Windows 2000
`T here are a num.ber of computer operating systems, such
`
`as DOS, Windows 98 and Netware 4.1 L One or more
`may be loaded into a PC, but only one can be in use at
`any one time. PC operating systems have a number of
`characteristics, such as single- or multi-processing and being
`platform-dependent or -independent. Windows 2000 is a multi(cid:173)
`processing, multi-tasking, multi-threading, platform(cid:173)
`independent operating system. These terms require
`explanation.
`
`Multi-processing: An operating system that will work with a
`multi-processor motherboard, i.e. a motherboard that contains
`more than one microprocessor chip, is known as a multi(cid:173)
`processing operating system. DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and
`Novell 2.x, 3.x. 4.0 and 4.10 are all single-processing
`operating systems. Multi-processing systems include Windows
`NT, ME, 2000 and Novell 4.11 and 5.x.
`
`Multi-tasking: A multi-tasking operating system enables more
`
`K.F. Ibrahim
`describes the
`· Windows 2000 PC
`operating system,
`its boot-up sequence
`and some boot-up
`faults. There are
`standalone and
`server ( used for
`workgroups)
`versions of the
`system: this article
`concentrates on the
`former version,
`which Microsoft calls
`Professional
`
`than one application to run simultaneously, one in the
`foreground and a second or third or more in the background.
`There are two types of multi-tasking: co-operative (Windows
`3.11) and pre-emptive (Windows 9~, 98, ME, NT and 2000).
`The first relies on the application in the foreground
`relinquishing control to another application when requested by
`the system. This technique is prone to causing computer crashes
`- when one application refuses to yield to another. With the
`pre-emptive type the operating system retains control so that it
`can force applications to relinquish control as required.
`
`Multi-threading: A thread is a single basic unit of code
`scheduled for use. A number of threads form a process and a
`number of processes constitute an instruction. A sequence of
`instructions forms a program. Two threads can be used
`simultaneously when two ALUs (Arithmetic Logic Units) are
`available. This is known as multi-threading.
`Up to the Intel 80486, microprocessor chips had only one
`ALU and could thus handle only a single thread at a time. From
`the Pentium onwards processors were manufactured with two
`ALUs to provide multi-threading. DOS, Windows 3, O/S and
`Novell 2.x and 3.x can recognise only one ALU and are thus
`single-thread operating systems. Windows 95, ME, 2000, NT
`and Novell 4.x and 5.x can use two ALUs and are thus refered
`to as multi-threading systems .
`
`Platform dependency: An operating system is said to be
`platform-dependent if it can be used with only one type of
`processor, either an Intel-based CISC (Complex Instruction Set
`Code) or an Alpha-based RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Code)
`processor. Operating systems such as Windows NT and 2000
`can be used with either CISC or RISC processors and are
`known as platform-independent systems. To achieve this with
`a RISC motherboard, a software layer known as the Hardware
`Abstration Layer (HAL) is inserted between the computer
`hardware and the operating system. With HAL present the
`operating system is not aware of the type of processor in use .
`RISC processors are faster: they can perform fast
`mathematical operations using fewer (a 'reduced' number of)
`instructions. Examples of CISC processors are the Intel
`
`-
`
`s..d:.,.bMbO..WWb~.
`
`~-iilllSEl
`
`I.INthesttltlOStiCOl"b'dPMllto ~
`
`~ ) 'O I i ~.
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`......
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`_ ..,
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`...........
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`•
`- ' - " -
`• • •
`- _,.., ·-
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`,._,_,,,
`
`The Windows 2000 control panel screen.
`
`518
`
`July 2002 TELEVISION
`
`Petitioners Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. - Ex. 1015, p. 518
`
`

`

`80XXX and Pentium series. Examples of RISC processors are
`the Alpha and OAK type.
`
`Fully plug-n-play cards
`Modem PC adaptor cards are of the plug-n-play (PnP) type, with
`which IRQ (Intenupt Request), port address and any other
`resource requirements are allocated automatically by a software
`routine that checks the resources available and allocates the first
`available ones to the card. Three requirments must be met for
`successful PnP installation of a device: the device itself must be of
`the PnP type, the motherboard must have a PnP BIOS (Basic Input
`Output Services) chip and the operating system must suppo11 PnP
`installation. Such operating systems include Windows 95 , 98, ME
`and 2000.
