Member Avatar for riverman

Anybody out there know of a matx motherboard for windows server 2008. Recently purchased an Asus P5E-VM only to be informed by Asus they do not support any windows servers. Intel site claims none of their mainstream motherboards support windows server 2003, no mention of server 2008.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by cecilchamp

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Short, practical summary and steps based on what's already been said here.

Consumer mATX boards will often run Windows Server 2008, but vendors sometimes refuse "official" support (as noted). That disclaimer stops warranty/tech-support, not the OS. Server 2008 uses the same driver model as Windows Vista x64, so a lot of Vista x64 drivers will work — the common failure is using the wrong architecture or an INF that explicitly excludes server SKUs.

If the installer can't see your disks or network, focus first on chipset, storage (AHCI/RAID) and NIC drivers — those are the showstoppers. Update the board BIOS, download the x64 chipset + storage + NIC packages from the vendor, and try changing SATA mode to a more-compatible setting (IDE/legacy) to allow installation, then install the proper driver and switch back if needed. During setup use the installer’s "Load Driver" step (point it at the correct x64 driver on USB). If that still fails, slipstreaming drivers into the Server 2008 image with the Windows AIK/DISM is the reliable next step for stubborn controllers.

Virtualize first to validate the OS on that hardware (as implied) — a quick VM test proves compatibility without ripping hardware. For production, prefer server-class boards or confirm explicit Server 2008 x64 driver availability before buying. A final correction to : Windows won’t silently switch you to a 32-bit OS because of missing drivers — the architecture installed is the one you booted the media for. If you need 64-bit, boot 64-bit media and use 64-bit drivers.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

what that means is they dont support them , so that if your server breaks, you cant sue them. generally you only get this sort of supportn with actual server boards

server 2003 or 2008 will probably run fine on them

Member Avatar for riverman

I had tried installing Server 2008 on the Asus board and the driver install definitely does not work. Before I rip out the asus and install an Intel DP35DPM board I would like to know if others have successfully installed Server 2008 on an Intel matx.

Cheers
Aiden

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

the drivers might not work because windows server might have not tested those driver as yet. you should check
to see if your devices are supported

I presently have Server 2008 installed on a VM running on a Asus board

Member Avatar for riverman

Vmware was my next option, what are you using to host vm? I had planned on using linux.

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

most hardware vendors are just about to start supporting 2008 in the next month or two. the drivers are still in beta testing.
you will have to wait

Member Avatar for cecilchamp

If you don't have device drivers for your 64-bit motherboard, then the Windows Server 2008 installation will default to 32-bit. I have an ASUS Socket 775 motherboard (64-bit), that has no device drivers for Windows Server 2003 or 2008. My installation would only accept some 32-bit device drivers; I went with it anyway, and then realized my mistake, that is, that the O/S became 32-bit, not what I really wanted. Before buying, you must ensure that you have the supporting device drivers.

I've tried to get one friend of mine who owns a computer store to give me a quote on motherboards in this category, but he hasn't done it yet.

Edited by cecilchamp because: n/a
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