Lack of Drivers in Windows Server 2008 Standard Trial?

October 1, 2008

Hello Group,

I recently downloaded Windows Server 2008 Standard Trial and installed

it on a test machine, ie.

MB: Asus

CPU: 800Mhz PIII

RAM: 512MB

HD: 10GB ATA133

Video: NVidia GeForce 256

Ethernet: Intel Pro 10/100 (or maybe RealTek)

Audio: SoundBlaster Live!

The installation went very smoothly, but afterward I noticed I didn't

have Audio or Ethernet connectivity.

I looked in Device Manager and sure enough there are two "Other

Devices" labeled "Ethernet Controller" and "Multimedia Audio

Controller", and the icons for these devices have a black on yellow

exclamation mark. I also noticed my Display Adapter is set to a

"Standard VGA Graphics Adapter".

I tried to manually update the driver for these devices, but found

hardly any built-in drivers listed, and none that matched my

hardware. I then used another computer to search online regarding

this issue.

What I believe I have found is Windows Server 2008 has shipped with

very few device drivers, and if you need one it is probably best to

use a Vista driver for the device if there is not one specifically for

Windows Server 2008. This reminds me alot of how Windows NT was

shipped, i.e. very few "built in" device drivers. I find this rather

disappointing because XP detects and installs built-in Windows device

drivers for all of the devices (Audio, Video, Ethernet) in the test

computer.

Because the devices in the test computer are so common, I hoped

drivers might be found by allowing Windows Server 2008 to seach the

Internet for an updated driver. To do this I attached an USB to LAN

adapter to the test compter, and loaded the XP driver from a CD.

Adding the USB to LAN adapter worked OK (using the XP driver) and I am

able to connect to the Internet fine, but unfortunately Windows Server

2008 did not find any updated device drivers when asked to look on the

Internet for an updated driver.

I find this even more disappointing. I kinda hoped Microsoft was

following Linux's idea of Repositories, but for Microsoft device

drivers. I hoped my (very common) hardware would be detected OK and a

driver downloaded from Microsoft. But this does not appear to be the

case. Note: from this experience, I suspect Linux servers will gain

an even stronger foothold on the server market, because Sys Admins

will hate trying to find device drivers when installing Windows Server

2008.

To try to make it easier I have made a copy of a Windows Vista

Ultimate DVD with the hopes that it has built-in device drivers for my

hardware. So far I haven't had much luck with using it when prompted

for a driver. I fear I may have to visit each of the hardware vendors

websites to try to locate device drivers for my hardware. I wouldn't

mind doing this for one or two devices, but I expect I will need to do

it for all three devices. I also expect I will need to do this for

each server I install Windows Server 2008 on (unless it comes already

installed on a new server).

If anyone has insights in to this issue (lack of built-in device

drivers), please share them to make it easier for Sys Admins migrating