Right-click rufus.exe and select . This ensures proper access to the USB controller.

Windows Server 2008 R2 has limited UEFI support (64-bit only). Use these settings only if your server firmware is UEFI and you have disabled CSM (Compatibility Support Module):

Even with Rufus, you may encounter problems. Here are solutions for the most frequent issues:

: A computer compatible with the x64 architecture of Server 2008 R2. 3. Critical Configuration Parameters

Most servers from the 2008–2012 era use legacy BIOS. Use these settings:

After a successful installation, you will likely need to add drivers for:

The process of using Rufus to prepare a Windows Server 2008 R2 installation medium requires careful attention to partition schemes and system firmware. Because this OS version was released during the transition from BIOS to UEFI, compatibility can be a hurdle. Rufus simplifies this by allowing users to select between MBR (Master Boot Record) for older BIOS-based machines and GPT (GUID Partition Table) for newer UEFI systems. For Windows Server 2008 R2 specifically, MBR is often the safer choice for broader compatibility, as UEFI support in that era was still in its infancy and often required manual adjustments to boot files.