# My first Windows 2003 exp.



## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

OK, finally i'm now on the desktop. After many posts by ashensugar (more than 50), about 2k3's superiority over XP, I thought of trying it in practical use myself.
An os's first impression goes on by 'un-tweaked' performance, as i did w/ Vista which fared out well.
I ONLY use Tuneup Utilities 2007 for 1st run optimizations, and NO-else tweaks.
So far i'm downloading the video drivers.
Q: Will WinXP/2k drivers work on it, or any others?
A: yes.....
Didn't try the sound ones.

Visual:The desktop merely looks like 98 , but using 3rd party apps like Tune-up Winstyler was piece of cake, just put the XP theme 4now 
The internet pages loaded far more quickly than expected, although i didn't like the "Warnings" on the first run of IE (and i still say ie sucks , lol).
As, i'm done w/ the drivers part (all of 'em) i'll put my 'Pratical' (not fps or synthetic) results in plain english here  
After a reboot then


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

i encountered w/ a problem, when i updated to dx9.0c, at end of installation it said dx features are disabled, see dxdiag for info. ok i went there, and saw most video setting disabled, only test direct draw was visible, any ideas ?
EDIT: Got it! Hardware acceleration was disabled.


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Lmao!

Tell us how it goes 

If you want a skin for it, download the Vista theme pack (im using it on xp now...looks/works great)


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

sure , as for gaming can any1 give me some tweaked drivers cuz, heck!, the drivers are same so performance is almost same. only a thing to note that it consumes 120 ram on my pc w/ firefox i.e the window i'm typing this at! This helps in the games' ram. as the game gets more ram to use, and so ppl say that 2k3 is better in gaming.
Here's my vstyled 2k3 desktop btw, how is it ?


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Looks awesome - Just like my comp with a different background


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

thx, i'll be tweaking that desktop so it doesn't look like a server os even 0.1 % 
ok, now Data Transfer results-
Copying single files-Faster than XP but same as Vista (cuz they use the same core)
 "        Multiple  "  -Slower than XP, and more slower than Vista.

Responsiveness- seems quite gd, doesn't hang whenever like XP, i'm proud of Vista, it's the the same thing w/ lots of goods and bloatware and new 3d shell added .

Internet- Loading of web pages was in the blink of an eye w/ my 512 kbps connections.
Download speed was stable and fast as i tweaked it with tuneup.

Security- can't say about this, sticky thread of 2k3's security in software part of forum can be got there.

Program compatibility- I'm QUITE impressed at this one, most software i ran just got installed, without hitches. Vista must be perfected at this one 

Ok, these are my results for now, i'll do some more installations and tests to judge the Crown of "The BEST OS's ".


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Appreciate it, ive always wanted to know the diff in OS's


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

hmm, after 4 hours testing by practical and normal use. I have to declare the os occars(oscar mimicry)-
*The Best stability award goes to*- *Microsoft Windows Vista* for it's awesome stability and un-prone-ness to crashes.
*The Best Beauty award goes to*- (Jointly) *Vista* (for it's new interactive and intuitive interface) and *XP* ( for it's wide variety of Visual styles availability, pity vista doesn't have it....)
*The Best Performance award goes to*- Microsoft Windows 2003 for it's low ram usage, and gd responsiveness.
*The Best Compatibility award goes to*- Windows 2k3 again for it's backward compatibility with most it's predecessors and games compat.
*The Best customizable award goes to*- XP for (we know that ).
_The Best Resource hog award goes to_- Vista for consuming 15gb of crap for the os itself and 500(around) ram consumtion.

*And this The best Windows award position holders are as follows-*
1. _Windows 2k3_
2. Windows Vista
3. Windows XP


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Awww you forgot about windows 95 

Have you tried running a gaming bench, like 3dmark?


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

95! roflmao 
but I Intended to make this a 'Practical' review of 2k3, by using it not by benchies 
but since you tell me, i'll do that......later.


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Ahhh ok then 

If you can be bothered running the benchies, it will be appreciated 

If not, dont worry about it


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## mullered07 (Mar 2, 2007)

really like that desktop  good job, i have been tempted to try 2k3 also but cant be bothered now as i have a dual-boot with xp and vista. Im totally converted to vista btw, seems a lot faster than xp, more responsive, not a sign of any lockups (so far so good  ) and no compatibility issues with any drivvers yet


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

the best combo would be, 2k3 with Vista "Gr8 os's act alike". hope ppl get my point


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

That might b 2k7


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

2k7 ?? ohh, 2k3 w/ wk7 , i get it.


