[fChk]

[1]- Vanilla Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 have identical version and build numbers, i.e. 6.1 (Build 7600), because they were built from the same Windows code base.

This part of the OP should have raised few eyebrows, at least I hope :-)

Think about it a bit... if win7 and win2k8 R2 share a common set of core system files (explaining the same build number that they have), how does the system know which version of the two and which edition of that version (Pro, Ultimate, Enterprise etc.. for Win7) has to be booted ? It's an interesting question to ask for the inquisitive minds.

Well, here is the thing, the answer is entrusted in a very strategic file called the system license policy file: "tokens.dat"; it's stored in a very deep folder: "\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Software ProtectionPlatform\". Thus the decision to take a client or server configuration as well as to enable or disable the features ad-hoc to the edition that is loading is done at boot-time by consulting "tokens.dat" file [1].

If you open your registry (by typing regedit) and take a look at the value of "ProductType" under the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions key, you'll see that it is "WinNT". For Win 2k8 R2, that should be "LanmanNT" or "ServerNT", depending on its role (with or without Active Directory respectively.) This value (among others) is loaded into the registry based on that famous licensing policy file mentioned earlier.

For the features enabled by edition of a given version, they are loaded in the value of "ProductPolicy". It's in Hex and contains a cached copy of the data inside the tokens.dat file.

Now, you're in the know too...

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[1]- Remember that tampering with tokens.dat is a direct violation of the software license.