jimbo45

Hi all Think a bad case of RTFM:D I misread the manual. You can run "Bog standard" RDP in administrator mode On the local (client) computer run mstsc.exe /admin. This connects in administrator mode which doesn't consume a CAL license. You can have up to 2 concurrent "Administrator mode" connections. Your user needs to be in the "administrators" group on the W2008 server. The manual isn't very clear over this stuff and I'm still wondering if one can use the WEB RDP in adminstrator mode as well - but that's another topic. Cheers jimbo.

Hi there Some LAN cards will only work in 32 bit mode even though Windows installs drivers OK and says driver is working. Some onboard lan cards particularly Via Velocity gigabit cards have this problem on a 64 bit OS. The symptom is usually an exclamation mark in the Network Icon in the system tray with a comment Unknown Network. Windows XP 64 got round the problem via WOW (Windows on Windows) which allowed 32 bit drivers etc to execute on a 64 bit OS. Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 are much more rigid. You can run 32 bit applications but not drivers / core kernel components. The problem is most unlikely to be your router unless its over 3 years old and even then the router would still probably be OK. Use a different LAN card or a USB===>LAN adapter (5 USD). On a desktop there are plenty of USB ports usually available. You could try Windows update or get Windows 7 drivers but as I have already posted sometimes the driver will install fine but the LAN card still won't work. Cheers jimbo.

The problem probably is that the card drivers are 32 bit. There are a load of new Windows 7 X-64 drivers so look for those. If you've got a spare machine or partition install W7 x-64 and see if you can get the card to work. If it does back up the driver and install on W8 server. Cheers jimbo

Hi all most of the problems you might have on older hardware is in finding a decent video driver -- the W7 X-64 version seems to work in 99% of cases or in getting the on board LAN to work in 64 bit mode - even if the other components are fine. Logon to Intel (or AMD or your Mobo manufacturer site) and download the video accelerator driver for the chipset you are using (for example GMXXX). For a server its probably fine to use a mobo with on board graphics. I've actually tested W2008 server on an old laptop - although added extra RAM so the laptop is 4GB. I had to download the Intel mobile graphics accelerator driver for chipset GM945 to get proper resolution - then it worked fine. Nothing per se in W2008 will stop you using it on older hardware so long as its 64 Bit. Note however some older built in LAN cards only work in 32 bit even though the rest of the computer will work in 64 bit mode -- Via velocity gigabit cards are often a problem here. Get round this by using a USB==>LAN device (only around 5 USD) or use another external LAN / wireless card. On the Laptop I found an Express PCI LAN card that worked fine in 64 bit mode. Note - the latest Widows 7 x-64 drivers will in nearly all cases work fine with the exception of a few really stubborn LAN cards - which won't work even when Windows reports driver installed and working correctly. You'll see this by "Unidentified Network" connection and you won't be able to connect to the Internet. The only solution is to use another LAN device as I've pointed out above. More modern hardware will be fine -- you don't need "specific" Server hardware for running W2008 server -- even a modest laptop will run it. BTW if you do want to run W2008 in a "Home" type of environment you might be interested in making it behave more like a Workstation Have a look at this link. http://www.win2008workstation.com/ Cheers jimbo

Hi there You probably need to add the Video Accelerator driver (INTEL) for the chipset you are using You can get this from the Intel / Dell sites For example you might need the GMXXX express graphics chipset driver where GMXXX is the chipset on your board. Check the INTEL site (or AMD if using their hardware). Note most of the Windows 7 X-64 drivers will work on W2008 R2. I don't think there are many (if any) specific W8 drivers yet. Cheers jimbo

Hi all Being new to the whole server stuff I'm completely puzzled by the RDP Licensing issue. Basically all I need the W2008 server to do is to run 6 or 7 Virtual machines using VMWARE server. One or more of these VM's will be available over the Internet via standard RDP ( these VM's are a mix of W7 and XP Pro systems). There won't be ANY application software on the W2008 server except for IE and possibly an email client (not a server email program) On the rare occasion where I need to access the SERVER remotely do I need any licenses -- this is a HOME SERVER where no more than 2 people would ever need to access the actual SERVER. - The VM's are different. Using a server to run the VM's is a lot better than using a fully blown desktop OS - for all sorts of reasons. From what I understand you get 2 RDP licenses automatically with the server. Any more then you need extra licenses. So why when I connect remotely do I get message -- License server not installed -- 119 days of grace period left. I've obviously done something wrong as surely I'm just connecting as administrator. Thanks guys. jimbo