You Cannot Install Exchange 2000 on a Computer That Is Running Windows Server 2003

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This article was previously published under Q321648

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SUMMARY

This article contains information about supported configurations of Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft operating systems.

Exchange 2000 is not supported on Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Because of this, Exchange 2000 is blocked from installing on the Windows Server 2003 family. Also, operating system upgrades from Microsoft Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003 flag Exchange 2000 as incompatible.

If you upgrade an Exchange 2000 server from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2003, or try to install Exchange 2000 for the first time on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003, the Exchange 2000 upgrade or installation does not work, and you receive an error message that states that no version of Exchange 2000 can be installed on Windows Server 2003.

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MORE INFORMATION

The following table shows supported configurations of Exchange and Microsoft operating systems (where an X signifies that the configuration is supported, a blank signifies that the configuration is not supported, and N/A signifies that the configuration is not applicable).

Exchange version      |  Install on           |  Use in a Windows    |  Install on          |  Use in a            |   
                      |  Windows 2000 Server  |  2000 domain         |  Windows Server 2003 |  Windows Server 2003 |  
                      |                       |  controller          |                      |  domain controller   |  
                      |                       |  environment         |                      |  environment         |
======================|=======================|======================|======================|======================|
Versions of Exchange  | X                     | X                    |                      |                      | 
2000 equal to or      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
earlier than SP1      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
Exchange 2000         | X                     | X                    |                      | X*                   | 
Service Pack 2 (SP2)  |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
Versions of Exchange  | X                     | X                    |                      | X                    | 
2000 equal to or      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
later than Service    |                       |                      |                      |                      |
Pack 3 (SP3)          |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
The Administrator     | X                     | X                    |                      |                      | 
program only, from    |                       |                      |                      |                      |
versions of Exchange  |                       |                      |                      |                      |
2000 equal to or      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
earlier than SP1      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
The Administrator     | X                     | X                    |                      | X*                   |
program only, from    |                       |                      |                      |                      |
Exchange 2000 SP2     |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
The Administrator     | X                     | X                    |                      | X*                   |
program only, from    |                       |                      |                      |                      | 
versions of Exchange  |                       |                      |                      |                      |
2000 equal to or      |                       |                      |                      |                      |
later than SP3        |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
Microsoft Exchange    | X                     | X                    | X                    | X                    |
Server 2003           |                       |                      |                      |                      |
----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
The Administrator     | X                     | X                    | X                    | X                    |
program only, from    |                       |                      |                      |                      |
Exchange              |                       |                      |                      |                      |
2003                  |                       |                      |                      |                      |

* May require a fix for Windows Server 2003 domain controller support.

Exchange Server 2003 is the first version of Exchange that is supported on computers that run Windows Server 2003. You can install the following versions of Exchange 2000 on a computer that is running Windows 2000 Server in a mixed Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment:

Exchange 2000 SP3 (recommended)
Exchange 2000 SP2 with the latest Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server post-Service Pack 2 hotfix rollup package (319743)

You can also run these versions of Exchange 2000 in an environment that is fully based on Windows Server 2003 Active Directory.

The Exchange 2000 version of the Active Directory Connector is not supported on Windows Server 2003. However, the Exchange 2000 version of the Active Directory Connector is supported in a mixed-mode domain controller environment where the domain controllers are running Windows Server 2003.

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You can prevent mangled attributes in the upgrade if you follow the steps that pertain to Exchange 2000 in the following article before you introduce the first Windows Server 2003 domain controller. For additional information about how to prevent mangled attributes, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

325379 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325379/ ) How to Upgrade Windows 2000 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2003

For additional information about how to install Exchange 2000 Exchange System Manager on a computer that is running Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

815529 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815529/EN-US/ ) XADM: You Receive an Error Message When You Try to Install Exchange System Manager on a Windows XP-Based Computer

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