How to Install Windows 2000 in VirtualBox 7.0 on Windows 11

In this article, I will tell you how to install Windows 2000 with Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.0 on Windows 11 & 10 operating systems. I will examine the configuration process, especially by considering the Professional version.

Microsoft released Windows 2000, which we initially knew as Windows NT 5.0, on February 17, 2000. This old system brought significant improvements in file encryption, NTFS file system, and file compression features. Therefore, it was mainly successful in corporate environments. However, they eventually ended its direct support.

How to Set Up Windows 2000 on Windows 11 / 10 using Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.0

Windows 2000 was unveiled by Microsoft on February 17, 2000, initially named Windows NT 5.0, but it is now more commonly recognized as Win2K.

The Windows 200 system, where file encryption, NTFS file system, and file compression features were improved, was primarily successful in corporate companies. Although it provides many new improvements compared to previous Windows versions regarding system security, it could have been a better system for home users due to system crashes.

The direct support of the Windows 2000 operating system, which works very well on the server computers of the companies, was terminated on June 30, 2005, and its extended support was closed on July 13, 2010.

Windows 2000 is a version that was not released as an update to Windows 98 or Windows 98 SE and included four different versions;

• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2000 Datacenter

Windows 2000 Professional Edition was developed for personal use on desktop and laptop computers. However, nowadays, there is no point in installing this operating system on your physical computer because a platform without support can always get you in trouble.

If you desire to utilize Windows 2000, you can install a virtual device using virtualization programs like VirtualBox or VMware.

How to Create a New Virtual Machine for Windows 2000 OS

After successfully installing VirtualBox on your host computer, launch the virtual machine wizard to prepare the Windows 2000 operating system on your new VM.

Step 1

After running Oracle VM VirtualBox, open the virtual machine creation wizard by clicking the Machine / New option from the tool menu or the blue New icon.

Step 2

Kindly provide a title for the operating system you intend to install. After that, select the required edition from the “Version” area and proceed by clicking the “Next” button. Also, configure the location of the virtual system you will install from the Folder section to the host disk or an external HDD or SSD.

Select Other from the ISO Image section to add the Windows 2000 ISO file to the guest operating system you have prepared.

Step 3

From the table below the article, select the Windows 2000 image file you downloaded to your computer and open it.

Step 4

The Windows 2000 system will be determined when you add the image file. However, check Skip Unattended Installation to continue with manual system installation and click Next.

Step 5

In the Memory Size window, configure the RAM size of 1 GB (1024 MB) for the Windows 2000 VM and click Next. You can enhance the performance of your guest system by increasing the number of virtual processors in this window.

Step 6

To create a new virtual disk for a clean Win2K installation, select Create a virtual hard disk now and click the Create button after configuring the disk size. If you have previously installed a Win2000 VM, you can add the virtual disk from this window.

In the 6.x versions of VirtualBox, select VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) as the virtual hard disk file type during disk configuration. Configuring the virtual disk to Fixed Size improves virtual machine performance on computers with old hardware. However, since Fixed Size will reduce the capacity of the host disk, you can select the Dynamically Allocated option to allocate disk space from your host’s disk only as much as necessary.

Step 7

After checking the hardware summary of the Windows 2000 virtual system, click Finish to close the window.

Step 8

Click Settings to adjust the virtual machine settings better.

Step 9

In the General / Advanced tab, configure the file transfer and text copying features as Bidirectional between the virtual machine and the host PC by drag-drop or copy-paste method.

Step 10

On the System / Motherboard tab, configure the Optical device as the first row in the Boot Order section and disable Floppy.

Also, if you will use more than one virtual processor on a Windows 2000 VM, check the Enable I/O APIC option in the Extended Features section.

Step 11

Enable Nested Paging in the Acceleration tab for better memory management between the host and VM.

Step 12

For better graphics rendering in the virtual machine, enable the 3D Acceleration option and configure the Video Memory value to 128 MB.

Step 13

Check that the Host I/O Cache feature is enabled for the IDE controller in the Storage settings.

Step 14

Configure the Windows2000.vdi virtual disk file type as SSD (Solid-State Drive).

Step 15

Select the USB 2.0 (OHCI + EHCI) Controller to connect your USB devices to your virtual system.

