Hey everyone! I'm in a bit of a bind here. A friend reached out for help when their server crashed, and I decided to assist despite not being an expert. I built a new server with Windows Server 2025 Standard and used an evaluation license to get things up and running quickly. Now that it's stable, I want to upgrade to a full license, but I read that I can't do that because Active Directory is enabled on my server. I find this pretty frustrating! Is there really no way around this? Do I have to start from scratch with a different installation? Any advice would be appreciated!
3 Answers
Just a heads up, the others have great points. Using eval versions has bitten us a few times too. It's generally better to use a full version ISO if you can find it. After installation, it might complain about activation, but it'll keep running just fine until you sort that out.
Check out this guide here: https://chrisleverseo.com/forum/t/how-to-convert-windows-server-2025-evaluation-to-full-version-standard-datacenter.126/ and it should help you out! Good luck!
You can use DISM commands to upgrade from an evaluation version, but you need to do it via an elevated command prompt or PowerShell. Here are the commands you can run:
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula
The first command will show you which versions you can upgrade to. Make sure to keep the license in sync with what you choose. If your build isn't connected to the internet, you can activate by running "SLUI 4" from the Run dialog. Good luck!
Thanks for the info! What does the Get-Target command show if an upgrade is possible? Mine just states Current Edition: ServerStandardEval.