Upgrade operating systems on client computers before installing Windows SBS 2008

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

If you have client computers that are running the Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition operating system or earlier or the Windows 2000 Professional operating system, it is recommended that you install Windows XP® Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista® Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, or Windows Vista Ultimate operating system on these computers. For mobile devices that connect to the Windows SBS 2008 network, install Windows Mobile® 5.0 software on the mobile device.

Windows XP Professional with SP2, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Mobile 5.0 are designed to work with Windows–based networking environments. These operating systems provide additional security features, reliability, performance, and functionality for the local network.

In addition, some Windows SBS 2008 applications are specifically designed to work with Windows XP Professional with SP2 and with Windows Vista. For example, you can automatically configure the necessary network settings for your Windows SBS 2008 network on client computers running Windows XP Professional with SP2, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, or Windows Vista Ultimate by using the client computer setup internal Web site (open a browser on the client computer, and then type https://connect).

For more information about connecting your client computers to the network, see “Managing Client Computer Backups on a Windows SBS 2008 Network” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115420).

If you choose not to upgrade the operating systems, you can still manually configure client computers for the local network.

For information about upgrading client computers, see "Earlier Windows Versions" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=16422).