Windows Server 2003 Need Advice

[gary]

can i pick your genius brains :rolleyes:
i have aquired win server 2003 i have mounted the image onto vertual drive the instalation files start to work my system reboots but then it asks me to insert my win server 2003 disk witch i dont have .
i have tried burning a copy with nero but file is to big
when i check size of file it says 701 bytes but when i start to record it says file is 1.56gb i only have cd r disk.
is there anyway to install the program without disk :(
any help would be great
thankyou all :)

[balamm]

If you want to try server 2003, forget that copy. Go to the windows server family home page and download the 3 month trial version. If you like it and decide to keep it, look for "windows trial extend" on O-Days or overnet.

Don't fool around with hacked copies of server OS's. It's not worth the bother or the risk when they are so easy to get legitimately.
If you end up with a crappy hack, you'll never get a true feel for these OS's and all that's needed to make them an interesting, educational, and usefull OS.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003...al/evalkit.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/trial/evalkit.mspx)

By the time you get to the point where you can keep this OS up and running stable for a full three months, there will likely be all sorts of cracks and registry tips to make it a full working copy. Untill then, just reinstall as needed.

Also, there is no way server 2003 would take up that much room. When you install it, it should be to a separate partition and the install should start from your existing OS as an advanced new install to a second partiton you have already made for it, OR,
using boot magic, you can install it as a standalone install, usually from the CD. Again, to an already prepared partition.

[balamm]

Should have also asked what you'te planning to do for an antivirus? Server OS's don't work with most desktop security programs. the roles are too different for a desktop firewall or AV to work.
Norton corporate 8 is probably the easiest AV to use.
There are a few firewalls that work better than the built in. I use a combination of them. I use blackice for server but I absolutely do not rely on it. I leave it configured to autoblock only in the event my primary firewalls fail. You'll want to check out ISS lockdown and URL scan from the MS download center as a start. ISA firewall from the same site might help but it's not the best and it's hard to configure.