I just finished building my computer, and I'm about to install an operating system on it. After skimming through the mainboard manual, I noticed that it says that in order to use a SATA hdd, you must install Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. I have a Windows 2000 Professional cd and cdkey, but I don't know what service pack version it is.

So, could I install Windows 2000 first, then update it over the Internet, or do I need a Windows 2000 installation cd that already has Service Pack 4 with it? My current computer is using:

Mainboard: ASUS P5LD2
HDD: Western Digital WD2500KS
CPU: Intel Pentium D 930
RAM: Corsair XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics Card: XFX GeForce 6800XT PCI-E

Also, could anyone explain how dual-core processors work? Would I notice any improvement while using Windows 2000 Professional with a Pentium D 930? And how do I know if an application is multi-threaded? Thanks.

Hi,

It just totally depends on whether the disk driver could recognize your SATA-II HDD during Windows 2000 installation. So, if you are able to proceed to the stage that Windows 2000 could format your harddrive, then I am quite sure that you could install it successfully. Besides, you could provide your disk driver by press F6 during installation starting.

Hope this help.

Athens Yan

At least with SATA 1 as long as I install the drivers from the 2 floppies wehn asked after pressing F6 that came with my mobo and set the BIOS correctly, never had a problem with 2000 recognizing my SATA drives.

You will probably need to provide the driver during setup regardless of what service pack you have. You can use the MSFN guide to slipstream SP4 and create a new Windows 2000 CD that already has SP4 on it. While you're at it, you could download the driver for your SATA controller and slipstream that in too. This way, each time you install Windows 2000, it already has SP4 installed and you won't need the driver disk for your SATA controller. It may take longer this way, but it is worth it in the long run.