Sounds more like DCOM configuration differences/problems than something inherent to the OS (also, we have a number of customers using 2008 without a problem).
It’s good that you can connect other clients- the big difference is those clients are likely simple applications running under your logged in user account, and FactorySQL is doing everything through its service, usually running under the “system” account. As a quick test, you can change the account that FSQL runs under and see if that makes a difference. To do that, go to Services under Control Panel->Administrative tools. Right click “FactorySQL”, select “properties”, and go to the “Log on” tab. Change the account to be the user you’re currently logged in under. Saving the setting will require the service to be restarted.
If that works, you can leave it, or we can work on changing the DCOM settings to allow System to connect.
Regards,