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Yeah....2k3 + Vista = 2k7


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

if we could just sticky this up, this could be a pre-buying guide to 2k3 newbs, that is it gd enough or what will they face when they first enter this os ? what do you think ?


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## Pinchy (Mar 2, 2007)

Thats true - ask a mod to sticky it.

Lots of valuable info that im sure a lot of people would want to know.


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## BXtreme (Mar 2, 2007)

pm'ed zek about it,


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## Completely Bonkers (Mar 2, 2007)

Welcome onboard to the W2k3 club. Good innit?


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## Alec§taar (Mar 2, 2007)

*I'll "second that motion"...*



Completely Bonkers said:


> Welcome onboard to the W2k3 club. Good innit?



BxTreme: Good choice, I think you'll REALLY like this OS build by Microsoft... it really has many improvements over Windows 2000 &/or XP, & mainly because of all those years of "Automatic Error Reporting" to MS that folks have done, imo... 

I say this, because, my guess is that the databases MS must have maintained contributed a great deal to pointing out WHERE 2000 &/or XP were 'failing out' the most & with which types of applications typically.

(I got a pretty inside view on how it worked from MS, from having had an interview w/ the 'crash debug analysis team' for a job @ MS back in 2003 while I was in NYC working/living there, lol, which I DID NOT GET AS A JOB MIND YOU, but, they approached ME, not I they, which was cool!) 

I think it is the best OS Microsoft has released to date (barring my having some time, hands-on for a LONG period, using VISTA that is)... best combination of features from 2000 &/or XP imo, as well as having a 'better-built foundation'...



* Enjoy it... the more you use it? THE MORE YOU WILL LIKE IT imo!

APK

P.S.=> *QUESTION GUYS:* Have ANY of you tried ZoneAlarm on Windows Server 2003? If so, does ZA have it working for Windows Server 2003 yet??

(See, last time I tried it @ least, sometime mid last year iirc?? It did not work right on it, but during installation ZA was pretty cool in that it said "Product not tested fully on this platform" etc. type of stuff)

So... curious, & asking... thanks for reply! apk


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## Completely Bonkers (Mar 2, 2007)

Alec, 

FYI McAfee Desktop Firewall (the corporate version) works OK on W2K3. Haven't tried ZoneAlarm. But in the end, I stripped MDF from the system and use the Netgear ProSafe FVL328 to do all the firewall work. with McAfee Antifirus 8.5i doing the system based management.


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## randomperson21 (Mar 3, 2007)

ashen turned me on to win2k right now, loaded it on a lappie to test it out this weekend. and i LOVE IT! its fast as heck, stable, etc, its absolutely amazing. 

going to stuff it onto my desktop as soon as i do a backup. wooot~!


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## Completely Bonkers (Mar 3, 2007)

@-1:  I'm sure your post was a typo, but just in case... it's W2k3, not w2k which is no where near as good.

P.S. Don't of rget to run it in "classic desktop mode". Much faster to navigate.


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

w00t, i'm online now.
I'll do some firewall and security programs tests on 2k3, and za too 
Edit:downloading ZA pro now.


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## Alec§taar (Mar 3, 2007)

BXtreme said:


> w00t, i'm online now.
> I'll do some firewall and security programs tests on 2k3, and za too



Excellent, & do let us know your findings on ZA's latest stuff... even if only the freebie model!



* Thanks!

APK


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

When zonealarm pro's installation starts, that server os are not supported. But still i continued, there was a conflict with svchost.exe, when trying to communicate with the dns server.
Nothing else, adding it to exceptions cleared this out. no other seroius problems, i'll try out some more.


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## Alec§taar (Mar 3, 2007)

BXtreme said:


> When zonealarm pro's installation starts, that server os are not supported. But still i continued, there was a conflict with svchost.exe, when trying to communicate with the dns server. Nothing else, adding it to exceptions cleared this out. no other seroius problems, i'll try out some more.



Argh!!! I was hoping that would have been amended by now, but, I guess not... oh WELL!



* Anyhow, thank you for performing this test... it is helpful to me in this regard, & thanks all others for pointing out firewalls which are possibly more informative than Ms', as far as outgoing transmissions of data by programs, & services, etc. et al.

