Editing Windows 2000 (section)

== Support lifecycle ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=May 2024}}
Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Server were superseded by newer Microsoft operating systems: Windows 2000 Server products by [[Windows Server 2003]], and Windows 2000 Professional by [[Windows XP|Windows XP Professional]].

The Windows 2000 family of operating systems moved from mainstream support to the extended support phase on June 30, 2005. Microsoft says that this marks the progression of Windows 2000 through the Windows lifecycle policy. Under mainstream support, Microsoft freely provides design changes if any, service packs and non-security related updates in addition to security updates, whereas in extended support, service packs are not provided and non-security updates require contacting the support personnel by e-mail or phone. Under the extended support phase, Microsoft continued to provide critical security updates every month for all components of Windows 2000 (including Internet Explorer 5.0 SP4) and paid per-incident support for technical issues. Because of Windows 2000's age, updated versions of components such as [[Windows Media Player 11]] and [[Internet Explorer 7]] have not been released for it. In the case of Internet Explorer, Microsoft said in 2005 that, "some of the security work in IE 7 relies on operating system functionality in XP SP2 that is non-trivial to port back to Windows 2000."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marson |first=Ingrid |date=June 3, 2005 |title=Windows 2000 users to miss out on IE 7 |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/windows-2000-users-to-miss-out-on-ie-7/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517030937/https://www.cnet.com/news/windows-2000-users-to-miss-out-on-ie-7/ |archive-date=May 17, 2019 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |website=[[CNET]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]}}</ref>

While users of Windows 2000 Professional and Server were eligible to purchase the upgrade license for Windows Vista Business or Windows Server 2008, neither of these operating systems can directly perform an upgrade installation from Windows 2000; a clean installation must be performed instead or a two-step upgrade through XP/2003. Microsoft has dropped the upgrade path from Windows 2000 (and earlier) to [[Windows 7]]. Users of Windows 2000 must buy a full Windows 7 license.

Although Windows 2000 is the last NT-based version of Microsoft Windows which does not include [[Microsoft Product Activation|product activation]], Microsoft has introduced [[Windows Genuine Advantage]] for certain downloads and non-critical updates from the Download Center for Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 reached the end of its lifecycle (EoL) on July 13, 2010 (alongside Service Pack 2 of Windows XP). It will not receive new security updates and new security-related hotfixes after this date.<ref name="Lifecycle">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Product Lifecycle for Windows 2000 family |url=http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/?sort=PN&alpha=Windows+2000&Filter=FilterNO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407031934/http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/?sort=PN&alpha=Windows+2000&Filter=FilterNO |archive-date=April 7, 2013 |access-date=February 17, 2017 |website=Support |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref><ref name="ExtendedSupport">{{Cite web |date=June 28, 2005 |title=Windows 2000 Transitions to Extended Support June 30, 2005 |url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/extendedsupport.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050630234136/http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/extendedsupport.asp |archive-date=June 30, 2005 |access-date=February 17, 2017 |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> In Japan, over 130,000 servers and 500,000 PCs in local governments were affected; many local governments said that they will not update as they do not have funds to cover a replacement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 20, 2010 |title=Windows 2000 still in use locally |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/08/20/national/windows-2000-still-in-use-locally |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910175417/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/08/20/national/windows-2000-still-in-use-locally |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=February 17, 2017 |website=[[The Japan Times]] |publisher=The Japan Times, Ltd.}}</ref>

As of 2011, [[Windows Update]] still supports the Windows 2000 updates available on [[Patch Tuesday]] in July 2010, e.g., if older optional Windows 2000 features are enabled later. Microsoft Office products under Windows 2000 have their own product lifecycles. While [[Internet Explorer 6]] for [[Windows XP]] did receive security patches up until it lost support, this is not the case for IE6 under Windows 2000.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} The [[Malicious Software Removal Tool|Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool]] installed monthly by Windows Update for XP and later versions can be still downloaded manually for Windows 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=Malicious Software Removal Tool |url=http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621103611/http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx |archive-date=June 21, 2012 |access-date=July 24, 2011 |website=n (KB890830) |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref>

In 2020, Microsoft announced that it would disable the Windows Update service for SHA-1 endpoints for older Windows versions. Since Windows 2000 did not get an update for SHA-2, Windows Update Services are no longer available on the OS as of late July 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Windows Update SHA-1 based endpoints discontinued for older Windows devices |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-update-sha-1-based-endpoints-discontinued-for-older-windows-devices-10b58bd9-5ba2-b23d-498b-139ce5c709af |access-date=2021-04-06 |website=support.microsoft.com |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417045726/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-update-sha-1-based-endpoints-discontinued-for-older-windows-devices-10b58bd9-5ba2-b23d-498b-139ce5c709af |url-status=live }}</ref> As of March 2024, many of the old updates for Windows 2000 are still available on the [[Microsoft Update Catalog]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft Update Catalog|url=https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=windows%202000|access-date=March 6, 2025|website=www.catalog.update.microsoft.com|archive-date=February 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228135110/https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=windows%202000|url-status=live}}</ref> A third-party tool named Legacy Update allows previously-released updates for Windows 2000 to be installed from the Update Catalog.<ref name=":1" /> An independent project named Windows Update Restored is also available since 2022 and aims to restore the Windows Update websites for older versions of Windows, including Windows 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyson |first=Mark |date=2023-07-09 |title='Windows Update Restored' Site Provides Updates for Classic Windows Versions |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-update-restored-site-provides-updates-for-classic-windows-versions |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Tom's Hardware]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew |date=2023-07-10 |title=Windows 95, 98, and other decrepit versions can grab online updates again |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/windows-95-98-and-other-decrepit-versions-can-grab-online-updates-again/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref>

{{Timeline Windows 2000}}