Windows Server 2012 build 8250

Windows Server 2012 build 8250 is the official Beta build of Windows Server 2012, which was released on 29 February 2012 along with the client counterpart. It was also additionally released in the form of a set of Repair Content Packages, which are used by  to repair an existing Windows installation, making it one of the few remaining server builds to be released with a 32-bit counterpart after support for the x86 architecture was dropped with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2.

This is the last available build of Windows Server 2012 for Enterprise SKU and Web Server SKU and that has support for processors without PAE, SSE2 and NX.

Changes

 * This is the earliest known build to drop the Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2 flag and replace it with the new, Metro-style one (except in Enterprise).
 * The copyright date of  has been updated from 2011 to 2012.
 * Changed the boot screen to include the betta fish from its client counterpart.
 * The background to Windows Setup has been updated.
 * The default user icon has been updated to the one used in the RTM.
 * The default accent color has been changed.
 * More items are pinned to the Start screen by default.
 * A new desktop background is used, which replaces the Windows 7 logon background used in previous builds.
 * The Aero Lite theme was updated to resemble the RTM build, except that the taskbar text is white instead of black.
 * System crashes no longer display a sad emoticon.
 * The Start button has been removed.

Timebomb

 * Installing this build after the timebomb expires will result in it not installing its licensing policies properly, therefore resulting in no timebomb being displayed and not being able to change the wallpaper.

Compatibility

 * To install or run this build in VMware Workstation, you must set the hardware compatibility to versions 8.x or 9.x; otherwise, a bugcheck will occur.