Manually Install Windows Server 2008 R2

Archived OEM manual-installation procedure. Although its original title says Windows Server 2008, the edition, media and license figures show Windows Server 2008 R2, including an Enterprise SP1 example. All eighteen source figure positions are retained: fourteen English instructional localizations/reconstructions, three official English reference figures with stated differences and one original English loader image.

1. Start Setup and choose the edition

Boot the intended verified installation DVD, USB or supported virtual media using the appropriate boot entry. Respond to the media’s actual boot prompt when required. Windows is loading files is the start of setup, not evidence that the operating system has been installed.

Original English Windows installation loader

Review language, regional format and keyboard before continuing. The source selects Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Simplified, China), and Chinese (Simplified) - US Keyboard. The English illustration translates those selected settings; it does not silently change the installation language to English.

English labels retaining the source Chinese regional settings

Choose Install now for the intended installation workflow. Repair your computer is a separate action.

English Install now entry

Select the licensed edition and installation option that matches the planned deployment. The source highlights Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise (Full Installation), x64, dated 2010/11/21. Full Installation provides the full interface in this historical release; Server Core is a separate option. The screenshot’s eight edition rows are retained.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Full selected

Read the actual license terms supplied with the installation media and continue only if the applicable agreement is accepted. The source names Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Service Pack 1. This English control illustration deliberately omits agreement paragraphs and is clearly labelled as a schematic, not a substitute license agreement.

License controls schematic with agreement text omitted

For the source fresh-installation workflow, choose Custom (advanced). The official English figure from Oracle shows the same installation-type controls; its disabled Upgrade text is an English reference state, not a capture from this OEM server. A custom installation can change existing storage and must match the approved installation plan.

Oracle official English Custom advanced installation type

2. Make the intended storage visible

If the intended target disk is absent, identify the actual storage/controller and driver requirements. Use Load Driver when the correct storage driver is needed. The official English reference below shows an empty disk list and the Load Driver control; the OEM source additionally displays its no-drives message. An empty list does not by itself prove that every RAID controller lacks an inbox driver or that a new array must be created.

Oracle official English empty disk list and Load Driver control

At Load Driver, use Browse to locate the verified driver media. The dialog lists floppy, CD/DVD and USB as possible media; use the method supported by the actual machine and installer.

English Load Driver browse dialog

Browse to the correct driver directory. This source example selects win2k8r2-64 under GRMSXFRER_C (C:); CD Drive (D:) and Removable Disk (E:) are also visible. Those drive letters are installation-session examples, not universal paths.

English source driver folder selection

Select the compatible storage-controller driver and choose Next. The source first row names an LSI Logic MegaRAID SAS 8708ELP RAID Controller, with an LSI MegaRAID Virtual Device row below it. The English figure preserves that selection and the checked compatibility filter. Its C:\DriverMedia\megasas2.inf and nodev.inf paths are explicitly illustrative replacements for low-resolution source paths; use the verified package for the actual controller rather than copying a model or directory from this example.

English LSI controller selection with illustrative paths

3. Review partitioning and install

After the intended target is visible, review its identity and the existing data before partitioning. For the source manual-partition example, use Drive options (advanced) → New, enter 100000 MB and choose Apply. The source disk is Disk 2, 278.5 GB. The official English figure below demonstrates the same controls on a different example: Disk 0, 465.8 GB, with 440088 MB in its size field. Those official values are not the OEM source values. If the intended disk still does not appear after loading the right driver, inspect controller/array status and connectivity without recreating or initializing an array over existing data.

Oracle official English partition controls with different disk and size values

The source dialog says Windows might create additional partitions for system files. Review the intended partitioning operation before confirming it. The figure still shows the source Disk 2 Unallocated Space, 278.5 GB.

English additional system partitions confirmation

The resulting source layout shows a 100.0 MB System Reserved partition (95.0 MB free), a 128.0 MB MSR (Reserved) partition, the selected 97.4 GB primary partition and 180.8 GB unallocated space. The installer’s MB entry and displayed GB values are different representations; do not replace them with rounded or invented numbers. The source discusses this as a UEFI installation example; partition counts vary with boot mode, media and existing layout. Preserve the required system/reserved partitions. If the driver medium replaced the OS disc in one optical drive, restore access to the Windows installation media before continuing.

Source Disk 2 system MSR primary and unallocated layout

With the intended installation target selected, allow Setup to copy and expand files. The source progress figure shows copying complete and Expanding Windows files at 8%; later stages are not yet complete.

English expansion at 8 percent

The next source figure shows Copying, Expanding, Installing features and Installing updates checked, with Completing installation still active. Follow actual restart prompts; the number and timing of restarts can vary and this is not a completed desktop.

English Completing installation still active

4. Set the authorized account password

On the first-login password-change prompt, acknowledge the requirement to proceed with the authorized account setup. The English figure is a clean reconstruction; the original password-stage bitmap was not submitted for image editing.

English reconstructed first-login password requirement

Set a unique administrator password that meets the actual local/domain policy and retain it securely. The English reconstruction deliberately leaves all password fields blank, including Old password; it supplies no example secret and does not establish the old-password state on an existing server.

English reconstructed password form with blank fields

After the change succeeds, the source displays a password-changed notice. Continue to sign-in and perform the required deployment checks. This last figure is a notice rather than a desktop capture, and no real server installation or password change was performed while preparing the translation.

English reconstructed password changed notice

English sources and scope

The OEM English selector leads to its home page; a corresponding English QA image set was not verified. Microsoft’s English installation article covers the OS family, but its retrieved figures show different edition/disk states and were not substituted. Oracle’s Windows Server 2008 R2 guide provides the three English installation controls used here; its Sun Server X4-8 hardware and driver requirements are separate from this OEM server.

The password-stage figures are safe reconstructions; license prose is omitted from its labelled schematic, and low-resolution driver paths are explicitly illustrative. No firmware, array, partition, OS or account operation was performed while preparing this document.