BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST IN WIN2K -- PART ONE: SAFE MODE
Did you know that you can boot into Windows 2000 Safe Mode by pressing F8 just before the boot menu appears? If you have trouble hitting F8 at just the right time, insert a non-bootable floppy disk in your A: drive and restart your computer. When you receive the error message, remove the floppy disk and press F8 twice -- once to clear the error message, and a second time to access the boot menu which has Safe Mode as one of its options.

Just as in Win9x, Win2K Safe Mode allows you to get into your operating system with a minimum of drivers loading. Safe Mode bypasses your Startup folder so only the bare minimum required to run the OS is loaded. This allows you to make adjustments and edits unencumbered.



PREPARATION 2K -- PART TWO: RECOVERY CONSOLE
Win2K is an amazingly stable operating system, so you aren't likely to have a problem. Still, it could happen -- something could go very, very wrong, and sometimes even Win2K's Safe Mode won't let you get in and fix the problem. For that you can use the Recovery Console, a DOS-like command line interface, to manipulate files and hopefully, repair the damage.

Here's how to set up your Recovery console so that it will be available to you in an emergency.

• If you dual-boot Win2K with another Windows operating system, or if you see the initial boot menu allowing you to select your OS, you can ignore this first step. However, if you see no boot menu when you start up, you must enable it. To do this, go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/System and click the Advanced tab. Click the Startup and Recovery... button and place a check mark in the box for Display list of operating systems for and set the interval you desire. I have mine set for 15 seconds.
• Get your Win2K CD out and slap that bad boy in the tray. Close all open programs and launch a Command Prompt window.
• Change to your CD ROM (type the CD ROM drive letter followed by a colon and press Enter) and change directories so that you're in the :\i386 directory.
• Type WINNT32.EXE /CMDCONS and press Enter. Click the Yes button and you're on your way.
• Note that should you be unable to access your Recovery Console, or if you were negligent and didn't install this option and now you have troubles, you can still use this feature straight off the CD ROM. Simply boot up with an Emergency Recovery Disk (ERD) and follow the above directions. You must have access to your CD ROM to do this -- you have verified that your ERD will load drivers for your CD ROM, haven't you? If you've been very naughty and you haven't yet made an ERD, see below for instructions. Finally, in order to access the Recovery Console, you must have the Administrator's password.

PREPARATION 2K -- PART THREE: EMERGENCY RECOVERY DISK
While you're checking out things like Win2K Safe Mode, I would suggest creating an Emergency Recovery Disk, whether in Win98 or Win2K. Have a quick look at this for some help with this if you have Win98 installed, but we're talking Win2K here, so let's get busy.

Place a blank floppy disk in your A: drive and launch the Win2K Backup utility at Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup. Click the Emergency Repair Disk button and check the box to Also backup the registry to the repair directory. Now you can use this ERD to access your Recovery Console in an emergency, and restore the copy of the registry you just created, but remember, this isn't a boot disk. For a boot disk for Win2K, look below.

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PREPARATION 2K -- PART FOUR: BACKING UP AND RESTORING YOUR REGISTRY
Restoring your registry in Win2K couldn't be easier. Gone are the bad old days in Windows 95 when you had to boot into DOS and type a whole mess of encrypted Pluto-language ... upside down. In Win2K, just head on back to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup and click either Backup Wizard or Restore Wizard and follow the prompts. To back up the registry and related system files only, select the System State option. Follow this exact same procedure whether you are in the normal Windows interface or in Safe Mode.

If however, you cannot access Win2K normally or in Safe Mode, you can still use the Recovery Console to restore your registry, but this method should only be used as a last resort. Boot into the Recovery Console as described above.

• Select the Windows 2000 installation you wish to log into (if you have more than one on your system). Type the corresponding number and press Enter.
• When prompted, type your Administrator password. (This is case sensitive.)
• You will find yourself in the :\WINNT directory by default.
• Note: Only use this method as a last resort. Do NOT try this for "fun". Use your backup utility to restore the registry if at all possible. OK, having sounded a clear warning, here goes. This is what you type to restore your registry:
  
  COPY REPAIR\SYSTEM \SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
  
  This should overwrite the file SYSTEM in the \SYSTEM32\CONFIG directory with the earlier version that is in the \REPAIR directory. This replaces the system hive. You can replace the software hive by typing SOFTWARE in place of SYSTEM above.

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PREPARATION 2K -- PART FIVE: CREATE A BOOT DISK FOR WIN2K ONLY
Of course, if you are dual booting Win2K with Win98 or Linux or BeOS, you can access you Win2K files from those operating systems. But if you are just using In Win2K, you need a boot disk. The Emergency Recovery Disk is also necessary as described above, but it is not bootable.

1. Start by inserting a blank floppy disk in your A:\ drive. (Note: This must be done in Win2K, no other OS if you're multi-booting.) Launch Windows Explorer, right-click directly on the 3½ Floppy(A:) icon and select Format... from the context menu. Make sure the file system is set to FAT and that the box that says Quick Format is unchecked, and click Start. When it's done, click OK and then Close.
2. Before you proceed, in Windows Explorer, go to Tools/Folder Options... and click the File Types tab. Set your options so that Do not show hidden files and folders is unchecked, and Show hidden files and folders is checked. Also, uncheck Hide file extensions for known file types and Hide protected operating system files (Recommended). You can undo all these changes when you're done making your bootable diskette.
3. Now you need to copy a list of files to your boot floppy. The following list includes some files that may or may not be present. If they are, copy them to the diskette. If not, don't worry about it. All these files will be in the root of your C:\ drive if they are present at all on your system.
   • BOOT.INI
   • NTDETECT.COM
   • NTLDR
   • BOOTSECT.DOS
   • NTBOOTDD.SYS
4. Write protect your new Win2K boot floppy by sliding the little tab located in the back upper left corner UP. The is will protect the floppy from infection should the reason you need it be due to a virus infection.
5. Finally, test your new boot floppy. Just insert it into the A:\ drive and restart your system. It should take you to a boot menu which will allow you to boot into Win2K.