Activation Guide – Windows Server

This guide explains how to install Windows Server and convert the evaluation version to a Retail version using your product key.

If you already have a version of Windows Server installed and want to upgrade, follow Microsoft’s official upgrade guide: Upgrade overview for Windows Server

Choose the version that matches your purchase. These are 180-day evaluation versions that will need to be converted to Retail after installation.

After installing Windows Server, you’ll need to convert the Evaluation version to a Retail version in order to activate your license key.

Click the Start button, search for PowerShell, then right-click and select Run as administrator.

Use the correct command based on your purchased edition. Replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with your actual product key.

For Windows Server Standard:

For Windows Server Datacenter:

Run this command first:

For Windows Server Standard:

For Windows Server Datacenter:

Then run the activation key command: