Hardware Support: Improvements over NT 4.0

Windows 2000 provides much better built-in hardware support over Windows NT 4.0. Windows 2000 already supports more device types than NT 4.0 did, and will likely get drivers for new devices more quickly (see “Other Improvements: Device and Driver Support“). Most importantly, by including better power management and plug and play in its base configuration, Windows 2000 Professional promises to be easier to maintain and more reliable on laptops than NT 4.0. To get these benefits, however, companies need laptops that meet Windows 2000’s hardware requirements.

Out of the box, NT 4.0 provides neither power management nor plug and play (see the sidebar “Why Laptops Need Power Management and Plug and Play” on this page for a quick review of these terms). To get these functions, laptop manufacturers modify the NT source code, specifically the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). The manufacturer also supplies a ROM BIOS that supports the Advanced Power Management system (APM), and drivers that support APM-based power management and plug and play. Alternatively, customers whose laptops come with an APM BIOS can buy an enhanced HAL and drivers directly from a third-party software vendor (such as SystemSoft and Softex). In either case, the BIOS makes all power management decisions, determining when to suspend and resume the laptop and monitoring the status of its battery.