Out with the XP, in with the Windows 2008 Server!
1 July 2008Last year I wrote a blog entry about how I was done with Windows Vista as a desktop operating system and thusly downgrading to Windows XP Professional. Things over the last year have changed though and it seem more and more applications and drivers are being released and updated for Vista (or newer ;), hah! ). I decided to take a look at my current options being that Windows Vista SP1 was released not so long ago.
Through my research and experiences at work, I actually decided that I would take a stab at running Windows 2008 Enterprise Server as my desktop operating system. In my research I happened across this blog on MSDN by Vijayshinva Karnure which documented the step by step instructions of taking a standard Windows 2008 Server installation and convert it to a Windows Vista like desktop.
I also settled on the 64-bit version of Windows 2008 Server Enterprise because it would allow me to run it in hypervisor mode with Hyper-V enabled, thus allowing me to migrate my Virtual PC VM’s to Hyper-V. Couple this with Hyper-V recently being RTM and I now have a virtualization ready desktop with the latest support for everything Vista! 
So far over the past week I haven’t had any issues or concerns while doing development with source control Virtual Machine running a Windows 2003 VM with Team Foundation Server installed running in the background under Hyper-V.
All in all, I’m very happy with this option of operating system. It allows me the convenience of XP (such as running as Administrator with no UNC) as well as the newer features and benefits of Vista (such as DirectX 10, latest drivers and technology). Virtualization is a must have for any developer these days because it gets rid of the need for a test lab of computers. Or even for the home user, it gives an option to perhaps run the Microsoft Zune host service under a Windows XP Virtual Machine to stream music from your NAS to your XBox 360
Hope my experiences and findings are able to help someone else out in the decision on what to do about Vista and their next choice of a desktop Operating System!
Cheers!
One Response to “Out with the XP, in with the Windows 2008 Server!”
July 14th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I agree with your decision on downgrading from Vista. I’m trying to skip Vista also.
BTW, I stumbled up on this blog trying to find information on getting a copy of the service manual for the HK AVR 520. I’m getting into the Digital (HD) TV and I want to know more about my receiver.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Don