APK


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

here's some y not za on server site - http://www.scanraid.com/zonealarm.htm


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## Pinchy (Mar 3, 2007)

Running NOD32 and ZA PRO now

Comp starts faster, picked up a Trojan (which Trend never got) and ZA doesnt bother me when using an app (like a game - counter strike source...it doesnt crash it )


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Running NOD32 and ZA PRO now
> 
> Comp starts faster, picked up a Trojan (which Trend never got) and ZA doesnt bother me when using an app (like a game - counter strike source...it doesnt crash it )



glad you made the right choice 
in 2k3 za doesn't seem/feel gd, so i'm trying Kerio Winroute now.


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

kerio sucks bad *cough* *cough*, gotta try some others...


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## Scavar (Mar 3, 2007)

You know what would be sweet, if someone would write like an install guide.

For Win2k3 that is. Like what you should do once you install it. ot so much for myself, but for others.

I would do it, except I don't have Win2k3 and I like to own my OS, and I don't the moeny for that, especially not if a better version of Vista will be coming out.


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## Alec§taar (Mar 3, 2007)

BXtreme said:


> kerio sucks bad *cough* *cough*, gotta try some others...



Per your URL link above, which states that ZA 3.7 runs FINE on server-class OS'? Try this model of it:

http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=zalarm

(Good site ( oldversion.com ) to bookmark in case any of you NEED to get ahold of older models of software, which generally isn't the case, that is, until you hit 'snags' like this situation present!)



* Try it out, & see if what that gent stated in the URL you put up is true about it, albeit on Windows Server 2003...

APK

P.S.=> & good luck... if it runs, I will take a peek @ its reported 'bug lists', if any, to determine IF there is a 'work-around' possible for them, because many times there is... apk


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

ok, here's a short (but detailed) method of doing all this-
1. Install 2k3.
2. On the startup press ctrl+alt+del to start, as it will appear on the screen.
3. Install Video Drivers/audio drivers. It will prompt hardware acceleration is disabled, right-click on desktop, on the settings tab click advanced. Then open troubleshoot tab, and set the slider to max. click ok, now ur gaming is turned on.
4. Download Tuneup utilities 2007, and open Tuneup optimizer, and start scan. and also do the internet/system optimizations on it (option is given there). In somple laguage, it'll do the tweaking for you ! 
5. Load in some games, audio/video players 
6. Go to my computer's properties, and in the advanced tab click settings, and the click adjust for best appearance (it's some ppl's preference, but others may want perf.).
7. Add some wallpapers, themes, vstyles, and icons (this one through tuneup styler, it's integrated in the utilities package .

And, hence u have 2k3 in new skin, and the best windows


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

btw, i'm using comodo right now, free and compatible


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## DOM (Mar 3, 2007)

well how do you change the color scheme on XP besides the ones that come with it,  cuz you can right ?


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> well how do you change the color scheme on XP besides the ones that come with it,  cuz you can right ?



i use tuneup winstyler to apply my styles, download 'em off sites then apply it via this


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## DOM (Mar 3, 2007)

BXtreme said:


> i use tuneup winstyler to apply my styles, download 'em off sites then apply it via this



  where do I get them off sites I found tuneup winstyler but this is my 1st time so do I just google for WinXP styles


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

if u want gd Vista styles try- http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/41229577/
or a gd vstyle site - http://themes.belchfire.net/


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## Alec§taar (Mar 3, 2007)

*BxTreme "blew my mind" today, & here is HOW (on VISTA):*

IS VISTA MORE SECURE THAN ANY OTHER WINDOWS NT-BASED OS, by default?

Well... YES, it is... see here, vs. XP by default AND BY FAR:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=277810#post277810



* Nice to see, unpatched even... moreso after no doubt! 4.32 of 10 possible... awesome, & THAT IS UNPATCHED, no less!

