Windows 4,380,000... and counting
After 6 years to the day, on 8 April, I retired my install of Windows2000 when it just couldn't find the desire to boot. It lost its way in searching for the "/systemroot/system32/config/system" file after a final board swap and driver upgrade. Granted, it did manage to run for a little bit on the new board (after a handy restore), but again, the RAID driver update did it in when it restarted after the all hardware drivers installed. It however still lurks nearby, a ghostly image of its former self, tucked away in a folder nestled between Blue Man Group MP3s and DivX files of episodes of Jem and the Holograms.
I decided instead of reinstalling it again, to take the chance to install WinXP SP3, mainly to save myself a couple hours of downloads, patches, and reboots.
I will say that Win2k was the best version that MS released, and I'm not surprised that it lasted that long on one install. Choosing hardware that uses a unified driver model does help a good deal. :D
I poked about into the original registry hives stored away in the "repair" folder to get a glimpse of the shiny new hardware I installed it on those many days ago...
x86 Family 6 Model 4 Stepping 2, AuthenticAMD - Athlon 800 "Thunderbird" (Socket A)
640MB PC133 SDRAM
FIC AZ11 VIA KT133
Asus 50x CR-ROM
MAXTOR Diamond Max Plus 40 20GB Ultra 100 Hard Drive
SAMSUNG SpinPoint 4.3GB UATA/66 Hard Drive
WD Caviar AC14300 4GB Ultra ATA/66 HDD
Seagate Barracuda 4 5.1GB SCSI
Seagate Hawk 1LP 1.2GB SCSI
Iomega Zip-100 SCSI
Advansys SCSI Adapter
Inno3D GeForce2 MX 32MB
Realtek 8139A 10/100 Ethernet
SoundBlaster AudioPCI 64 (Ensoniq)
And the last iteration of hardware that it ran on, four CPU (Athlon 1100, XP1600+, XP2000+, and XP3000+) upgrades and Win2k Service Packs later:
x86 Family 15 Model 28 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~1809 Mhz - Sempron 3100+ "Paris" (Socket754)
2GB PC3200 DDR RAM
Gigabyte K8VT800 VIA K8T800
LiteOn 16x8x16x DVD+RW/48x24x48 CD-RW
Western Digital WD3200AA 320GB UltraATA-100
Maxtor STM3200820AS 200GB SATA/300
Seagate ST3120827AS 120GB SATA/150
Iomega Zip-250 IDE
NetGear SC101 300GB NAS
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA/RAID
Evga GeForce 7600GT 512MB
Realtek 8139A 10/100 Ethernet <--(same card, still working great) :)
SoundBlaster Audigy 5.1
I decided instead of reinstalling it again, to take the chance to install WinXP SP3, mainly to save myself a couple hours of downloads, patches, and reboots.
I will say that Win2k was the best version that MS released, and I'm not surprised that it lasted that long on one install. Choosing hardware that uses a unified driver model does help a good deal. :D
I poked about into the original registry hives stored away in the "repair" folder to get a glimpse of the shiny new hardware I installed it on those many days ago...
x86 Family 6 Model 4 Stepping 2, AuthenticAMD - Athlon 800 "Thunderbird" (Socket A)
640MB PC133 SDRAM
FIC AZ11 VIA KT133
Asus 50x CR-ROM
MAXTOR Diamond Max Plus 40 20GB Ultra 100 Hard Drive
SAMSUNG SpinPoint 4.3GB UATA/66 Hard Drive
WD Caviar AC14300 4GB Ultra ATA/66 HDD
Seagate Barracuda 4 5.1GB SCSI
Seagate Hawk 1LP 1.2GB SCSI
Iomega Zip-100 SCSI
Advansys SCSI Adapter
Inno3D GeForce2 MX 32MB
Realtek 8139A 10/100 Ethernet
SoundBlaster AudioPCI 64 (Ensoniq)
And the last iteration of hardware that it ran on, four CPU (Athlon 1100, XP1600+, XP2000+, and XP3000+) upgrades and Win2k Service Packs later:
x86 Family 15 Model 28 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~1809 Mhz - Sempron 3100+ "Paris" (Socket754)
2GB PC3200 DDR RAM
Gigabyte K8VT800 VIA K8T800
LiteOn 16x8x16x DVD+RW/48x24x48 CD-RW
Western Digital WD3200AA 320GB UltraATA-100
Maxtor STM3200820AS 200GB SATA/300
Seagate ST3120827AS 120GB SATA/150
Iomega Zip-250 IDE
NetGear SC101 300GB NAS
VIA VT8237 Serial ATA/RAID
Evga GeForce 7600GT 512MB
Realtek 8139A 10/100 Ethernet <--(same card, still working great) :)
SoundBlaster Audigy 5.1