Windows 2000 build 1773

Windows 2000 build 1773 is the official Interim Developer's Release build of Windows 2000, released on 26 March 1998. The Server SKU of this build was considered lost, but it was found and shared on BetaArchive on 19 January 2019. This is the last available build of Windows 2000 to use the teal color from Windows NT 3.1-98 as default background, as the later build, 1796, changes the color to blueish-gray like the latest build and Windows Me.

Changes

 * This build introduces a new Show Desktop button on the right side of the taskbar, similar to the one seen in build 1515 but with a small arrow that shows a menu on the right.
 * New  and   bitmaps featuring Interim Developer's Release branding.
 * The introduction of a new login screen.
 * As of today, this is the only available build of Windows 2000 to feature a 1981-1998 copyright date in, as the next build reverts to the formerly used 1981-1997 copyright date.
 * This build introduces support for the ODBC interface, along with it a new Control Panel applet.
 * This build removes the "Windows NT Setup" header from the graphical setup stage.
 * Windows NT Diagnostics has been removed from the Start menu, although it is still included.
 * This is the first build that introduced the fade effect. This is still used in Windows to this very day.

Installation

 * Installing this build in hypervisors will result in a quick crash on startup due to incompatibility with the floppy disk controller file, . Either delete or rename it, which will disable access to floppy disk drives, or replace it with a later build's   (except build 1796) after text-mode setup by using a DOS/Windows 9x boot disk.
 * In the Workstation SKU during text setup, it will complain about a missing file named . This file can be safely skipped.