APK

P.S.=> BxTreme using VISTA tested UNPATCHED no less, comes right up on my 5/10 score on BELARC ADVISOR (after a fully patched Windows Server 2003 & fully tweaked/tuned by myself for BOTH performance & security as well)... excellent post by him, illustrating it for us all to see... apk


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

ok first, 2003 supports full xp themes, just enable the theme service, personaly i keep it in classic mode because windows native themes SUCK ASS.

try
http://www.tomax7.com/mcse/Windows 2003 Server as Workstation.doc
and
http://www.msfn.org/win2k3/

for guides on installing 2003 as a workstation, use http://www.kood.org/win-2003-optimize-tool-v145-info/
to do some of the conversion faster then the guides show.

guide to setting up 2003

1.download a copy of 2003.
2.download sp2 current version from ms.
3.download nlite.
4.use nlite to update 2003 to sp2
5.tweak settings on 2003 as you see fit, i prefer to use unattended install.
tweaks that work best for desktop users.

dissable windows firewall(use blackice protection insted)

dissable windows file protection(this speeds up install by a massive ammount, 12-16min full 
install for my current disk) 

set the usb refresh higher then stock(nlite tweak same screen as dissable file protection) 

set the windows audio service to auto, also can dissable/enable any other services you need/dont need.

with nlite you can set your desltop mode to classic and setup mode to classic, setup mode to classic is faster then the newer style.
classic desktop mode gives you mycomputer and such on desktop like windows 2k, classic start menu is ofcorse classic start menu, personaly i prefer this to the xp style start menu that looks so noobish.

other tweaks as you see fit, the most important ones are listed.

my quick guide after nlite install.

install windows, install drivers for audio and video, run dxdiag, enable d3d, rclick desktop>propertiessettings>advanced>troubleshoot>turn the acceleration up(u need to do this after each gfx driver update in my exp)
turn up audio acceleration from control panil.
use win2k3 optimizer
dissable shutdown event tracker and ctrl+ald+del to logon, and any other tweaks you like 

extract and run the reg file attached, it will let you have stock xp sounds  (default server soundscheme=no shoulds)

done 

read the above guides as well for any aditional info needed


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## Deleted member 3 (Mar 3, 2007)

I think your conclusions are a bit off. Compatibility of 2003 is lower, several games (Doom3 for example) refuse to install (there are workarounds) and several programs require special server editions, mostly security related programs (antivirus, firewall) and partition magic for example.

2003 has the same options for the desktop as XP has, just turn on the themes service.

Stability? I wonder how you tested that? Did you have 2003 crash on you?

The only difference between XP and 2003 is performance and some slight compatibility issues, though the programs are to blame for that, not 2003.


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

oh and if you want real themes and the ability to have 2003 look JUST LIKE VISTA get windowblindz


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

my aim was to determine the performance of 2k3 in an untweaked environment, in that sense if xp can be tweaked liked that it would also beat a tweaked 2k3.
so, 2k3's low ram consumption and gd compatibility with most common games were the important reason to get it. imo Xp still pwnz


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## Deleted member 3 (Mar 3, 2007)

BXtreme said:


> my aim was to determine the performance of 2k3 in an untweaked environment, in that sense if xp can be tweaked liked that it would also beat a tweaked 2k3.
> so, 2k3's low ram consumption and gd compatibility with most common games were the important reason to get it. imo Xp still pwnz



XP is full of junk, you need a hacksaw to get it to work decently. Specially since SP2 it's hell. 2003 has anything XP can offer and more and runs faster with less trouble.


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> I think your conclusions are a bit off. Compatibility of 2003 is lower, several games (Doom3 for example) refuse to install (there are workarounds) and several programs require special server editions, mostly security related programs (antivirus, firewall) and partition magic for example.
> 
> 2003 has the same options for the desktop as XP has, just turn on the themes service.
> 
> ...



yes, i do agree the 'some' specific programs had conflicts w/ it, so to test that. i got the w/ out sp version of it, and found the same thing as xp, but w/ low ram consumption.
Just as i did w/ vista, no 'serious' crashes occured, nfsc exited after i left it at the title screen. the os didn't seem to crash, it was rock stable as vista 
EDIT: To test stability i tried multi-tasking, running installations of different products, typing in openoffice, unraring, and rar'ing, decoding music, ripping videos, and 8 more tasks that I use w/ every windows to check it out


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

AshenSugar said:


> oh and if you want real themes and the ability to have 2003 look JUST LIKE VISTA get windowblindz



i 'bought' already a copy of windowblinds, i payed for it, loved it, but it's like covering the whole os shell, stealing it's variety and originality  so, i always endure visual styles, i have plenty of 'em, now using one that looks sorta like mac osx tiger


