Windows 2003 serversstd edition

[zloveraz]

I'm trying to convert an old physical 2003 server and I need to install the O/S on the new VM but I can't located the original discs, MS removed all of the 2003 servers last year from the volume licensing site which really sucks. Anyone have any suggestions where we can find this? I just need the ISO for the O/s as we have the volume license key. Also this isn't R2 it's just plain old standard.

Thanks in advance!

 

[michaelluscher]

http://thepiratebay.se/search/server 2003/0/7/0

Follow the comment's, Run Virus scan's, And surf in Chrome or Firefox with Adblock

That's about the best advice I can give if you NEED '03 Server

 

[robshelton]

Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
http://thepiratebay.se/search/server 2003/0/7/0

Follow the comment's, Run Virus scan's, And surf in Chrome or Firefox with Adblock

That's about the best advice I can give if you NEED '03 Server


+1 be carefull and read the remarks before you download the torrent file. ISP's are watching so some folks are setting their system to not upload or severly limit upload speed. Like as slow as possible.

 

[BearZDefect]

Is converting the existing physical server into a VM image an option? This would keep all your licenses intact.

 

[OVERKILL]

What BearZDefect said, I've done this many times and it works fantastic.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Is converting the existing physical server into a VM image an option? This would keep all your licenses intact.


While using The Pirate Bay is tempting and easy, there may well be eyes on what you're doing. (Tor comes in handy for this type of stuff!)

Plan A, to me, would be using Clonezilla or even a simple dd command in Linux to make a copy of the installation. I do not know enough about Windows to know whether you'd have to deactivate any VM kernel modules in order to run on physical hardware, but that'd be figured out and addressed easily enough.

I thought, though, that Windows licensing was really finicky about what "hardware" (quotes are to acknowledge VM) it was installed on. For some reason, moving an install wholesale from one "drive" to another makes me uneasy for Windows.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Is converting the existing physical server into a VM image an option? This would keep all your licenses intact.


While using The Pirate Bay is tempting and easy, there may well be eyes on what you're doing. (Tor comes in handy for this type of stuff!)

Plan A, to me, would be using Clonezilla or even a simple dd command in Linux to make a copy of the installation. I do not know enough about Windows to know whether you'd have to deactivate any VM kernel modules in order to run on physical hardware, but that'd be figured out and addressed easily enough.

I thought, though, that Windows licensing was really finicky about what "hardware" (quotes are to acknowledge VM) it was installed on. For some reason, moving an install wholesale from one "drive" to another makes me uneasy for Windows.


Both VMWare and Microsoft's own Virtualization product have a wizard that can convert a physical machine to a VM. It is a very straightforward process and you don't have to worry about the things you mentioned. I recently did it with an Server 2003 R2 computer that we wanted to virtualize.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Both VMWare and Microsoft's own Virtualization product have a wizard...


OK - We can't go wrong when wizards are involved! ;^)

I did not know about that; and am surprised that Microsoft allows that!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Both VMWare and Microsoft's own Virtualization product have a wizard...


OK - We can't go wrong when wizards are involved! ;^)

I did not know about that; and am surprised that Microsoft allows that!


I was pretty surprised too quite frankly! But I guess that a license is a license and if the old hardware is losing the install, the virtualization of it doesn't violate the terms