Win2000 Insider newsletter (by Serdar Yegulalp). And be sure to check out our brand new Win2000/NT Web site. It links to all the best resources Winmag.com has on the new operating system -- including our special report review of the shipping version: Say Hello to Windows 2000.

Multiply your efforts
For the most part, this story focuses on the "one person / one PC" Win2000 Pro installation. In that setting, the setup tools Microsoft gave us are the best way to go. For multiple deployments, however, IT managers and system administrators should also check out Microsoft TechNet's Windows 2000 - Deploy site, which offers many useful solutions for installing Win2000 both remotely and locally. There are also a small but growing number of third-party programs, such as PowerQuest's Drive Image Pro 3.01, which are designed to roll out Windows 2000 Professional installations. And consult these excellent Win2000 resources for other useful installation support materials.

Ready to get started? If you're primarily a Win98 user, your next stop should be the Windows 98 Orientation page. NT users can skip to the Windows NT Orientation.

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The Essential Guide to Installing Windows 2000 Pro is part of an ongoing series of Winmag.com articles designed to help you install the various versions of Windows. The original story in the series is the Essential Guide to Installing Windows 98 (slated for an upcoming update). In December 1999, we added the brand new Essential Guide to Installing Windows NT 4.0. --Eds.