Year 2000 must be recognized as a leap year.
How to Create NT Install Floppies
In the Imaging & Document Solutions Lab, we regularly reinstall Windows NT Server to return our computers to a pristine state after testing various software packages. We use the Install floppies to make full system reinstalls. Ordinary reinstalls may not remove obsolete dlls that can cause poor system performance. A full reinstall reformats the hard drive, making sure that NT is free from troublesome dlls.
If you canýt locate the set of Install floppies that came with your Windows NT CD, you can make a new set. Insert the Windows NT CD, go to a command prompt and type: ýwinnt.exe /OXý or ýwinnt32.exe /OXý.
You may have to search the Windows NT CD-ROM to identify the path to winnt.exe or winnt32.exe. The /OX switch is needed to make floppies that will install NT from a CD-ROM. Without the switch, the floppies will require that the NT install be made from a networked drive. Have three blank floppy discs handy. You will be prompted when to insert them into the floppy drive. The floppies are made in reverse order so the third disk is made first.
Move User Profiles
If you have a large number of users logging in to a Windows NT server, you probably have a lot of disk space used by user profiles. These profiles are kept in the directory %SystemRoot%\Profiles\. You can move these profiles to another partition and recover the disk space on your startup volume, but you will need the profilesý security identifier (SID). You can find the SIDs by using GetSID.exe from the Windows NT Server 4.0 Resource Kit.
Resizing Column Widths
Windowsý Details View provides lots of information about the files within a folder. When the columns get resized and you canýt see the full width of all the entries (or the columns get too wide and go off the edge of the screen) press Control + (using the + key on the keypad). Windows will resize all the columns to the width of the longest entry. You can get the same effect in Microsoft Excel by double clicking the borders between columns. That resizes the columns to the left of the border to a width equal to its longest entry.
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Windows 2000: Worth the Wait?
Windows 2000 (the operating system formerly known as Windows NT 5.0) may be a year late, but will it be a compelling upgrade? Document management software vendors say the answer will be yes. Many of these vendors plan to rely heavily on new services provided as part of Windows 2000, like Microsoftýs Active Directory and built-in scripting. Plus there are improvements expected in Y2K compliance, security, Internet services and administration.
Windows 2000 will probably include many other features that will be useful for document management. For example, itýs expected to include drivers for jukeboxes and other automated storage devices along with storage management software.
On the downside, Microsoft has had a rather spotty record when it comes to squashing bugs and filling security holes. Even after four service packs, problems with stability and Y2K compliance still crop up with Windows NT 4. Software vendors should also be skittish about supporting a platform sold by their biggest potential competitor. Windows 2000 is still in beta. It is already overdue, and there is no guaranty that all the features Microsoft is promising will make it through to the final product.
In the end, Windows 2000 will end up being the default operating system for most of us simply because itýs what everyone else uses. The strongest force in selecting a computer operating system is the network effect. When one system dominates or is perceived to dominate, all development effort goes to supporting that platform, regardless of its technical merits. Can a manager of a document system afford to choose otherwise?
