According to
IBM[
^], you W2K8R2 is supported.
I have only experience with HP servers, but might not be so different:
- I suppose you have bought some service and support also, so first of all consult with them.
- Please note, that the original os installer media might not contain all drivers needed. I suggest, you make a
firmware upgrade[
^], to be at the newest level.
- By HP there is a so called "SmartStart CD", that can be used to prepare the system for specific OS installation. But hey, the guys from IBM have a whole web page for you:
http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5083562[
^]
And if all this fails, you might be facing a warranty issue, thus you can go to your vendor and complain.
Btw: Don't imagine that Win7 is more prepared to run on a server hardware, than a server os...