Step 16

To install Windows 2000 with VirtualBox, run the virtual machine you created by clicking the Start button.

How to Install Windows 2000 using VirtualBox

After configuring the virtual machine correctly, you can install the Win2000 system as if you were installing Windows on a physical computer.

Step 1

In the Windows 2000 Professional Setup screen, press Enter to start the installation or press R to repair your system. You can press F3 to close the wizard screen and exit it.

Step 2

Press the Page Down key to explore the full text of the Windows 2000 operating system license agreement. If you want to approve the license agreement directly, press F8 and continue.

Step 3

Press the C key to edit the unallocated disk space in the disk configuration window.

Step 4

Press Enter to confirm the disk space usage, which is determined automatically by the installation wizard.

Step 5

After creating a new Partition on your virtual disk, press Enter to start the installation.

Step 6

Press Enter again using the appropriate option to format the disk of the virtual system using the NTFS file format.

Step 7

Wait while the setup wizard formats the virtual disk.

Step 8

Copying Windows 2000 system files may take time, depending on the performance of your host computer. Do not turn off your virtual computer while the system files are copied.

Step 9

After copying the system files, your virtual system will automatically reboot in 15 seconds.

Step 10

After your virtual PC restarts, wait while Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional opens.

Step 11

Click Next in the window stating that some information will be collected so the Windows 2000 system can function correctly.

Step 12

At this stage, the installation wizard will scan your system’s hardware and install the drivers.

Step 13

Configure your country in the region settings window via the Customize button. Also, change the keyboard layout of your host computer and click Next.

Step 14

If you will only use the virtual PC, type your username in this step and continue.

Step 15

Type your Windows 2000 Pro SP4 product key and click Next.

Step 16

Note that the computer’s name differs if multiple computers are on the network. If you wish to put a password for the administrator account of the system software, create a strong passcode and click Next.

Step 17

Configure your time settings according to the location of the country you live in and click Next after checking that the system date is correct.

Step 18

Select Typical Settings for your network settings and continue.

Step 19

If there is no server running an Active Directory service in your network environment, configure Workgroup with the No option.

Step 20

Wait while the setup wizard configures your virtual system’s start menu items, shortcuts, registry components, and settings.

Step 21

Click Finish when the Win2K installation wizard is complete, and restart your virtual PC.

Step 22

After your system boots up, your network connections will be configured and prepared.

Step 23

Click Next when the Network Identification wizard opens to connect your virtual computer to a network.

Step 24

You can check the option above to have users using the virtual machine enter a username and password. Otherwise, if no one else will use a VM, you can use your default user account for login information.

Step 25

After completing the network diagnostic wizard, click Finish again and continue.

Step 26

While your virtual system boots up, wait while Windows configures Internet tools and system services.

Step 27

After Windows has configured the necessary settings, your desktop environment will be ready, as in the image below.

Step 28

To examine the OS version and build number, right-click the My Computer symbol and choose Properties.

How to Install Guest Additions in Windows 2000 VM

After installing Windows 2000 on the virtual machine, you must deploy the Guest Additions software to use your host computer’s hardware on the virtual PC. This software is only required for Guest machines installed on the VM.

Step 1

Before installing, you must check the drivers are not automatically installed on your guest machine. On my computer, click the right button, then Manage, then open the Computer Management tool and click Device Manager, then check the drivers with the exclamation mark.

Step 2

Click Devices / Insert Guest Additions CD image from the tool menu of the Win2K guest machine.

Step 3

If the Guest Additions installation wizard does not open automatically, double-click the VBox_GAs image on my computer to start the wizard.

Step 4

When the Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions wizard opens, click Next to continue the installation.

Step 5

Constantly installing guest additions in the default location can avoid any problems, so click Next directly in the install location window.

Step 6

In this window, select the components you want to install and continue. If you enable Direct3D support, you need to install Guest Additions in safe mode.

Note: Always click the Yes button if you encounter the Digital Signature Not Found window during installation.

Step 7

After installing the Guest Additions software on Windows 2000, restart your virtual system.

Step 8

Suppose the image quality of the virtual machine is lower than the default. In that case, VirtualBox will notify you as in the window below. To change the color mode of the virtual machine from 8 Bit to 32 Bit, open Display Properties and change the value in Colors to True Color (32-bit).