`During the boot-up, the PnP BIOS chip helps to resolve
`conflicts as devices mounted on the motherboard and peripherals
`plugged into slots compete for access to limited system resources .
`Thi s continues after the boot-up, with the BIOS chip providing
`configuration services. It enables resources to be allocated and
`relocated even after the operating system has been loaded.
`
`Device Manager
`.
`The Dev\ce Manager is a utility introduced by Microsoft and used
`with Windows 95, 98, ME and 2000 but not NT. lt provides a
`graphical representation of all the devices that have been
`configured and can be be accessed by selecting the system icon in
`the control panel. It lists all the hardware devices, their properties,
`drivers and the reso urces allocated to them. Problems are indicated
`by three red symbols:
`
`(D This indicates that either a device is not present, that it's not
`installed or that there's a resource conflict.
`
`CT) Thi s indicates that not all drivers have been installed.
`
`@ Thi s indicates severe resource conflict, with the offending
`item disabled.
`
`By double-clicking on the offending symbol, the device
`properties, including its drivers and resource allocation (IRQ and
`port address), can be examined and in some cases modified.
`
`File systems
`Three file systems are in common use: the 16-bit FAT (File
`Allocation Table), the 32-bit FAT32 and NTFS (New Technology
`File System). FAT is a basic standard that can be used by DOS
`and almost all other operating systems including Windows 95 , 98,
`NT and 2000 as well as Novell systems. FAT-formatted partitions
`use filenames with a maxim um of 11 characters (8.3 format) for
`DOS and 255 characters for Windows 95, 98, ME and 2000, also
`NT. It uses 12- or 16-bit binary numbers to identify clusters and
`
`Jet,t
`
`The Windows 2000 computer management screen.
`
`C:\ drive 2GB or more, NTFS,
`Windows 2000
`
`other
`partitions
`
`(a)
`
`C:\DOS
`1GB, FAT
`
`D:\ 2GB or more , NTFS,
`Windows 2000
`
`other
`partitions
`
`(b)
`
`C:\ Win98
`1GB, FAT32
`
`D:\ 2GB or more, NTFS,
`Windows 2000
`
`other
`partitions
`
`(c)
`
`Fig. 1: Typical hard-disk configurations. {a) Single-boot
`configuration, {b) and {c) dual-boot configurations.
`
`•
`thus provide a maximum hard-disk capacity of 2GB.
`Partitioning a hard disk is carried out by the DOS FDISK
`command, which generates a menu that enables the user to divide
`the hard disk into one or two partitions, a primary and an extended
`partition. The extended partition can be further di vided into a
`number of logical drives (up to 25) such as D:, E: and so on . Each
`partition and logical drive is allocated a proportion of the total disk
`space.
`The partition where the operating system is to be loaded,
`normally drive C:, must be a primary partition and must be made
`active. Failure to do this will result in the BIOS being unable to
`detect and load the operating system at stai1 up.
`FAT32 uses 32-bit numbers to identify clusters, thus increasing
`the maximum supported disk capacity to 2,048GB (2TB).
`Windows 95 onwards can use FAT32.
`NTFS is fas ter than FAT and FAT32. It can use names up to 255
`characters long and very lai·ge pa11itions. The other advantage is
`that it provides an extended list of attributes and security features
`compared with FAT' s limited attributes. It suffers from the fact
`that it can be used with only two operating systems, Windows NT
`and 2000.
`
`Installation
`The minimum hardware requirements (microprocessor type and
`speed, system memory and hard-disk space) specified by
`Microsoft for a machine that's to have Windows 2000
`Professional installed are theoretical limits. A PC that has this
`minimum hardware specification will be very slow - if it ever gets
`off the ground. In practice the following is considered to be
`satisfactory: a Pentium 400MHz (preferably 800MHz)
`microprocessor; 64MB (preferably 128MB) of memory; 1 GB
`(preferabl y 2GB) of hard-disk space and a CD-ROM dri ve
`(preferably x52). Typical hard-disk configurations are shown in
`Fig. 1.
