At the end of the 20th century, Microsoft's Windows business was at a crossroads in terms of software development. The company released a consumer version of Windows that supported traditional MS-DOS applications (such as Windows 98), and its Windows NT operating system platform was a 32-bit Windows NT 4.0 architecture developed for enterprises.

The original plan was to launch the Windows operating system in 2000, with both consumer and commercial versions based on the same Windows NT kernel. However, this plan fell through as the consumer Windows team was unable to make it happen.

As Paul Thurrott wrote on his Windows super website, then Microsoft President Steve Ballmer announced on April 7, 1999 that Microsoft would launch the final consumer version of Windows based on Windows 98. The operating system was later launched in September 2000 with Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me.

This means that those companies that want to get a new version of Windows system with NT kernel will get an upgraded version of Windows NT4.0, and the name of the operating system should have been WindowsNT5.0. However, Microsoft decided to name it Windows 2000. The operating system was launched 24 years ago today, on February 17, 2000.

Although Windows 2000 was designed for business users, Microsoft has worked hard to add some features to the consumer-grade Windows 98 operating system. Microsoft disclosed the functions of the Windows 2000 Professional version in advance, showing that it added support for Internet Explorer 5 (and later IE6), as well as Windows Media Player, Outlook Express, Windows Desktop Update functions, etc.

Windows 2000 also adds plug-and-play support for better access to printers and other accessories. It supported DirectX, which meant it could run popular Windows games of the time. Windows 2000 does not support the traditional MS-DOS real mode at all, so its running performance is much more stable than consumer-grade Windows Me.

Windows 2000 Professional, the desktop version of the operating system, sold for $319 (adjusted for inflation, about $545 in today's money). According to CNET reports at the time, Microsoft also allowed users using consumer-based Windows 95 or 98 to upgrade to Windows 2000 for $219, a first for the company.

A total of four versions of Windows 2000 were released, among which the professional version was the most popular. Microsoft also released Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server on February 17, 2000. A few months later, the fourth version of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, supporting 32-way processors and 64GB of memory, was launched on September 26, 2000.

Less than two years after the release of Windows 2000 and Windows XP, Microsoft has finally merged its consumer and commercial Windows operating systems under the NT kernel. However, in the following years, Windows 2000 was also supported by four service packs. In July 2010, the support cycle of Windows 2000 ended completely. Finally, Windows 2000 completed the transition from the Windows NT era to Windows XP and beyond.