Any way to run Windows 10 programs on Windows Server?

savvijcabbij · February 9, 2019

I recently decided to redo my entire ageing NAS/Server setup. I decided to install Windows server Essentials 2016 on my NAS/Server box as it had many features built in that were attractive to me (Access Anywhere, Remote Desktop functionality, etc.). It's been very easy to set up so far for a novice (i'm by no means a network professional).

However it has finally hit a snag.

A lot of the software that I used to run/was planning to run refuses to work. They start off ok, but eventually comes up with an error stating something along the lines of "(software) is not compatible with Windows Server, please download the business/server edition to be able to use it.".

This might just be me as a novice not understanding it properly, but I see no reason why this software shouldn't be able to run. Surely Windows Server is not so different from desktop windows that desktop programs won't run? Desktop versions of software like web browsers work fine, i don't understand why others refuse to other than to make more money from "business software", which is of course much more expensive and designed for much larger networks than I have.

What i'm wondering is that is there a way to make programs running on Windows Server THINK that they are running on Windows 10, when they are really not?

Thanks for your help.

kirashi · February 9, 2019

21 minutes ago, savvijcabbij said:

A lot of the software that I used to run/was planning to run refuses to work. They start off ok, but eventually comes up with an error stating something along the lines of "(software) is not compatible with Windows Server, please download the business/server edition to be able to use it.".

What i'm wondering is that is there a way to make programs running on Windows Server THINK that they are running on Windows 10, when they are really not?

What software in specific? This sounds like a hard coded decision of the particular software itself, probably because of how licensing works when it comes to servers. If it's hardcoded into the program, even if I could help I won't without checking the EULA due to legalities. But yeah start by listing the name & developers of programs that won't run, along with the exact error message (or screenshot) so we can look into this.

Admiral Breaker · February 9, 2019

So some features of Windows 10 Pro are taken from the server operating system and/or have always been PRO features. For example Remote Desktop has always been on windows PRO versions of the OS. There is also Windows Storage Spaces which I use for my home server. The whole point of Server/Business grade software vs. consumer grade is one that is very easy. Business grade is built for two main reasons Longevity and Support. Some would be quick to point out wait isn't longevity and support the same thing? Well no. Professional software has the price tag it does because of the features it has. These same features are always going to improve and grow with the product's lifespan. However support is where lots of software companies make their money. For this lets take a look at RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Linux is open source and is often free because of the nature of the community. However RHEL offers their services at a price. For example they can charge several hundreds to thousands of dollars for support and that is different levels of support.

But going back to your issues. I would ditch the Server OS, and get Windows 10 Pro, or get CENTOS. (I suggest CENTOS because it is the community versions of RHEL. With my home server I use TeamViewer to remotely access it. Windows 10 already offers the option to create a VPN.

Also Linus Did a video on this already. See Here Does $1000 Windows Preform Better???