Upgrading licensed
versions of Windows Server
Below are general guidelines for in-place upgrade
paths where Windows Server is already licensed (that is, not
evaluation):
·
Upgrades from 32-bit to 64-bit architectures are not supported. All
releases of Windows Server since Windows Server 2008 R2 are 64-bit only.
·
Upgrades from one language to another are not supported.
·
If the server is an Active Directory domain controller, you cannot
convert it to a retail version. See Upgrade Domain
Controllers to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 for
important information.
·
Upgrades from pre-release versions (previews) of Windows Server are not
supported. Perform a clean installation of Windows Server.
·
Upgrades that switch from a Server Core installation to a Server with
Desktop Experience installation (or vice versa) are not supported.
·
Upgrades from a previous Windows Server installation to an evaluation
copy of Windows Server are not supported. Evaluation versions should be
installed as a clean installation.
·
You can only change from Standard edition to Datacenter edition when
upgrading. Changing from Datacenter edition to Standard edition is not
supported.
Important
If your server uses NIC Teaming, disable NIC
Teaming prior to upgrade, and then re-enable it after upgrade is complete.
See NIC Teaming
Overview for details.
Converting an
evaluation version to a retail version
You can convert the evaluation version of Windows
Server to the retail version. If you have installed the evaluation of Standard
edition, you can convert it to the retail version of either the Standard
edition or Datacenter edition. Similarly, if you have installed the evaluation
of the Datacenter edition, you can only convert it to the retail version of the
Datacenter edition.
If you haven't already activated Windows, the
bottom right-hand corner of the desktop shows the time remaining in the
evaluation period.
Important
For releases of Windows Server 2016 prior to
14393.0.161119-1705.RS1_REFRESH, you can only convert from evaluation to retail
when Windows Server has been installed with the Server with Desktop Experience
installation option (not Server Core). Starting with version
14393.0.161119-1705.RS1_REFRESH and later releases, you can convert evaluation
editions to retail regardless of the installation option used.
Note
Before you attempt to convert from evaluation to
retail, verify that your server is actually running an evaluation version. To
do this, launch an elevated command prompt and run the command slmgr.vbs
/dlv; evaluation versions will include EVAL in the output.
Windows Server
Standard or Datacenter
If the server is running an evaluation version of
Windows Server Standard edition or Windows Server Datacenter edition, you can
convert it to a retail version as follows:
1. From an elevated
command prompt or PowerShell session, run the following command to save the
Microsoft Software License Terms for Windows Server, which you can then review:
Copy
DISM /online
/Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /GetEula:C:\eula.rtf
2. Determine the current
edition name by running the command below. The output is an abbreviated form of
the edition name, for example Windows Server Datacenter edition is ServerDatacenter:
Copy
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
3. Verify which
editions the current installation can be converted to by running the command
below. The evaluation version of Windows Server Standard can be converted to
the retail version of either the Standard or Datacenter editions of Windows
Server, whereas the evaluation version of Windows Server Datacenter can only be
converted to the retail version Windows Server Datacenter:
Copy
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
4. Make note of the
target edition name you want to convert to, and enter this and your retail
product key in the command below. This process requires you to accept the
Microsoft Software License Terms for Windows Server you saved previously.
Tip
You can convert from the evaluation
version of Windows Server Standard to the retail version of Windows Server
Datacenter in one step by using the appropriate product key and edition ID.
Copy
DISM /online /Set-Edition:<edition
ID> /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula
For example:
Copy
DISM /online
/Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:ABCDE-12345-ABCDE-12345-ABCDE
/AcceptEula
Tip
For more information about Dism.exe, see DISM Command-line
options.
Important
If the server is an Active Directory domain
controller, you cannot convert it to a retail version. In this case, install an
additional domain controller on a server that runs a retail version, migrate
any FSMO roles held, and remove Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) from
the domain controller that runs on the evaluation version. For more
information, see Upgrade Domain
Controllers to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
Windows Server
Essentials
If the server is running Windows Server Essentials,
you can convert it to the full retail version by entering a retail, volume
license, or OEM key by launching an elevated command prompt and entering it as
part of the following command:
Copy
slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
Converting Windows
Server Standard edition to Datacenter edition
At any time after installing Windows Server, you
can convert Windows Server Standard edition to Datacenter edition. You can also
run setup.exe from the installation media to upgrade or repair the installation
(sometimes called in-place repair). If you run setup.exe to upgrade or
repair in-place on any edition of Windows Server, the result will be the same
edition you started with.
You can convert the Standard edition of Windows
Server to the Datacenter edition as follows:
1. Determine that
Windows Server Standard is the current edition name by running the command
below. The output is an abbreviated form of the edition name, for example
Windows Server Standard edition is ServerStandard:
Copy
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
2. Verify that Windows
Server Datacenter is a valid option to convert to by running the following
command:
Copy
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
3. Enter ServerDatacenter and
your retail product key in the command below:
Copy
DISM /online
/Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
/AcceptEula
Converting between
retail, volume-licensed, and OEM licenses
At any time after installing Windows Server, you
can freely convert between a retail license, a volume-licensed license, or an
OEM license. The edition (Standard or Datacenter) remains the same during this
conversion. If you are starting with an evaluation version, convert it to the
retail version first, then you can convert between the versions.
Copy
slmgr.vbs /ipk
XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
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