I am running a MySQL 5.5 on a x64 Windows Server and keep getting a auto increment id error which is a known error in MySQL. I would like to try out Percona Server or MariaDB as they have higher benchmarks but I can't find a drop in replacement for MySql 5.5. Can MariaDB 5.2 be used to replace MySQL 5.5 or is there a version of Percona Server that runs on Windows? Also is anyone else using either of these on Windows?
There is no Percona on Windows. Current MariaDB 5.2 is a drop-in replacement for MySQL 5.1. Upgrade wizard supplied with Maria will not offer a downgrade from 5.5. MariaDB 5.5 is in preparation, however it will need some time.
Having said this, your MySQL5.5 data might well be compatible with MariaDB 5.2, compatibility between 5.1 and 5.5 is generally good, assuming you're not using the new stuff (pluggable authentication or performance schema)
I think it is well possible to copy database directory to another place, remove performance_schema from it, copy and edit my.ini, register service with MariaDB's mysqld.exe and run it as MariaDB.
What was the well-known problem about autoincrement?