`Microsoft supplies an installation CD-ROM disk from which the
`operating system can be installed. Windows 2000 is a multi-boot
`operating system. This means that it can be installed in a PC which
`already has an operating system such as DOS or a previous
`version of Windows installed. The two systems can coexist in the
`same PC. At boot-up a menu will be displayed enabling the user to
`select one of the two or more operating systems installed. If DOS
`is to be one of the operating systems it must be installed first - if it
`is installed last it will remove all previously installed operating
`systems .
`To install Windows 2000 with an Intel-based DOS PC, boot up
`into DOS , make the CD-ROM drive (normally 0 :\) the working
`directory, change the directory to i386 and enter W/NNT at the
`prompt, i.e. >D:\i386\WINNT.
`The installati on wizard will 'then be launched and you will be
`asked to fill in a number of details and settings, including name
`and organisation (which could be anything), name of adminisu-ator
`(which is Administrator by default) and a password (which is case
`sensitive) of your choosing. You will also be asked to specify the
`partition where the system folder is to be located. This is normally
`
`TELEVISION Jul y 2002
`
`5 19
`
`Petitioners Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. - Ex. 1015, p. 519
`
`

`

`Br
`
`Master Boot Record
`
`I
`
`f
`
`Fig. 2; Boot-up
`sequence with a
`NTLDR dual-boot PC.
`
`i BOOT.INI i
`
`Boot Loader Menu
`
`a folder called
`WINNT. Ifa
`separate partition
`to that used for
`DOS is selected,
`you are given the
`options to format
`it into FAT or
`NTFS.
`At the end of
`the installation
`process you are
`asked if you want
`to log on
`automatically.
`This option is
`appropriate only
`if you have no
`security
`requirements, as
`in the case of a
`standalone PC in
`someone's home.
`Otherwise, a log(cid:173)
`on window will
`appear each time
`the PC boots up
`and you will have
`to enter a user
`name and a
`password.
`The same
`procedure is used
`to install Windows 2000 with a PC that has Windows 95, 98, ME
`or NT installed, except that WINNT32 must be entered in the
`RUN command line.
`With a single-boot PC that has no previously installed operating
`system the Windows 2000 installation CD can be used directly as
`a boot CD, provided the boot sequence in CMOS is set for CD(cid:173)
`ROM to be the first boot. The set-up Wizard will be launched and
`the installation process begins.
`
`default operating system is selected. FS may be pressed at this
`stage for troubleshooting purposes. In single-boot machines the
`menu is bypassed.
`
`(3) NTLDR loads the operating system selected from the BLM.
`(4) If Windows is selected, NTDETECT.COM is carried out. It
`checks the hardware and builds a hardware list.
`
`(5) Control of the computer is now passed to the operating system
`kernel NTOSKRNL.EXE. This final stage of the boot-up process
`consists of three phases: the kernel load phase; the kernel
`initialisation phase; and the log-on phase. The latter normally
`consists of a log-on screen which asks the user to enter a user
`name and a password (the password may be blank). This phase is
`bypassed if automatic log-on is selected at the installation stage.
`
`Those familiar with Windows NT will realise that the boot-up
`routine, including system file names, for Windows 2000 is
`identical to that for NT.
`With a dual-boot PC, if the second operating system is DOS,
`BOOTSECT.DOS is loaded after the Boot Loader Menu, followed
`by the DOS prompt.
`Try booting up Windows 2000 Professional. Observe the boot-up
`sequence as displayed on the screen. If it's a dual-boot system, the
`menu will appear with the default operating system highlighted
`and a countdown.
`Fig. 2 illustrates the boot-up sequence with a dual-boot PC.
`
`The BOOT.INI file
`This is the only file, in text form, that can be changed and edited.
`Unlike Windows NT4, with which BOOT.IN! is a read-only file
`(attribute R), with Windows 2000 it has attributes H (hidden) and
`S (system). It can, therefore, though hidden be edited without
`having to change its attributes.
`
`[boot loader}
`Jjmeout=30
`··· ,oefault=multi·(O) diskJO) rdisk (Ol partition {2l'\WfNNt
`· {operating systeml!IJ ... · ,·
`._. ·
`multi {Ol disk (Of rd~k (OJ p~rt,iti.on (2l\W1Nllff="Micr1>soft.
