Windows Server 2008 R2

aquaticaquatic
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Hi folks. Well this is probably an odd place to ask this but here goes...



I just downloaded Windows Server 2008 R2. For FREE!! In fact almost anyone can!!!! I couldn't believe how cool this was. www.dreamspark.com all you need is a college email address, it's that simple, took a few seconds. MS definitely is doing something good, props to them! I will probably check out VPC and Studio Pro as well. I may begin to dabble in .NET. And probably Sharepoint.



I am going to buy the new MacBook Pro (15") coming out next week. (Or if they don't update, then, whenever it comes out if it's in the next month.) I currently have a MacBook Core2 Duo from a few years ago. I was wondering if anyone has run Windows Server 2008 R2 on a MacBook/MacBook Pro here? How is it, compared to Windows 7? I was going to just break down and buy Windows 7 (for the decent student price of $60) until I came across this site. I assume a MBP will run it? Has anyone run it in BootCamp? Or VMWare?



And I have researched 2008 a bit. It appears 2008 R2 is based on Win 7. It seems there is more difference on Windows with client vs. server. I guess it needs to be tweaked for workstation performance over server-oriented performance, and may have laptop power management issues and driver issues.



Anyone used 2008 R2 at all, or in Bootcamp/VM on a MacBook?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    bbwibbwi Posts: 812member
    R2 runs just fine in Boot Camp but slow in Fusion



    Doesn't sound like you know what you're getting into with R2. Unless you plan on obtaining an MCITP then I'd stick with 7
  • Reply 2 of 3
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bbwi View Post


    R2 runs just fine in Boot Camp but slow in Fusion



    Doesn't sound like you know what you're getting into with R2. Unless you plan on obtaining an MCITP then I'd stick with 7



    You're definitely right. I have no experience in high-end Windows stuff. I mainly want this partition to run Office 2003/2007 and ArcGIS. Perhaps ERDAS or ENVI or other geographic IT stuff. I won't do any intense 3D gaming. Console emulators perhaps.



    So it's fine in Bootcamp, good to hear! Thanks for the info! I wonder why it's slow in Fusion? I was planning to use it a lot in Fusion. Hmmm. I take it you run the Bootcamp partition in Fusion, not the disk image. Is it still true Bootcamp partitions are slower in Fusion/Parallels than their native disk image file formats?
  • Reply 3 of 3
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    The fact Windows 7 Server (aka 2008 R2) is FREE to anyone with .edu email is so awesome. I should have put it in the title so everyone else here can know and download it. As well as Studio and other MS software, though regular Win 7 is not there unfortunately. Can we change the thread title to say "Windows 7 Server - Free download for students & How to install on Macs" or something. Or maybe we should merge this into the Apple updates Boot Camp with Windows 7 support thread.



    Also by the way folks, here are some sites detailing how to turn Windows 2008 R2 into a supercharged Windows 7 "workstation" OS. Just minor tweaking involved, but it's definitely necessary. Otherwise out of the box Windows 2008 R2 defaults to running background apps faster, has sound off by default, etc. Makes sense for a server, but not a desktop. Also fyi Hyper-V won't let laptops sleep so if you have a laptop and don't need Hyper-V turn it off. Hyper-V lets virtual machines really fly apparently. Hopefully the next MacBook Pro will come next week and then I'll be installing Win2008 R2.



    Mac/Boot Camp specific install instructions:

    http://blogger.erikzaadi.com/2009/10...imac-boot.html



    Workstation optimization:



    http://www.win2008r2workstation.com/

    http://lordoftheping.blogspot.com/20...-mac-book.html
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