Turn Windows Server 2008 into Vista

Starting below, we’ve listed a selection of the main differences between the two operating systems. Some of these are extra features available in Server 2008 that don’t come with Vista, but mostly we’ll be looking at enabling Vista features that aren’t present in the Server OS by default. There are also some Server 2008 features you’ll probably want to disable.

For specific details on how to change more detailed settings, refer to the online resources section at the end of this feature for instructions and automated tools to help you.

ADDING VISTA FEATURES TO SERVER 2008
Being a server operating system, Server 2008 isn’t set up to provide the same sort of experience consumers expect on their desktop. Some of the features you may be expecting are disabled or not present. Here are a few of the most important ones –­ due to limited space, we can’t give step-by-step instructions for everything here, but you’ll find these in the online links.

Audio
No audio drivers are loaded by default, so to get audio working properly, simply install the correct Vista drivers for your audio hardware.

Graphics
Out of the box, the graphics capabilities of Server 2008 are also rather crippled. Manually installing compatible drivers should work fine and will allow you to enable advanced features and play games.

Eye candy
Some of you may prefer Server 2008’s clean, basic looks. But if you want to retain the visual enhancements of Vista, such as Aero, transparency and the Sidebar, then it’s easy to get them running in Server 2008.

Simply go to the Server Manager application, select Features and then install the Desktop Experience. This is provided primarily to give remote desktop users a Vista-like experience, but it also works just fine on the local desktop.
Aero cursors and thumbnail previews are also relatively simple to enable ­ – see the online resources below for details.

Superfetch
One of the most important performance enhancements in Windows Vista is Microsoft’s Superfetch caching technology. This has to be enabled manually on Server 2008.