Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2008 R2 : Installing Windows Server 2008 R2 (part 1)

After you have performed the preinstallation tasks, you are ready to install the OS. In this section, we will go through installing a clean, full server installation of Windows Server 2008 R2. We will be using Enterprise edition in our example; however, this same process also applies to Foundation, Standard, and Datacenter editions. Begin the installation by doing the following:

1. Place the Windows Server DVD into the server's DVD drive and reboot or power on the server.

   Best practices

   Create an installation checklist

   You should create a checklist of steps that are required to install and configure Windows Servers for your network. This checklist should contain any special options or configurations that you may have for your network. Keep this checklist updated and follow it to ensure that all the OS installations are standardized.
   

2. The system should find that the DVD is bootable and begin booting from it. You may be prompted to Press any key to boot from CD. If you receive this prompt, simply press a key to confirm that you do want to boot from the installation DVD.

3. The Windows Server 2008 R2 Setup wizard will start.

4. Choose your preferred Language, Currency, and Keyboard as seen in Figure 1, and then click Next.

   

   Figure 1 Preferred Localization Settings.

5. You will then be taken to the main installation screen as seen in Figure 2. Here you can choose to perform a repair of Windows or start a new installation. Click the Install Now option to begin the installation process.

   

   Figure 2 Main Windows Server 2008 R2 Install Screen.

6. Next you will need to select the edition and the option for the Windows Server 2008 R2 installation (see Figure 3). In this example, select to install Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise (Full Installation). Then click the Next button.

   

   Figure 3 Selecting a Windows Server 2008 R2 Edition.

7. The next step is to accept the software license agreement and click Next to continue the installation.

8. You are now presented with the option to perform either an Upgrade or Custom (advanced) installation (see Figure 4). Since this is a new installation, select the Custom (advanced) option to perform a clean installation.

   

   Figure 4 Choosing to Upgrade or Perform Custom (advanced) Installation.

9. Next you will need to choose the drive that you wish to install the OS on. If you do not see any disk drives listed as seen in Figure 5, you may need to load a third party storage controller driver. You can do this by selecting the Load Driver option. This will allow you to browse a CD/DVD, USB, or other removable media to locate a driver for your storage controller. After at least one disk drive appears, you can select the drive you wish to install Windows on. If there are multiple partitions on the drive, you can select which partition you would like to install Windows on. You can also use this screen to repartition and format drives. In this example, you will notice that disk drive zero is the only option. After selecting the appropriate disk drive, click Next.

   

   Figure 5 Selecting Install Destination.

10. The installation process will now begin as seen in Figure 6. The time to complete the initial installation will depend on several variables including the performance of your server hardware. At this point, Windows Server 2008 R2 will perform the full installation process and automatically reboot. After the installation has been completed, you will be presented the initial log on screen as shown in Figure 7.

    Notes from the field

    Changes to the Windows installation process

    Prior to Windows Server 2008 R1, you were presented with a series of prompts throughout the installation process. When installing Windows Server 2003 R2 and below, you would need to closely watch the installation process as you would need to provide the computer name, network information, and an initial password all during the installation process. These configuration options are all now done when the installation is complete. This means that you can start an installation and perform other tasks without worrying about being prompted to provide configuration information. It is ok… go grab a cup of coffee… you no longer have to worry about keeping an eye on those server installations.

    

    Figure 6 Windows Server 2008 R2 Installation in Progress.

    

    Figure 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Initial Logon Screen.

11. Create an initial Administrator password (be sure to use a strong password) and click on OK.

This completes the initial installation of Windows Server 2008 R2. You are now ready to perform the postinstallation tasks.