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> I think your conclusions are a bit off. Compatibility of 2003 is lower, several games (Doom3 for example) refuse to install (there are workarounds) and several programs require special server editions, mostly security related programs (antivirus, firewall) and partition magic for example.
> 
> 2003 has the same options for the desktop as XP has, just turn on the themes service.
> 
> ...



only the "high end" apps have this install issue for secutiry stuff, like nav and mcafee, nod32,f-prot and many other AV apps install in 2003 no problem be it the "home" or "server" versions of said apps.

doom3 has "issues" with xp x64 because its MSI file was to strict about windows version.
Id posted the "fix" (its the first fix i found) and there are 3.
1.edit the msi file on the cd/dvd so it allows 2003/x64.
2.download a pre-edited msi file.
3.just drag and drop the files off the disk onto the hdd and play the game 
Id at one point admited they should have done a better job on the msi file.

as to backup and partitioning tools, try active@ tools they work fine on my end.

sp2 allows the  compatability mode of "run as xp"  just tested this on doom3 and it works, so i would guess it would work on other programs as well 

2003 is more stable, its a server os, xp isnt a server os because its not reliable enough to be one or they would have put out "xp server".

so your right and wrong at the same time, some apps dont want to install but once installed would work, such as nav(i have force installed it) but there are other options that you dont need to buy a server edition of the software to use, such as

blackice protection(firewall and app control) 
f-prot (antivirus)
nod32 (antivirus)
active@ utilities
Acronis utilities
paragon partition manager
i have had good luck with Acronis and active@ non server editions working fine on server no force needed paragon, older versions gave me some trouble but i just installed the latest one on my other system and it works great 

and one of my favorite partition managers
http://www.ranish.com/part/
kicks total arse  and is free 



> XP is full of junk, you need a hacksaw to get it to work decently. Specially since SP2 it's hell. 2003 has anything XP can offer and more and runs faster with less trouble.


exectly


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

my windowblinds has vista,osx,and about a million other themes, and you can set it to only skin/theme what you want themed


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

now that i've practically seen what was this '2k3', I believe it's Vista's core without Vista's extra crap. it's rock solid stable, but after tweaking does quite gd, IF XP would be done the same amount of tweaking, it would be the best os up-to-date . I here by still say, XP rocks


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## Deleted member 3 (Mar 3, 2007)

Like I said, there are either server editions or workarounds. The partition magic server edition is called volume manager, it's about identical to partition magic.

I use F-secure antivirus myself, server edition though again it's nearly identical to the desktop edition. 


@BX, 2k3 is NT5.2, XP is 5.1 and Vista is NT6, considering 2003 is several years old and uses the same drivers as XP you should figure it's an updated XP and has nothing to do with Vista. Longhorn server will be to Vista what 2003 is to XP. If it has the same performance advantages as desktop OS it might be nice.


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## BXtreme (Mar 3, 2007)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> Like I said, there are either server editions or workarounds. The partition magic server edition is called volume manager, it's about identical to partition magic.
> 
> I use F-secure antivirus myself, server edition though again it's nearly identical to the desktop edition.
> 
> ...


as per microsoft's resources, the os has been built from scratch but it's core base it from 2003.
check some sites, they say it btw.


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

2k=5.0
xp=5.1
2k3=5.2

as apk has pointed out tho, 2003 was close to a full rewrite of the xp core, xp is not much of a change from 2k, mostly app compat and gui changes(bloat) 

i have f-secure desktop and it installs on server but i prefer nod32, f-secure isnt bad, just to much stuff for me, i prefer simple 1 use 

vista uses a modified core of 2k3 changing how the os interacts, the idea is good, but i will wait for server 2008 because vista currently needs alot of patching to get out of what i consider beta quility.
then again xp never really got out of what i consider late beta quility, to many litle problems :/ (specly sp2......)


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## Wile E (Mar 3, 2007)

Man, all this recent ralk about 2k3 really has me wanting to try it. Would it still be worth it from a performance perspective, even tho I have my XP down to using 150mb of ram, even with all my drivers installed?


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## Alec§taar (Mar 3, 2007)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> I think your conclusions are a bit off. Compatibility of 2003 is lower, several games (Doom3 for example) refuse to install (there are workarounds)



True, I use one myself (stashing ALL of my games on a separate HDD, & loading them from there system setup, to system setup) as 1... the fault is NOT Ms' but in this case (hate to say it, IDSoftware's or whoever licensed their engines etc. to make the game) in their installer performing OS version checks, & discounting Win2k3... purely in MS' defense in this post, & a point-of-fact.

