Optimum OS

[earl42]

I am building a HTPC that will be serving as the Server and Client. I am not planning on running any other clients. The machine will have 4 gb of ram and the AMD 7750 Kuma processor on a Gigabyte Mobo (I don't remember the model) and a gt9400 video card.

What would be the optimum OS? XP 32 bit seems to be the consensus for a server/client. Is there anyway I can strip XP down or install a stripped down version to allow smoother operation of SageTV? Could this machine handle WHS and still be a reliable DVR? Would there be any advantages/disadvantages to running WHS? Any guidance on which OS to choose would be wonderful. Thanks

[kevine]

From everything I have read, I would suggest WHS but get the STP-HD200. Save yourself some headache and quite possibly some coin too. However, I do not have personal experience as of yet. It was mentioned in another thread several times WHS is not made to be a client. I think drivers being the main stumbling block. That being said, they also mentioned people have been able to get it running as a client.

Well, I just had decided to break down and upgrade from Vista to WHS when I made the decision to make my server headless. I had Vista to take advantage of EVR which seems to work fine. However DVDs, music, more storage and backups have pushed me for the change. I was all set to do the WHS trial this coming weekend when my boss handed me a copy of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (licensed copy). I don't mean to hijack this thread but it does not make sense to have 2 threads on OS floating around. Any thoughts on that too? Does WHS have features you cannot find in Enterprise? Will WHS Sage version work in enterprise? 32-bit 64-bit?

[Skirge01]

If you're looking for the server to do playback, I would steer clear of WHS. Use an OS designed for everyday desktop purposes. As kevine mentioned, WHS simply wasn't designed for such a thing. You will probably run into driver issues in many instances, as well as stability problems as a result of all the additional software you wind up installing on it. You may also run into support issues from vendors telling you that they don't support X hardware or Y software on WHS.

[valnar]

WinXP 32-bit works with everything. That's all I have to say.

[stevech]

Am I correct that WHS has the Windows NT 2000 kernel?

[reggie14]

WHS is based on Windows Server 2003. It's probably a safe guess most of the kernel code hasn't changed since Win2k (though, you can say the same thing about WinXP and Win2k).

[mikesm]

There is no optimal OS for running a server and client on the same system. For server, I would pick XP pro or server 2003. The big issue on the server is device driver support for vid cards and stuff and stability, and you don't care about playback. XP and server 2003 work fine for this, and all the device drivers are there for all the hardware you want to use.

For client, I would go with windows 7. So much stuff just works better than vista, and XP doesn't have EVR and modern driver support for hardware decode.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by kevine

I was all set to do the WHS trial this coming weekend when my boss handed me a copy of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (licensed copy). I don't mean to hijack this thread but it does not make sense to have 2 threads on OS floating around. Any thoughts on that too? Does WHS have features you cannot find in Enterprise? Will WHS Sage version work in enterprise? 32-bit 64-bit?

WHS and Server2008 are not very similar at all. WHS has the automatic backup feature (where it backs up all other computers on the network) and Server2008 does not have this feature. You can set it to backup itself, but not other clients.

Server2008 has lots of other features that are designed for a domain/server type network. But that can be a negative because it can be hard to set up that type of system unless you have experience doing it. Also, I've read on the forum that people have had trouble getting some tuners to work on Server2008. You certainly need to install the Desktop Experience Pack on Server2008 if you plan on using Sage at all (even as a server, not a client).

So to be honest, unless you have experience with Server2008, I would recommend that you stick with WHS. It is a much more user friendly OS, and has more of the features a typical home user is looking for IMHO.

I also 2nd the recommendation to use Windows7 for a client OS - but would recommend more that a person use the extenders rather than a computer OS for most scenerios.