Using a server installation as a daily driver

[TheNewStatesman]

Is there any reason not to use a server version of Windows as a daily driver, aside from cost?

[Tripredacus]

Starting with 2012, probably not. The only real issue would be in regards to hardware or software capability. And it depends on what you mean by a daily driver. If you mean just using the internet, then no issue will be had. If you want to play games, that may be an issue with certain aspects if they (or the video/sound card) do not support the Server version. I think around 2012 to now, Windows Server is less transparent vs client, meaning most programs don't know any difference. 

But also in regards to using an old Server OS like 2008 R2, you are going to run into the same issues as equivalent client OS in regards to security certificates and TLS.

[D.Draker]

Regarding browsing - 7, Vista, 8, 8.1 and their server counterparts (incl. 2012) are all in the same shoes. All official browser support dropped for ages now. The last un-officially modded Chrome I was able to fire up is 125 from the last year.

[j7n]

R2 is almost the same as Windows 7 in practice. I use it. I greatly enjoy calling my computer a "Datacenter Server".

With Windows 2003 you get PAE memory, which XP fans refuse to acknowledge. But if you're jumping to Windows 2008, then go 64-bit. Nothing to be gained by staying 32-bit.

They made certain basic features part of the "Desktop Experience Pack" like the Character Map, which you can install manually. I do not install the DEP because it comes with visual bloat that I dislike coming from older versions of Windows.

In server you have to manually enable audio service and hardware acceration. The new sound stack has some strange priority system, which is not the same as the normal process priority. Somehow XP was fine without it, but they moved sound out of the kernel or something. To get Wave sound working without crackling, you need to adjust the following seting

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\multimedia\SystemProfile]
"NetworkThrottlingIndex"=dword:ffffffff
"SystemResponsiveness"=dword:00000014

Windows 2022 is much better than Windows 10 because you don't get most of its "apps" bloat. In this version the "Desktop Experience" is the basic version with GUI and all multimedia and charmap included (but still without the most annoying metro apps). The non-Experience is command-line only.

[D.Draker]

16 hours ago, j7n said:

With Windows 2003 you get PAE memory, which XP fans refuse to acknowledge.

Why won't you tell us about the well known, famous problems with drivers, Nvidia and Intel for example, which will arise from using PAE?

[j7n]

I don't know any problems with Nvidia drivers. Maybe they only arise when using a hack on XP. Nor do I know any particular Intel device that has a problem, although they may well exist. Intel parts are found on legit server boards. I put the GPU through its paces while experimenting with CUVID as well as with games.

Creative Labs sound cards don't work however.

Edited Tuesday at 04:36 AM by j7n

[D.Draker]

11 hours ago, j7n said:

I don't know any problems with Nvidia drivers.

For example, problems with PAE support.

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/game-ready-drivers/13/14719/pae-support-in-nvidia-drivers-i-have-problems-with/

Alleged fix.

"Try the boot option /USERVA=2800 to make sure that there's still enough mappable memory for the card itself. My startoption line looks like this:"

/NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT /3GB /USERVA=2800 /PAE

[D.Draker]

11 hours ago, j7n said:

Creative Labs sound cards don't work however.

Xonar drivers also glitch out,

[j7n]

/USERVA addresses the split between application and kernel memory, which is normally 2 GB but can be increased to 3 GB, not the total available memory, which is limited by /MAXMEM. The /3GB switch is known to cause compatibility issues, and I never recommended using it. I  would just accept that the biggest single program you can run is about 1.6 GB or so. Direct3D 9 on XP/2003 uses a lot of paged pool memory, which has to fit in the shrunken system area. It just keeps growing as more game objects come into view.

Understanding the effects of the Windows USERVA and 3GB switches:

https://documentation.bluecieloecm.com/BCWebHelp/en/teamwork/2012/sr/Content/Meridian AG/Understanding the effects7.htm

Edited Tuesday at 05:59 PM by j7n

[D.Draker]

18 hours ago, j7n said:

/USERVA addresses the split between application and kernel memory, which is normally 2 GB but can be increased to 3 GB, not the total available memory, which is limited by /MAXMEM. The /3GB switch is known to cause compatibility issues, and I never recommended using it. I  would just accept that the biggest single program you can run is about 1.6 GB or so. Direct3D 9 on XP/2003 uses a lot of paged pool memory, which has to fit in the shrunken system area. It just keeps growing as more game objects come into view.

Understanding the effects of the Windows USERVA and 3GB switches:

https://documentation.bluecieloecm.com/BCWebHelp/en/teamwork/2012/sr/Content/Meridian AG/Understanding the effects7.htm

Why do you give me this? I already wrote, the guy's suggested fix is dubious, alleged. The whole point is what I wrote is to try to explain why XP fans refuse to acknowledge PAE.

[Tripredacus]

11 hours ago, D.Draker said:

Why do you give me this?

You are not the only person on the forum.

[D.Draker]

19 hours ago, Tripredacus said:

You are not the only person on the forum.

Exactly, that's why I explained that using the suggested PAE is problematic, even with common drivers, therefore not advisable for a casual user due to the dubious fixes.

And let's not forget, those who read the forum without being the members. Most of the articles with numerous errors from users attempting to use PAE on higher than XP SP1 are now gone.

I tried it myself, and nVidia drivers acted up to the point of the whole OS being unstable, because consumer drivers are written that way, they are meant to handle the standard 32bit OS RAM configs only.