APK


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## AshenSugar (Mar 3, 2007)

Id admited it when questioned about it, they blocked 9x support as well, they wanted to lock it to xp, but that was a misstake at the time, meh, at least it was easy to bypass


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## Completely Bonkers (Mar 3, 2007)

You can get around MOST installation issues with:

1./ Setting compatibility mode on the setup.exe, or
2./ Using the tool Orca to edit the .msi to remove the compatibility checks
3./ Installing on another machine... and FTPing the directory across (full install)


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## BXtreme (Mar 4, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Man, all this recent ralk about 2k3 really has me wanting to try it. Would it still be worth it from a performance perspective, even tho I have my XP down to using 150mb of ram, even with all my drivers installed?



that's the perspective of this thread , from the performance in 'default' stage, it does quite gd, u might wanna try it out  But don't forget to use a system tuner like Tuneup utilities  it does simple tweaking for ya


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## Wile E (Mar 5, 2007)

Well, after all this talk, I installed 2k3 on my machine. Installed the standard edition, as that's all that was available to me. Gotta say, I'm impressed so far. Got a little more tweaking to do, but despite the fact it's using more ram than my XP, it's still more responsive, not quite as good as Vista tho. Quick question, how do I install WMP11? I didn't see a version for 2k3 on Microsoft's website, and the XP version won't install.


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## Alec§taar (Mar 5, 2007)

*Glad to see you've joined the "Windows Server 2003 club"... GOOD CHOICE!*



Wile E said:


> Well, after all this talk, I installed 2k3 on my machine. Installed the standard edition, as that's all that was available to me. Gotta say, I'm impressed so far.



Right-on & I was myself when I first tried it back in the tail-end of 2003... once I saw it I never turned back to XP/2000 again. IMO, since it installs BY DEFAULT as a workstation/pro type client-node OS (mostly, you have to go to your graphics card properties & enable FULL HARDWARE ACCELERATION FEATURES ON YOUR VIDCARD, & that's about it really)? 

It's great & very 'extensible' easily, for server purposes!



Wile E said:


> Got a little more tweaking to do, but despite the fact it's using more ram than my XP, it's still more responsive



And, it will be MORESO, once you apply performance tweaks that applied to 2000/XP, & they still DO apply for the good, for better performance.



Wile E said:


> not quite as good as Vista tho.



Out of the box, for security? VISTA will beat it, unpatched even, but, once you patch it + hack it for even greater security??

You can make Windows Server 2003 be even better than VISTA is, @ least by default & unpatched for critical security updates... see here for proof of that statement:

*BELARC ADVISOR SECURITY TEST @ TPU:*

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=25428





Wile E said:


> Quick question, how do I install WMP11? I didn't see a version for 2k3 on Microsoft's website, and the XP version won't install.



That you are "outta luck" on, afaik... no Windows Media Player for Windows Server 2003 that I know of exists, yet that is...

APK


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## AshenSugar (Mar 5, 2007)

easy witn wmp11

download installer for xp

extract to folder

run each of thefiles other then the setup file and the KB file then restart, bam wmp11


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## Alec§taar (Mar 5, 2007)

AshenSugar said:


> easy witn wmp11
> 
> download installer for xp
> 
> ...



I have version 11.0.5705.5043 (obtained via rightclick on file, properties menu, VERSION string check therein) & tried what you stated.

There were 3 executables present:


wmp11.exe

wmfdist11.exe

wmdbexport.exe
Not counting the installer setup_wm.exe...

(Each time, each one rejected the installation, stating (in essence/basically): "For Windows XP only" etc. et al)



* Perhaps mine is not the latest version, but your technique for work-around did not work here...

APK

P.S.=> Can you check the version of the one you are using, & let me know which one it is, OR if you know it is more current than the one I have here... thanks! apk


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## AshenSugar (Mar 5, 2007)

11.0.5721.5146

if you need to you can also set it to windows xp compat mode, i didnt need to, corse im on sp2 not just sp1+updates...that may make a diffrance 
umdf.exe
wmdbexport.exe
wmfdist11.exe
wmp11.exe
wmpappcompat.exe
those should run, the last one maby not 

setup_wm.exe
WindowsXP-MSCompPackV1-x86.exe
wont work, on 2003 because they are xp spicific, do you need a screenshot of wmp11 on 2003?


