Vista SP1 and Server 2008 shipped with the same kernel: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463415 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardw

Vista SP1 and Server 2008 shipped with the same kernel: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463415 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463415 MS has also very explicitly said that the W7 kernel is built on top of what they did with Vista: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2008/05/ms-no-new-kernel-for-windows-7-same-requirements-as-vista.ars http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2008/05/ms-no-new-kern... W7 is nothing more than an evolution of what they did with Vista. Vista and W7 have far more in common with each other than either does with XP.