Hey there! I ran into an issue with my Windows Server 2022 Standard virtual machine. I mistakenly joined it to a domain, but now I want to switch to a different domain and remove all the GPO and registry settings that were modified before. I'm looking to do a fresh reinstallation of the OS since there isn't any important data on it, but I'm concerned about losing my license in the process. I've licensed the VM using the same key as my Hyper-V host with the 24-core edition (which allows for 2 operating system environments). Do I need to unlicense the VM before I reinstall it? I definitely want to avoid losing my license unnecessarily. Thanks for the help!
2 Answers
You shouldn't worry about deactivating before reinstalling. The Windows license is linked to your VM's hardware configuration, and since it's still running on the same host, it should automatically reactivate once you reinstall. Just make sure you're using the same edition for the reinstallation and everything should be good to go!
No need to unlicense! Just go ahead and reinstall using the same key; you'll be just fine with activation.
Thanks for the reassurance! I’ll use the same ISO to proceed with the reinstallation. Appreciate it!