For those of you that still use Windows 2000, either at work or at home, you know that Firefox 12 was the last version to work in that environment. If you want to install Firefox 13, WinXP is the minimum required Windows OS.

Much to the dismay of many Win2000 users, Google never released a version of Chrome that worked on a native level in Win2000 as they started out of the gate as WinXP-and-newer only. Yes, there have been some interesting workarounds where people have hacked up Chrome to work in Win2000, but the stability is “shaky” at best and I personally don’t recommend it as Chrome in Win2000 will crash a lot.

IE is obviously not an option in Win2000 as the maximum version allowed in that environment is IE6 and no higher.

And that leaves us with Opera 12.

But wait… the Opera system requirements page states WinXP is required?

Oh, wait… my mistake. WinXP is the recommended configuration. Below that the minimum configuration states it will in fact run in Win2000.

Well, I just had to put that to the test.

We have a winner.

That is Opera 12 you see above running in Win2000.

Time to dump your Firefox in Win2000 and install Opera instead. And said honestly, you should do it because Opera runs circles around Firefox – even in Win2000.

So, if you were looking to save a buck on some older computers (such as by buying a few older laptops in bulk), if they arrive with Win2000, you know you can run Opera 12 on them and that can do the job of being the primary web browser just fine.

Opera, for as long as it continues to run in Win2000, is now the go-to browser for maximum computer compatibility. If you happen to run older computer boxes often, I strongly suggest you get familiarized with Opera 12, because you’ll probably be using it quite often.

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