Updated: July 14, 2020 (December 22, 2003)

Java Stops Older Products

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

Media and downloads will no longer be available from Microsoft for many older products, including Windows 98, Office 2000, and SQL Server 7.0. The decision means that organizations that want to downgrade to these products and developers who need to test on them should retain copies of the products and their CD-ROMs.

Media, Downloads Stop

Microsoft has stopped distributing the older products as part of its Jan. 2001 settlement of Sun Microsystems’ Java lawsuit. Under the settlement terms, Microsoft must stop distributing its Java Virtual Machine (JVM). To comply, Microsoft will stop distributing a long list of products that ship with the Microsoft JVM. (See the sidebar “Products No Longer Shipped“.) However, Microsoft will reissue the following four products in versions without the JVM:

Office XP Professional with FrontPage
Publisher 2002
Small Business Server 2000
Windows NT 4.0

No Bits, but Support Unchanged

Although the stop was first announced for Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers, it affects all channels, including the Worldwide Fulfillment channel that supplies media to volume license customers. That means that customers can order licenses for current products, such as ISA Server 2000, but cannot obtain CD-ROMs or other media for the products.

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