Windows Server comes clean, with almost nothing installed. This is what you usually need to set up a game server, and nothing more: every program you leave open eats RAM your server does not get.
The browser
Windows Server 2022 includes Microsoft Edge: it is all you need to download what you need. If you prefer another, download it from Edge as on any PC.
What almost every game server needs
Many servers (ARK, Rust, Valheim, CS2...) will not start without the Visual C++ runtimes. If opening the server complains about a missing VCRUNTIME140.dll or MSVCP140.dll, this is it. Install them in PowerShell as administrator:
Invoke-WebRequest "https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\vc_redist.x64.exe"
Start-Process "$env:TEMP\vc_redist.x64.exe" -ArgumentList "/install /quiet /norestart" -WaitUseful tools
| Program | What for |
|---|---|
| 7-Zip | Extracting .7z and .tar.xz files Windows cannot open by itself (FiveM artifacts, for example). |
| Notepad++ or Visual Studio Code | Editing configs (server.cfg, .ini, .json) without Notepad mangling the encoding. |
| HeidiSQL | Viewing and editing your MariaDB/MySQL database with windows. See a database for FiveM. |
| SteamCMD | Installing and updating Steam game servers. See how to install SteamCMD. |
Always download them from their official website. Avoid software "bundles" or download sites with several Download buttons: they are the most common way to get a virus onto a server.
Better not to install
- The game client (GTA V, Steam with games, etc.): a server does not need it and it takes tens of GB.
- Third-party antivirus: Windows already has Microsoft Defender. Another antivirus only adds load and conflicts.
- "Optimisation" or cleaner programs: on a server they do more harm than good.