`2000 ProfessionaJ" ;; ·
`·
`C:\="MS-DOS" .. •
`
`A typical BOOT.IN! file is shown in Table 1. It contains two
`sections: boot loader and operating systems. The boot loader
`contains two settings, default and timeout. Default specifies the
`path to the folder ( default WINNIT) where the operating system
`resides. The default operating system is selected if no other
`operating system is present or none is selected during the timeout
`period. Timeout is the time (default value 30 seconds) allowed for
`the user to select an operating system from the boot menu. The
`second section, operating systems, lists the path to each available
`operating system that's been loaded in the PC.
`Two operating systems are listed in Table 1, Windows 2000 and
`DOS, with Windows 2000 as default. The path for Windows 2000
`is contained in the part of the line before the= sign. Multi (0)
`indicates an IDE or EIDE drive (scsi is used for SCSI drives), with
`(0) giving the number of the hard-disk drive. Disk (0) is always (0)
`for multi - for SCSI drives the number in brackets would be
`between 0-6 to specify the SCSI ID. Rdisk (0) indicates that the
`drive is master (1 is used for slave) - for SCSI it's always (0).
`Partition (2) points to the second partition of the hard disk.
`WINNT specifies the name of the folder where System32 folder
`and system files are placed.
`The part of the line after the= sign, within the " "marks, is the
`text that appears in the boot loader menu to describe the operating
`system.
`The BOOT.IN! file can be edited using DOS editor or it can be
`opened up within Windows. Editing can be carried out in three
`ways:
`
`i
`i
`i
`
`DOS
`
`BOOTSEC.DOS
`
`DOS prompt
`
`Windows 2000
`
`i
`i
`i
`
`NTDETECT
`
`NTOSKRNL
`
`Log-in screen
`
`The Windows 2000 boot-up process
`The PC boot-up process consists of two phases. The first is the
`BIOS phase, which is common to all operating systems. In this
`phase BIOS routines stored in a BIOS ROM chip are carried out to
`prepare for loading the operating system itself, be this DOS,
`Windows or Novell. The second phase loads the operating system
`and is operating-system specific. Since Windows 2000 is a
`multiprocessing system, there are two boot-up sequences, one for
`CISC and the other for RISC processors. The following is the
`sequence for CISC-processor PCs.
`The BIOS phase of the boot-up process is as follows. At switch(cid:173)
`on the processor is reset and BIOS is loaded. BIOS then runs the
`POST (Power On System Test), loads the HD driver and loads the
`master boot record (MBR) into memory. MBR searches the
`partition boot record (PBR) of the hard disk for an active partition
`and loads the boot sector into memory.
`Phase two consists of loading five system files: NTLDR (NT
`loader); BOOT.IN!; NTDETECT.COM; and NTOSKRNL.EXE
`(operating system kernel).
`The following is a more detailed account of phase two.
`
`(1) The boot sector loads and initialises the NT loader (NTLDR)
`which begins the boot sequence. NTDLR changes the processor
`memory access to a 32-bit flat (linear) memory model and starts a
`minifile system that depends on whether the FAT or NTFS file
`system is used.
`
`(2) The NT loader reads file BOOT.IN! to construct the Boot
`Loader Menu (BLM). This menu appears on-screen for user
`selection with timeout (30 seconds by default) after which the
`
`520
`
`July 2002 TELEVISION
`
`Petitioners Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. - Ex. 1015, p. 520
`
`

`

`(1) Boot up and select DOS from the boot-up menu (if DOS is
`available as a previous operating system). Change the working
`directory to C:\ and type EDIT BOOT.IN! at the prompt. An
`editable BOOT.IN! file will be displayed. Note that although
`BOOT.IN! with attributes H and S will not be shown in directory
`listing DIR, it may be listed if either the ATTRIB or DIR/A
`command is used.
`(2) Boot up into Windows 2000 and open the command line (Start
`>Run> enter CMD > OK). Change the working directory to C:.
`Carry out (1) above.
`
`(3) From the desktop, double click on My Computer> double
`click on C:\ > Tools form bar menu > Folder options > View >
`click on Show Hidden Files > click to remove tick on Hide
`protected operating system files > click Yes to warning > Apply >
`OK. BOOT.IN! will now be displayed. Double click on
`BOOT.IN! to open. Edit as necessary, save and exit.
