Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) introduced major stability improvements, a modern driver model, better USB support,
and full 32‑bit architecture. It runs most Windows 98/ME software while adding support for newer professional tools.
Archive Utilities (Windows 2000)
7-Zip (Windows 2000) — ver. 3.24, ver. 3.52, ver. 3.80
Notes: Early NT-compatible versions. Stable performance under Windows 2000.
WinRAR (Windows 2000) — ver. 3.00, ver. 3.10, ver. 3.20
Notes: Full NTFS support. Version 3.20 is the last recommended for older systems.
PKZIP (Windows 2000) — ver. 4.00
Notes: NT-compatible release. Supports long filenames and ZIP64 extensions.
Info-ZIP (Windows 2000) — UnZip ver. 5.41, Zip ver. 2.3, WiZ ver. 4.2
Notes: Works well with NTFS and Windows 2000’s improved file handling.
ARJ (Windows 2000) — ver. 2.70
Notes: DOS-based but fully compatible with NTVDM (NT Virtual DOS Machine).
LHA / LHArc (Windows 2000) — ver. 2.78
Notes: Required for many Japanese PC titles. Works under NTVDM.
Graphics & Multimedia (Windows 2000)
IrfanView (Windows 2000) — ver. 3.80, ver. 3.95
Notes: More plugins supported compared to Windows 98/ME.
QuickTime (Windows 2000) — ver. 5.0, ver. 6.0
Notes: QuickTime 6 works well. QuickTime 7 requires Windows XP.
RealPlayer (Windows 2000) — ver. 8.0, ver. 9.0
Notes: RealPlayer 9 is fully compatible with Windows 2000.
Windows Media Player (Windows 2000) — ver. 6.4, ver. 7.1
Notes: WMP 7.1 adds more codecs and improved playback.
Internet & Networking (Windows 2000)
Internet Explorer (Windows 2000) — ver. 5.0, ver. 5.5, ver. 6.0
Notes: IE 6.0 is the last version supported.
Netscape Navigator (Windows 2000) — ver. 4.8, ver. 7.1
Notes: Netscape 7.1 is the last major release compatible with Windows 2000.
Opera (Windows 2000) — ver. 7.0, ver. 8.0
Notes: Opera 8 is the last version supporting Windows 2000.