So I'm not sure this is the proper place for this question, however here is it. So I've recently started expermenting with windows 2008 R2 my patches are all marked as win6 patches for 2008. From what I've been reading if you've got 2008 R2 you need win7 patches, is that correct? Will 2008 R2 even install 2008 SP2? I mean if R2 is really that different that win 7 patches install to it why did Microsoft name them the same?

From what I've been reading if you've got 2008 R2 you need win7 patches, is that correct? No that is not correct, the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 operation system have the same core operating system used with the end-user oriented Windows 7 but each one has its own patches. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights

Will 2008 R2 even install 2008 SP2? I mean if R2 is really that different that win 7 patches install to it why did Microsoft name them the same? Your question is not enough clear. R2 means Release 2 so Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 is the second release of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating system. It is more efficient, introducing new features ... You can have a look to this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008_R2 Section: New features. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights

Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 are very similar and may have the same update in some cases, an example here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028560 but I would try to ensure that you are getting the ones that are labeled for the OS that you are using. 2008 SP2 is NOT 2008 R2, they are completely different operating systems. Vista and 2008 share the same core components and 2008 R2 and 7 share the same core OS components. -- Mike Burr

Yah thats what confuses me, if 7 and 2008 R2 are so alike why not give it a new name and call it 2009 or 2010. I mean I apply the same Service Pack for 2003 R2 and 2003, so why did MS mess with that for 2008. For the past week I've been trying to figure out why the 2008 patches I've been downloading aren't applying correctly, and honestly it doesn't seem like a great idea to have different patches for the same fundamental OS name.

So should all my 2008 R2 patches start Windows6.1-KB?

Probably, 6.1 is the major/minor version for 2008 R2 and Windows 7, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724832%28VS.85%29.aspx-- Mike Burr

I just re-read this post, 2003 R2 was really 2003 SP1. I'm not 100% sure why they chose the naming scheme that they did, you know marketing got a hold of it somewhere... -- Mike Burr