Step 9

When you view Device Manager again, you can see that all drivers have been successfully installed.

Step 10

After installing the required driver package for the virtual machine, you can seamlessly transfer files between the host and your simulated computer using the convenient drag-and-drop method. Alternatively, you can easily copy text from any file and effortlessly paste it into the VM’s file.

Step 11

If you want to make the screen resolution of your Windows 2000 virtual computer full-screen according to your host’s monitor, click View / Full-Screen Mode from the tool menu and check.

How to Configure and Check Internet Connection in Win2K

Internet connection may be required for virtual systems you set up with Oracle VM VirtualBox. Usually, the network settings are configured automatically after installation, but checking your link is still a good idea.

Step 1

After clicking the start menu, find CMD via the search box and run it. After opening the CMD command prompt, execute the ping 8.8.8.8 command and check your Internet connection by pinging the Google servers.

Step 2

Double-click the Internet Explorer shortcut after verifying your Internet connection, and the Internet Connection Wizard will open. In this window, select I want to connect to the Internet via a LAN connection option and click Next.

Step 3

In the next window, check the I connect via LAN option again and click Next.

Step 4

Configure the proxy server settings of your virtual computer as Automatic Discovery and continue.

Step 5

Select the No choice to avoid setting up an Internet mail account.

Step 6

After completing the Internet connection wizard, click Finish and close it.

Step 7

When you close the wizard and the Internet Explorer browser opens, you can test your connection by visiting the Google search engine website.

How to Configure Shared Folder

Creating a Shared Folder in the virtual machine lets you transfer files quickly through your host computer.

Step 1

Click Devices / Shared Folders / Shared Folder Settings on your Windows 2000 guest machine.

Step 2

In the Shared Folder window, click the green + button to open the Add Share window. Select a shared folder you created in the Folder Path location setting on your host’s desktop or another site.

Configure the shared folder as a network drive by checking the Auto-Mount and Make Permanent options.

Step 3

When you check the public folder on my computer, you can see the SharedFolder on the “VBoxSvr” location.

When you create a file or folder within the shared folder you established on your host, you can confirm the success of the sharing process by checking its presence in the corresponding location on your VM.

Step 4

This time, click on My Network Places, go to the Shared Folder as indicated in the image below, and check the access.

How to Use USB Flash Memory

You can use your USB flash drives or external storage devices inserted in your host on your virtual PC.

Step 1

First, insert a flash drive into your host’s USB 2.0 port and click Devices / USB / Kingston DataTraveler on your guest’s machine.

Step 2

To connect your flash drive to the guest operating system, click Devices / USB / Name of your USB from the Oracle tool menu.

Step 3

The flash memory you plug into your host’s USB 2.0 port will be automatically recognized on your Windows 2000 virtual computer. When you check My Computer, you can see your Removable Disk device. In the device manager underneath Disk Drives, you can see that the USB memory is working fine.

How to Increase Graphics Memory to 256 MB

When you install old operating systems such as Windows 2000 with Oracle software, the graphics memory can be 128 MB by default. You can increase this value by 256 MB by using the PowerShell tool from the location where your virtualization program is installed.

Step 1

Press Windows + R and then Run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool by executing the dxdiag command after opening it.

First, check that the Total Memory value in the Display tab in the DirectX tool is 128 MB.

Step 2

Open the location where Oracle VM VirtualBox is installed and click the right button while holding down the Shift key. Click the “Open PowerShell windows here” option in the open window.

Execute the following command in the PowerShell tool and change the Windows 2000 graphics memory to 256 MB.

./VBoxManage modifyvm 'Windows 2000' --vram 256Copy

Step 3

After restarting your guest machine, execute the dxdiag command and check your virtual PC’s total GPU/Graphics memory value.

Video

Installing Old Versions

Conclusion

As a result, thanks to Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.0, you can install Windows 2000 Professional in a virtual machine. Thus, you can discover the features of this historical operating system in a safe and comfortable environment.

In fact, Windows 2000 is no longer suitable for physical installations due to a lack of support. However, virtualization enthusiasts and professionals still have a method with experience. This is where the VirtualBox software comes into play and makes our work easier.

With this guide that I have explained in full detail, you can quickly run the Windows 2000 operating system. When you proceed step by step, you can use this system in a virtual environment without any problems.