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## Alec§taar (Mar 5, 2007)

AshenSugar said:


> 11.0.5721.5146
> 
> if you need to you can also set it to windows xp compat mode, i didnt need to, corse im on sp2 not just sp1+updates...that may make a diffrance
> umdf.exe
> ...



Ah, so I have an older version... no biggie, & that explains much, as I suspected it might!



* Cool that you have a work-around, & I do believe you have it working... but, a screenshot can't hurt, right?

APK


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## AshenSugar (Mar 5, 2007)

here ya go


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## Alec§taar (Mar 5, 2007)

Well, gave it a shot, & unfortunately, "no dice"...



* Oh well...

APK

P.S.=> It appears that in order to pull off your work-around, users who run Windows Server 2003 NEED to be on its Service Pack #2/RC2 version, rather than SP #1 fully patched as of today's date (03/05/2007) @ least... thanks for trying to help out though, because it IS "the thought that counts" more than anything imo (well, not as much as something that really DOES 'bail you out', but imo, you get my point, lol!)... apk


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## Wile E (Mar 5, 2007)

Under Advanced System Properties, I adjusted Processor Resources and System memory to application as opposed to Background services and System cache. Did I want to do that?


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## AshenSugar (Mar 5, 2007)

yes as i listed check the guides, you want it and memory in program mode not system/background mode


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## Wile E (Mar 5, 2007)

AshenSugar said:


> yes as i listed check the guides, you want it and memory in program mode not system/background mode


I did check a guide or 2, but I must've missed that tweak. I just did it anyway, figuring that would be best. Just wanted to confirm with you pros. lol


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## psychomage343 (Mar 5, 2007)

got a small problem, does anybody know which nvraid drivers win server 2003 enterprise edition serv. pack 2 takes, it takes the drivers off the floppy but when it gets to the point of copying files to the hdd after formatting it won't take the files off the disk? can anybody help?


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## AshenSugar (Mar 5, 2007)

use the xp drivers same prosess as with xp, if the disk dosnt work on 2003 then it shouldnt work on xp eather.

2003 uses the exect same drivers as 2k and xp


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## psychomage343 (Mar 5, 2007)

that's the thing it's not working but the same exact disc got windows going it game me a "machine_check_error" bsod and that was it, think there is something wrong with the disK?


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## Wile E (Mar 5, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> that's the thing it's not working but the same exact disc got windows going it game me a "machine_check_error" bsod and that was it, think there is something wrong with the disK?


Might be something wrong with the floppy. Instead of using a floppy, you could use nLite to directly integrate them onto a custom install disk. It also gives you countless other options.

It's what I use, and it worked flawlessly for me. Typing from 2k3 as we speak.


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## psychomage343 (Mar 5, 2007)

but why would it work with windows xp on the same floppy?


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## Wile E (Mar 5, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> but why would it work with windows xp on the same floppy?


How long ago did you use it to install XP? The files could've become corrupted since then. And did you download the latest drivers?


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## psychomage343 (Mar 6, 2007)

i have the latest drivers and i used the same disc to install windows xp after it failed to install server 2003, i'm guessing there is something wrong with the disc?


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## Wile E (Mar 6, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> i have the latest drivers and i used the same disc to install windows xp after it failed to install server 2003, i'm guessing there is something wrong with the disc?


That sounds like it could be possible. Is it a burned disk?


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## psychomage343 (Mar 6, 2007)

yeah a backup disk i use at my office, it usually works, maybe i should just grab the original from the shelf and try that huh?


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## AshenSugar (Mar 6, 2007)

is it the same chipset?

if its nf3 vs nf4 or nf5 they all take diffrent drivers for raid, its best if you use the OEM folder trick and put any and all drivers you may need like that in that insted of slipstreaming them as some of the chipset drivers will crash on diffrent chipsets if slipstreamed in


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## psychomage343 (Mar 6, 2007)

thanx it was the cd i had it was scratched somewhere on the disc, i've got that taken care of the only problem i'm having now is that i can't set up sli, it won't enable if for me


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## Wile E (Mar 7, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> thanx it was the cd i had it was scratched somewhere on the disc, i've got that taken care of the only problem i'm having now is that i can't set up sli, it won't enable if for me


Make sure you turned acceleration all the way up for your graphics. It keeps it turned down by default.


