Difference between revisions of "Converting the Windows Server to a Workstation"

Revision as of 03:34, 1 August 2016

Follow the procedures below to convert your Windows Server 2012 into a fully functional Workstation (enabling gaming, audio, wireless, themes, etc).

Windows Server as Workstation

In the Server Manager click Manage in the upper right, choose Server Manager Properties and check Do not show me this console at logon to not show the Server Manager at start-up. You can access the Server Manager later via the the shortcut in your pinned items bar or Start screen.

Changing Owner Info

1. Open the Start screen, enter regedit and press Enter to start the Registry Editor.
2. In the Registry Editor navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersion and double click RegisteredOwner to edit name of the registered owner. Optionally you can also enter an organization in the RegisteredOrganization item.

Changing the interface Language

It is possible to install language packs to get Windows in your native language. To do this, insert the language packs DVD or download the language pack of the language of your choice.

1. In the Start screen enter lpksetup, and press Enter.
2. Choose the Install display languages option.
3. Click Browse and select the folder in which the language pack(s) is/are stored. The list of languages will now be populated after which you can check the language(s) you want to install. Click Next to proceed to continue.
4. Accept the licence agreement and click Next to start the installation.
5. After the installation has finished, click Close.
6. Now, open the Control Panel in the Start screen: Add a Language under Clock, Language, and Region if you are using the Categorized view. Or Language if you are using the Classic view.
7. Next, click Advanced settings in the left pane.
8. Finally set the Override for Windows display language to the language you want to use and optionally click the link under the dropdown to also use this language at the welcome screen and for new user accounts. Click Save to apply the language change and log off and re-logon to immediately see the result.

Wireless Networking

1. Start the Server Manager and click the Add roles and features link in the Welcome Tile. If you already closed the Welcome Tile, make it visible again via the View menu or in the left panel navigate to Local Server, then in the right panel scroll all the way down to ROLES AND FEATURES, click the TASKS dropdown and choose Add Roles and Features.
2. Select Role-based or feature-based installation as installation type and click Next.
3. The Wireless LAN Service feature is not a Server Role, so skip the Server Roles page by clicking Next.
4. At the Select Features page, scroll down and check the Wireless LAN Service checkbox. Now, click the Next button to proceed.
5. At the confirmation page, optionally check the Restart the destination server automatically if required checkbox as the Wireless LAN Service feature requires a restart to complete. You can also manually restart the server after the wizard completed. Click the Install button to start the installation.
6. After restart, move your mouse to the upper or lower right corner of the screen or press WindowsKey + C to open the Charms bar. Next click the Settings button, then click Network to view the networks in your neighborhood and connect to them.

Enable Sound

1. Open the Start screen, click Administrative Tools and open the Services shortcut. Next, double click the Windows Audio service and set its Startup type to Automatic. Repeat this process for the Windows Audio Endpoint Builder service. If you want to use audio immediately, also click the Start button in the Properties window of both services in addition to changing the Startup type.

Disable IE Enhanced Security

1. To turn this feature off, open the Server Manager, select Local Server in the left pane and click at the On link behind the IE Enhanced Configuration setting in the PROPERTIES section. Next, switch the setting to Off for both Administrators and Users to disable it for both user groups. Save the changed values by clicking OK.

Performance for Applications instead of Background Services

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Disable Ctrl+Alt+Del Prompt at Logon

1. Open the Start screen and click the Administrative Tools icon.
2. In Administrative Tools folder, double click the Local Security Policy icon, expand Local Policies and click Security Options. In the right pane search and open Interactive logon: Do not require CTRL+ALT+DEL and choose Enabled. Save the policy change by clicking OK.

Disable Password Restrictions

1. Open the Start screen and click the Administrative Tools icon.
2. In Administrative Tools folder, double click the Local Security Policy icon, expand Account Policies and click Password Policy. In the right pane double click Password must meet complexity requirements and set it to Disabled. Click OK to save your policy change.
3. Optionally you can also choose to never let passwords expire. To do this open the Maximum password age policy and set set the value to 0. Click OK to apply the change.

Disable Shutdown Tracker

1. Open the Start screen and enter gpedit.msc to start searching applications. Click the found result to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
2. In the left pane in Computer Configuration expand Administrative Templates and click the System section. In the right pane search for the Display Shutdown Event Tracker policy.
3. Open this policy, set its setting to Disabled and click OK.

Disable DEP and SEHOP

For security reasons, Windows Server 2012 by default has enabled Data Execution Prevention (DEP) and Structured Exception Handling Overwrite Protection (SEHOP) for all applications and services. This can lead to problems when running games and applications. In case you encounter applications crashing with exception code 0xC0000005 (EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION), use the steps below and the disable these security features.

1. Open the Start screen, right click the Computer tile and click Properties in the bar below.
2. In the System Settings, click Advanced system settings in the left pane, go to the Advanced tab and click Settings in the Performance section. Next in the Performance Options window, go to the Data Execution Prevention tab and select Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only.
3. Finally click OK in both windows to save the configuration change and restart your computer to apply it.

1. Open the Start screen, check enter regedit and press Enter to start the Registry Editor.
2. In the Registry Editor navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerKernel, double click the DisableExceptionChainValidation value to open the editor and change its value to 1.
3. Click OK to save the value change and restart your computer to apply the configuration change.