Windows Update Site Incorrectly Identifies Windows 2000 Retail as Beta (256962)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
This article was previously published under Q256962

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to use the Microsoft Windows Update Web site from a retail copy of Windows 2000, you may receive the following message:
You appear to be running a beta version of Windows 2000. In order to use Windows Update you need to upgrade your system to the released version of Windows 2000.

CAUSE

The Windows Update Web site detects Beta builds of Windows 2000 by checking the product ID (PID) for validity. If the test is not successful, the Windows 2000 version is assumed to be pre-release (or Beta).

This behavior can occur if the PID is missing or has become corrupted. This may occur when you upgrade a Beta or Evaluation build to a release build, or because of registry damage.

RESOLUTION

The easiest way to correct this issue is to reinstall Windows 2000 and retype the PID when you are prompted.

MORE INFORMATION

You can automate the updating of the PID by using a Setup answer file with the following lines:

[Unattended]
NtUpgrade=Yes
UnattendMode=FullUnattended

[UserData]
ProductID=Product ID

Insert your PID on the "Product ID=" line, and then copy this file (as a text file only) with the name Unattend.txt to the root folder of drive C. Insert your Windows 2000 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive, click Start, click Run, and then type the following line:

d:\i386\winnt32.exe /s:d:\i386 /unattend:c:\unattend.txt

NOTE: This articles assumes that the CD-ROM drive is drive D. If this is not the case, change the drive letter at the beginning of the command as appropriate. This runs the installation of Windows 2000 automatically, correcting the PID. No other changes are made.

If you are applying this fix to more than one computer, make sure that the Unattend.txt file contains the correct PID for each computer to avoid license violations.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/20/2003
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb kbsetup kbUpgrade w2000setup w2000upgrade KB256962
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