Windows 2008 "Workstation!"

You read correctly--I'm installing a server OS on my desktop. Evidently it's been done with much success. Briefly, here are the steps I followed to enable my SUPER workstation.

• Download network, audio, and video drivers. The install actually found my storage controller fine.
• Enable Hardware Virtualization in the BIOS.
• Next to the Start button you'll find the Server Manager icon This is where you need to go to enable the Desktop Experience, which icludes Themes and Windows Media Player, there's no more "Turn Windows features on or off" or "Add remove windows components."
  Server Manager > Features > Desktop Experience.
• After installing DE you'll need to enable the ones you want. I'm not a big fan of Themes so I didn't enable them.
• Disable Shutdown Event Tracker.
  gpedit.msc > Administrative Templates > System > Display Shutdown Event Tracer > Disabled.
• Windows Audio doesn't start by default. Services.msc > Windows Audio > Startup > Automatic.
• SuperFetch service is disabled by default, and you'll need to make two registry changes to enable it. I have exported the key to make it easy for next time. Manually, the changes are:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
EnablePrefetcher DWORD 3

EnableSuperfetch DWORD 3


       

• Hyper-V. Easy. Server Manager > Hyper-V.
• Processor Scheduling. As a server OS, Windows properly gives background services preference. Change this for your Super Desktop OS as follows: Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System > Advanced System Settings > Advanced > Performance > Settings > Advanced > Processor Scheduling .
  Set it to programs.

That's it for now. I'm writing this on my new SUPER Workstation, and already I see a dramatic difference. It just FEELS more stable and faster, without doing any benchmarks or testing. Windows close fast, applications respond instantly, and everything I need installed fine (so far!)

Much of this information was culled and customized from the MSDN blog entry by Vijayshinva Karnure.

More about the benefits of "Windows Workstation 6.1 here, and here.

There is also a "Manual" for converting Server 2008 into Workstation here.