As many of you are aware, Server Core is the GUI-less version of Windows Server 2008. The lack of the customary graphical user interface leads to some interesting scenarios. For example, how do you change the display resolution when you can’t view the “Personalize” control panel? (I am resisting the temptation to discuss how dumb the use of “Personalize” is in this context. No, wait, I guess I’m not!)
The answer, as my seminar students this week discovered in one of our Server 2008 labs, is often to hack the Registry. Microsoft did provide the GUI version of REGEDIT with Server Core. Of course that’s an enterprise fraught with peril – as my old car mechanic used to say, anytime you open the hood, you run the risk of doing something stupid. (I didn’t take offense, although maybe I should have.)
The bigger question is, how do you find out where in the Registry the settings you need to change actually reside? You might be lucky enough to run across a blog entry or Web note somewhere that will be helpful, such as the article I just read in a Technet blog, titled “Configuring Advanced Network Card Settings in Windows 2008 Server Core.” If you’re not so fortunate, there are still some tricks you can try. Stay tuned!
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