`
`Boot-up process with RISC-processor PCs
`Phase one is the same as with CISC-processor based PCs. In phase
`two, instead of the NT loader the resident ROM firmware
`examines the BIOS Parameter Block (BPB) to verify that it
`contains the FAT file system. The firmware then proceeds to load
`OSLOADER.EXE and passes control to it, along with the results
`of the hardware detection determined by the POST routine.
`OSLOADER.EXE then loads NTOSKRNL.EXE followed by
`HAL.DLL, hardware-specific files (extension .PAL) and system
`files. NTOSKRNL.EXE then loads the device drivers.
`Note that with a RISC processor-based PC (a) the POST routine
`gathers the hardware information and passes it to the operating
`system kernel, hence the absence of NTDETECT.COM, and (b)
`the Boot menu is stored in a non-volatile RAM, thus there's no
`need for a BOOT.IN! file.
`
`Advanced options menu
`Windows 2000 provides an Advanced Options Menu for
`troubleshooting purposes. Use it in cases of failure to boot up
`caused by a missing boot file, the introduction of new hardware or
`a new application. The Advanced Options Menu can be brought
`up by pressing F8 during the boot-up process. It provides a
`number of options that can be used in cases where normal booting
`up is not possible. The options are as follows.
`
`(1) Safe Mode. Enables the most basic drivers and services
`including VGA 4-bit colour, 640 x 480, 60Hz refresh rate; mouse;
`keyboard; hard disk; CD-ROM drive; PS/2 (not serial) mouse. As
`far as Microsoft is concerned, serial mouse, sound card and
`network adaptor card are non-standard devices.
`
`(2) Safe Mode with command prompt. Loads standard device
`drivers as Safe Mode with a command-prompt interface. Note that
`Windows 95/98/ME Safe Mode includes only keyboard, hard disk
`and monitor.
`
`(3) Safe Mode with networking. Loads Safe Mode devices with the
`drivers and services necessary for networking.
`
`(4) Enable VGA Mode. Loads the VGA graphics driver only. This
`option is enabled with all Safe Mode boot options.
`
`(5) Last Known Good Configuration. If the PC fails to boot up as a
`result of changes in the registry, caused by loading new drivers for
`example, the previous configuration can be obtained by selecting
`this option. This may be useful where, for example, new drivers
`have been loaded causing a boot-up failure.
`This option is possible because Windows 2000 maintains several
`complete copies of the system configuration in the registry.
`
`(6) Directory Services Restore Mode. Restores a corrupt directory
`database. This is only for servers that are Domain Controllers.
`
`(7) Debugging Mode. Initiates the debugging process to gather
`
`The Windows 2000 task manager screen.
`
`debugging data for future diagnostics. Available only with
`Windows 2000 servers.
`
`Common boot-up faults
`Boot-up faults mean that the system will not boot up in Windows
`and/or DOS or another operating system if the PC is a multi-boot
`one. A Windows 2000 boot-up or start-up disk may therefore be
`very helpful. Unlike the DOS start-up disk however, which can be
`used to boot up the machine independently of the hard disk, the
`Windows 2000 disk contains what Microsoft calls 'system files',
`namely NTLDR, NTDETECT and BOOT.INI, but not
`NTOSKRNL. The latter resides on the hard disk in the
`WINNT/System32 directory. It follows that a Windows 2000
`boot-up disk can boot the PC into Windows 2000 only if it can
`correctly locate and load up the kernel NTOSKRNL file from the
`hard disk. As mentioned earlier, the location of the kernel file is
`specified in BOOT.IN!. Since BOOT.IN! is machine-specific, it
`follows that each machine must have its own specific boot-up
`disk.
`Boot-up faults are invariably caused by missing or corrupted
`boot files. This is another reason for creating and keeping a
`machine-specific boot-up disk, which will enable missing files to
`be copied back from the boot-up disk as necessary.
`
`Creating a Windows 2000 start-up disc
`For a CISC-type processor PC, proceed as follows. Boot up a
`Windows 2000 Professional machine, insert a floppy disc and
`format it using the Windows 2000 format utility (My Computer>
`right click on floppy A:\> select Format> enter a label such as
`W2K boot> Start> Warning to the effect that data on the disk
`will be lost> press OK to the warning > exit when finished).
