The free version of SQL Server 2000 is called "MSDE." I have not tried it, but I do not think that it works with Windows 7. If it works with Windows 7, you will need to make sure that you run the installer as an administrator and remember that it is not logged in to the account administrator to ensure that it is happened.
Otherwise, you will need to upgrade to at least sql server 2005. Both SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 have express licenses that allow you to use production if that helps. If this does not work, you will need to install SQL Server 2000 on a separate computer (even vm) and use the newer SQL Server to manage the server to connect to it.
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