I would like to know if I can temporarily use Windows Server 2008 R2 as a workstation on my laptop?
My laptop is an ASUS M51Va
The reason for this is that I am attending on a Microsoft MCSA courses and I want to practice the trainings at home so that I can learn more.
By using it as a workstation I mean will it be possible to use it to watch movies or play games like I do on windows 7?
Lets say for example can i install a media player like VLC or install Warcraft TFT?
Best Answer
Windows Server 2008 R2 has the exact same kernel as Windows 7 x64 (note the x64 part, WS2008R2 doesn't have a x86 version), so it can run on all hardware supported by the corresponding desktop system; if Windows 7 x64 runs fine on your hardware, so will WS2008R2: the drivers to use are exactly the same ones.
In order to turn WS2008R2 into a full-fledged workstation, you'll have to enable the "Desktop Experience" feature from the "Add Features" menu in Server Manager; this will add desktop themes, media codecs and all other desktop-specific features to the system. If you want to use desktop themes (such as Aero) too, you'll also need to start the "Themes" service, which is disabled by default even after enabling Desktop Experience, and then change the desktop settings to use it instead of the basic one; when all of this is done, WS2008R2 will have the exact same look&feel as Windows 7 and the same media capabilities.
You'll also probably want to disable Internet Explorer's Enhanced Security Configuration, which is a special locked-down configuration for IE that is by default enabled on server OSes and effectively makes most websites unusable; this can be done from Server Manager, too.
Almost all software that can run on Windows 7 x64 can also run on WS2008R2; the only exceptions are some special softwares that by design don't support server OSes, such as some antivirus products or system utilities; Office doesn't have any problem at all, and the same should be true for games.