`Copy the following files from the hard disk (normally drive C:\)
`to the floppy disk: BOOT.IN!; NTLDR; NTDETECT.COM;
`BOOTSECT.DOS (for multi-boot into DOS).
`Remove the disk and label it W2K Boot or any other appropriate
`name of your choosing.
`You can test the boot-up disk by inserting it in the floppy drive
`and restarting the PC. The PC should boot up in Windows 2000
`Professional. If not, check that the boot-up sequence in the CMOS
`set-up is set to the floppy drive as the first boot-up option.
`With a RISC-type processor PC, format a floppy disk as above
`and copy the following files: OSLOADER.EXE; HAL.DLL;
`*.PAL.
`
`Recovery console
`Use of a boot-up disc is not the only way in which a start up can
`be attempted in the event of failure to do so normally. An
`installation disk is a start-up CD, and can be used to boot up a PC.
`After installing drivers the user is asked to select a Repair option
`by pressing R or an install option. Selection of the Repair option
`will set up the Recovery Console. The user is asked to select a
`
`TELEVISION July 2002
`
`521
`
`Petitioners Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. - Ex. 1015, p. 521
`
`

`

`console (one is usually available and 1 is selected). Before you are
`allowed to enter the Recovery Console, a user name and password
`must be entered. The user name must be the administrator or any
`other user name with equivalent rights.
`A prompt, very similar to the DOS prompt, will appear with
`WINNT as the working directory, i.e. D:\WINNT>
`Some DOS commands can be used, including DIR and COPY,
`but the majority of the Recovery Console commands are different.
`Examples are LIST SVC to list services, and ENABLE and
`DISABLE to start and terminate services or applications.
`The DISABLE command is very useful when a boot-up failure
`occurs as a result of a new application refusing to terminate,
`causing a crash.
`Recovery Console can be used to copy missing files from say a
`floppy disk to the hard disk.
`A full list of commands can be obtained by typing in HELP.
`
`Boot-up error messages
`The following is a list of typical boot-up error messages, their
`meanings and solutions.
`
`(1) Message "NTLDR missing". The solution is to copy the
`NTLDR file from a Windows 2000 boot-up disk or from a known(cid:173)
`good Professional system. Copying can be carried out in two
`ways. One is to boot up using a start-up disk and then copy from
`the floppy disc to C:\. The other is to open the Recovery Console
`and copy NTLDR from a floppy disc to C:\.
`
`(2) Message "1/0 error accessing bootsector file" is displayed
`when attempting to boot a multi-boot PC to DOS. It means that the
`BOOTSECTOR.DOS file is missing. The solution is to copy from
`a floppy disk in the same way as fault (1).
`
`(3) Message "NTDETECT failed". The solution is to copy the
`NTDETECT file from a floppy disk in the same way as above. If
`the PC is a multi-boot one with DOS as one operating system
`available, you can boot up into DOS then copy the NTDETECT
`file from the floppy disk.
`
`( 4) Message "NTOSKRNL missing or corrupt: please install a
`copy". This does not normally mean that the NTOSKRNL.EXE
`file is actually missing or corrupted: the most likely cause is a
`missing BOOT.INI file or an incorrect entry in it.
`The solution is first to check that the BOOT.IN! file is present
`and that its contents are correct. This can be done by booting up in
`DOS if available, or booting from a Windows 2000 start-up disk,
`or by entering the Recovery Console. lfthe BOOT.IN! file is
`missing, copy it from a boot-up disk. If the BOOT.IN! file is
`present, check its contents and edit if necessary. It may be easier to
`copy the file than attempting to edit it. Remember that the
`BOOT.IN! file is machine-specific.
`To copy the BOOT.IN! file or edit it, use the same procedure as
`used for copying the NTLDR or other boot files.
`If BOOT.INI is not the cause of the problem, copy
`NTOSKRNL.EXE from the Windows 2000 installation disc.
`
`K.F. Ibrahim is Technical Development Manager of
`the Digital Village at the College of North West
`London. He is author of several books, including PC
`Operation and Repair (second edition) and Digital
`Television.
`
`Petitioners Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. - Ex. 1015, p. 522
`
`