China DOS Union

During installation, it always says “Unable to detect the current operating system.” After looking it up, I got this answer: 3. Why does installing Win2000 under Win9x show “Unable to detect the current operating system version number” and then exit setup?
　　 The main reason is that the Win2000 installer did not detect the current Windows version. This can happen if you are using a beta version of Win98, and some pirated Win98 installs that do not require a serial number during installation can also cause this kind of thing. You only need to manually modify the Win9x registry and add the serial number. This key is under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion. Create a new “string value” called ProductKey and set its value to your Win98 serial number, and also create a VersionNumber string value and set it to your Win98 version number (mine here is “4.10.1998”, as shown in Figure 3). But the above method is rather troublesome. It is recommended to boot and install using the Win2000 CD, or install under DOS, which is more convenient.
I want to boot and install using the Win2000 CD, or install under DOS, but I’m a newbie and don’t know the exact process. Please advise, experts.

Please make it as detailed as possible. Thanks in advance.

1. When installing with the Win2000 bootable CD, you only need to do this:
1. Boot with the Win2000 bootable CD!
2. It will automatically run Setup. Just follow the prompts.

2. Installing under DOS.
1. Remember to load smartdrv.exe, otherwise the file-copying process will take a very long time.
2. After booting with a DOS boot disk (or in Win98 DOS mode), just run the Win2000 install command winnt.exe. Generally, this file is in the I386 folder on your bootable CD.
3. The other steps are the same as in 1, step 2.

1. I tried booting from the CD, but it didn’t work. My method was: first go into boot and change it to CD boot, but when it came to the options, I didn’t know what to choose.
2. How do I load smartdrv.exe? Also, do I open the setup file inside winnt.exe in the I386 folder and run it, and that’s it? The setup in 2000 does not support installing under DOS.

Could you explain it in more detail? Thanks!

If you are using a Win2000 three-in-one CD or a so-called five-in-one CD, then there will be options.
If it is a single Win2000 bootable CD, just boot directly from the CD and it will install automatically.
If it is a three-in-one, then since every maker’s boot menu is different, I don’t know how to tell you what to choose.
To load smartdrv.exe, you only need to enter smartdrv at the command line in Win98 DOS startup mode and press Enter.
“Also, do I open the setup file inside winnt.exe in the I386 folder and run it, and that’s it?”
－－－－－－That’s wrong!
There is no such thing as a setup file inside winnt.exe.
No file is inside another file like that.
To install win2000 under DOS, you only need to type winnt!!!

Also, I can’t make it any more detailed! If you still don’t understand, I suggest starting from the beginning. Go look at some posts in the beginner section first.

Many people are troubled by this problem!!
If the 2000 installer cannot detect the Windows version, it cannot install!!
Today, after tracking it for a while, I finally found the solution!!
So it turns out the reason the 2000 installer cannot detect the Windows version is that
your Windows product ID is missing!! Maybe some software
made it disappear!!

How to tell:
Open System Properties, and on the General tab, under “Registered to:”
look at the third line and see whether there is a number like **** - OEM - ****** - *****
If there isn’t, then the product ID is missing.

Solution:
Just copy a product ID from a machine that has one.
Open this registry item:
HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\windows\currentVersion\
Find the “ProductID” item and change its value to someone else’s product ID,
and that will do it. But remember, your two systems must be the same.

Finally, run the 2000 installer again and see... hehe!!! It worked!

It’s best not to upgrade from 98 to 2000. It’s better to install 2000 separately. Also, be careful not to install them in the same partition, otherwise the same directories like program files and so on will affect each other. Once you feel there are no problems using 2000, you can then delete 98.
If you upgrade from 98 to 2000, some problems from 98 may also be carried into 2000. If you choose to keep the rollback files, it takes up a lot of space. If you don’t choose that, then if something goes wrong, won’t both of them be unusable?
Booting from the CD to install 2000 is the most convenient. It saves you from the long file-copying process at the very beginning of hard disk installation. I suggest everyone use a CD copied from the original edition for boot installation. That way the CD is also more reliable, and won’t contain some junk or other manually modified stuff.