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## psychomage343 (Mar 7, 2007)

i did that, i've looked everywhere, both cards are there, just none show up, what server 2003 versions are you guys using i have the 32bit os, is it worth running the 64bit, there is an actual driver for server 2003 from nvidia's website, and will my games and stuff work on server 03 64bit


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## Wile E (Mar 7, 2007)

I'm personally running 32bit. Since it uses mostly XP drivers, and I had crappy luck with XP x64, I'm sticking with 32bit on XP and 2003. I am, however, running x64 Vista with Zero issues whatsoever.


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## psychomage343 (Mar 7, 2007)

i got a copy of server 03 64bit edition, i've had good luck with win 64 xp and for some odd reason i hear sli works better in 64 bit server 03, what about drivers, should i be using all the drivers i can for server03 and only grabbing 64bit xp drivers if i cannot find drivers for 64bit server 03?


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## AshenSugar (Mar 7, 2007)

you just use xp drivers, and read the workstation guides from neowin and msfn
http://www.msfn.org/win2k3/

as wile E said, u need to enable acceleration as it shows in the guides, also run dxdiag and enable d3d and ddraw acceleration if they arnt enabled by default.


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## randomperson21 (Mar 7, 2007)

i don't think theres any real point in running a 64 bit version of ANY OS unless you have software thats 64-bit capable that you want to use on it. For example, if you're into 3d animation, 3dsmax9 64 bit is the way to go.


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## psychomage343 (Mar 7, 2007)

well i'm not having any luck getting sli working with server 03 enterprise r2 service pack 1, if someone can't point me in the right direction as to how to get it working from a clean install, i'd be greatly appreciative, even in single card mode for the 6 hours i was using it before coming back to xp to start over, it was amazing, it just looks cool


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## Wile E (Mar 7, 2007)

randomperson21 said:


> i don't think theres any real point in running a 64 bit version of ANY OS unless you have software thats 64-bit capable that you want to use on it. For example, if you're into 3d animation, 3dsmax9 64 bit is the way to go.


Another benefit to using 64bit, is the ability to use more ram. 32bit usually tops out around 3GB.


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## AshenSugar (Mar 7, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> i got a copy of server 03 64bit edition, i've had good luck with win 64 xp and for some odd reason i hear sli works better in 64 bit server 03, what about drivers, should i be using all the drivers i can for server03 and only grabbing 64bit xp drivers if i cannot find drivers for 64bit server 03?



64bit 03 and xp64 are the same thing, just xp64 as more bloat on install.

please read up on what i have said about 2003 in the past.

1, slipstream sp2 from the ms site into it

2 read the msfn 2003 guidelinked above.

check the acceleration modes as i stated b4.


64bit is really pointless still, poor driver support, poor native software support, 32bit is a better choice 

i have set 2003 and sli more then once, wasnt any harder then with xp really, other then turning ddraw/d3d on and cranking acceleration all the way up


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## psychomage343 (Mar 7, 2007)

now what about drivers, i'm assuming use the xp raid driver disc to get goin, then use the 2003 drivers for chipset and the xp drivers for nvidia video, now about slipstreaming sp2 into the disc, i don't have cd writer working right now, can i just install sp2 after i'm up and running?


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## psychomage343 (Mar 7, 2007)

???


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## Wile E (Mar 7, 2007)

psychomage343 said:


> now what about drivers, i'm assuming use the xp raid driver disc to get goin, then use the 2003 drivers for chipset and the xp drivers for nvidia video, now about slipstreaming sp2 into the disc, i don't have cd writer working right now, can i just install sp2 after i'm up and running?


So long as the RAID drivers will work during install, you'll be OK. Problem is, the RAID drivers may require a minimum SP to work correctly.


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## psychomage343 (Mar 8, 2007)

what driver versions are you using for sli in 32bit server 2003, cause i can't get it enabled i've tried everything


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## AshenSugar (Mar 8, 2007)

display properties>settings>advanced>troubleshoot>turn acceleration all the way up apply.

run>dxdiag>display>enable anything dissabled, this is REQUIERED to get 3d mode working and sli, then try restarting and enabling SLI, i just used whatever the latist nvidia drivers where at the time, never bothered to keep track of versions unless they where bugged.

and try google, it is your friend you know


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