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I'd ask WHY? &nbsp;Why are you using 8.1 to test installers when your target goal is 2012 R2? &nbsp;Use 2012 R2?<br />
Download the 2012 R2 Evaluation build and use that:<br />
<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2" rel="ugc">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2</a><br />
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Should the 8.1 work on 2012 R2? &nbsp;Yes. But there ARE differences and Microsoft doesn't publish all of them. &nbsp;Further, you should check with the installer developer to see if THEY certify their install to install on 2012 R2!
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I'd ask WHY?  Why are you using 8.1 to test installers when your target goal is 2012 R2?  Use 2012 R2?
Download the 2012 R2 Evaluation build and use that:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2 [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2]

Should the 8.1 work on 2012 R2?  Yes. But there ARE differences and Microsoft doesn't publish all of them.  Further, you should check with the installer developer to see if THEY certify their install to install on 2012 R2!

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We are using Windows 8.1 to test installers for Windows 2012 R2, is that ok.
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We are using Windows 8.1 to test installers for Windows 2012 R2, is that ok.

What are the similarities AND the differences between Windows 8.1 and Windows 2012 Server R2

Windows 8 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems, with an emphasis on improving its user experience on tablets. In particular, these changes included a touch-optimized Windows shell based on Microsoft's "Metro" design language, the Start screen, a new platform for developing apps with an emphasis on touchscreen input, integration with online services, support for USB 3.0, Advanced Format hard drives, near field communications, and cloud computing. Additional security features were introduced, such as built-in antivirus software, integration with Microsoft SmartScreen phishing filtering service and support for UEFI Secure Boot on supported devices with UEFI firmware.

Windows 8

This topic area includes legacy versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000: Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions including Windows Mobile.

Windows OS

Windows Server 2012 is the server version of Windows 8 and the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2012 is the first version of Windows Server to have no support for Itanium-based computers since Windows NT 4.0. Windows Server 2012, now in its second release (Windows Server 2012 Release 2) includes Foundation, Essentials, Standard and Datacenter, and does not support IA-32 or IA-64 processors.