Determine the Compatibility and Reliability of Existing Software

It is highly important that you ensure that the software you need to use is compatible with Windows 2000 before you upgrade. You can do this by contacting the software vendor, or setting up a test network on which to run the application.

Additionally, to help you determine if your existing software is compatible and reliable, you will want to address the following questions:

• Which file systems (FAT or NTFS) are in use?
• Which operating systems and service packs are currently in use?
• For which operating system was a program written (Microsoft® Windows NT®, Microsoft® Windows® 98, Microsoft® Windows® 95, Microsoft® Windows® 3.x, or Microsoft® MS-DOS®?)
• Was the program written to operate in a specific network environment? For which version of that network?
• Are program and program configuration files stored on a server or on the clients?
• Are data files stored on a server or on clients?

After you have answered these questions, you will know whether the existing software in your environment is compatible with Windows 2000 Server.

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