It's been years since Microsoft produced an operating system upgrade worth more than a yawn. Windows 95 was revolutionary, but Windows 98 was at best an overpriced collection of bug fixes with Internet Explorer welded on.

Is Windows 2000 destined to be just another ho-hum upgrade? Don't let the unimaginative name fool you into punching the snooze button. Although its interface borrows heavily from the consumer-oriented Windows 95 and 98, Windows 2000 is a worthy successor to Windows NT 4.0, packed with usability improvements, rock-solid reliability, and support for new hardware (especially USB devices).

We can summarize Windows 2000's most attractive new feature in three words: It doesn't crash. Unlike the notoriously buggy Windows 95 and 98, you can expect this Windows to run for months without rebooting. In high-pressure businesses that can't afford downtime, the upgrade may pay for itself in days. PC Computing has been testing various versions of Windows 2000 for more than a year, running it 24/7, and we have seen the dreaded Blue Screen of Death only twice. On both occasions the problem went away after we updated a device driver.

If you do most of your computing at 30,000 feet and higher, Windows 2000 Professional is an absolute must. On new notebooks that support the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard, power management is as good as it gets. One caveat: Even on brand-new hardware, you may need a BIOS upgrade before your notebook works properly.

While Windows 2000 is filled with usability improvements, it's far from perfect. The security features that make Windows 2000 appealing in corporate environments can make it a nightmare for even an experienced Windows user trying to get work done in a small office. In fact, basic tasks like formatting a hard disk and backing up to a tape drive are much harder with Windows 2000.

Setting up Windows 2000 Server Edition is deceptively simple—so easy, in fact, that you might be tempted to try it without professional help. Unless you're a networking expert, that's probably a bad idea. Even IT professionals will struggle to understand how to organize domains, set up the new Active Directory feature, and configure a network for shared Internet access. If you run a large corporate network, send your IT staff to get certified on the new features and wait for a service pack or two before beginning large-scale rollouts.

Oh, and get out your checkbook. Unless you buy Windows licenses by the thousands, you can expect to pay roughly $200 per machine for the OS alone. Also budget for hardware upgrades: We recommend 128MB of RAM, at least 4GB of free disk space, and a 300MHz CPU. Don't forget the hidden costs of training either—for average users and support staff alike.

Windows 2000 has been in development for years, but the results are impressive. Despite some nagging problems, this Windows upgrade was worth the wait.

What's New in Win2K?