Fast | How to Upgrade Windows Server Essential to Standard

Overview of Upgrading Windows Server Essentials to Standard

You must be curious to know the answer to the question: Can I upgrade Windows Server 2019 Essentials to Standard? When your business outgrows the user and device limits of Windows Server 2012 Essentials, you can transition to Windows Server 2012 Standard to comply with licensing requirements. This transition removes the user and device limits, but certain features unique to Essentials remain available.

However, these features have technical limitations, supporting a maximum of 75 user accounts and devices. If you exceed these limits, you should disable Essentials features and utilize the native tools of Windows Server 2012 Standard for user and device management.

It's important to note that Windows Server 2012 Standard requires Client Access Licenses (CALs) for each user or device in your environment. Unlike Essentials, which doesn't use the CAL model and doesn't include CALs, transitioning to Standard will necessitate purchasing the appropriate number and type of CALs for your environment (typically user CALs are preferred by most customers). Next, let us take a look at how to upgrade Windows Server Essentials to Standard.

How to Upgrade Windows Server Essentials to Standard

Prior to transitioning from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server 2012 Standard, it is crucial to perform a complete backup of the server data.

Note: Without a comprehensive server backup, it will not be possible to restore the server to its previous state before the transition.

Before upgrading, you need to make the following preparations.

1. Preparations Before Upgrading

Ensure that you carefully review and comprehend the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Windows Server 2012 Standard. To access the EULA, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open an Administrator command window. Execute the following command:

dism /online /set-edition:ServerStandard /geteula: eula path

Note: Replace the eula path with the desired location to save the EULA file (e.g., C:\ws8std_eula.rtf). Make sure to use the .rtf file extension.

Step 2. Navigate to the location where you saved the file, and double-click it to open and view the EULA.

2. Upgrade Windows Server Essentials to Standard Step-by-Step

To transition from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server 2012 Standard, follow these steps:

Step1. Purchase a license for Windows Server 2012 Standard and the required number of Client Access Licenses (CALs) for your environment from a retail outlet, distributor, or Microsoft Partner.

❤Notes:

• If you initially purchased Win Server 2012 Std and used downgrade rights to install Win Server Essentials as a virtual instance, no extra purchase is needed.
• If you purchase Win Server 2012 Std through Volume Licensing, download ISO image and product key from VLSC.
• If you purchase Win Server 2012 Std from other channels, download ISO image and evaluation product key for Win Server Essentials from TechNet Eval Center.

The transition process will convert the evaluation product to a fully licensed and supported version.

Step 2. Open Windows PowerShell as Administrator and run the following command:

dism /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula

☎Note: Change the edition and product key to match the ones you have.

The server will restart to complete the transition process. Now you have got all the information on how to upgrade Windows Server Essentials to Standard Edition. Below we will teach you how to backup your server data in advance. This is very important.

☎Attention: After the transition, Windows Server Essentials features will still be available and supported for up to 75 users and 75 devices. If you exceed these limits, use the native tools in Windows Server 2012 Standard to manage user accounts and devices.
The Media features of Windows Server Essentials, including Remote Web Access and Media Settings on the Dashboard, will no longer be available after transitioning to Windows Server 2012 Standard.

Important: Backup Your Windows Server to Prevent Data Loss

As we said before, it is very important to have a complete server backup. AOMEI Backupper Server edition is designed to help home and business users easily backup important data. It offers various backup types for files, folders, partitions, or systems, providing the following benefits:

★Flexible backup methods: Choose between full, incremental, or differential backups, with the latter two options only backing up changed files.
★Versatile backup options: Back up your server to internal or external devices, USB drives, NAS, network drives, cloud storage, and more.
★Automated backup: Schedule backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, or event triggers and USB plug in.
★Automatic cleanup: Automatically delete old backup images to free up disk space.

Furthermore, AOMEI Backupper Server edition is compatible with all Windows Server operating systems, including Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2003 (including R2), as well as SBS 2011, 2008, and 2003. Download it now to start backing up your server!

Step 1. To initiate a backup using AOMEI Backupper, open the program and navigate to the Backup section. From there, choose the desired backup type: System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, or File Backup.

Step 2. By default, the system data is already selected. Simply choose a destination path where you want to store the backup image.

Step 3. After reviewing and confirming the selected operations, click on Start Backup to initiate the backup process for Windows Server.

Summary

This article describes in detail how to upgrade Windows Server Essentials to Standard. including preparations and considerations. One of the things you need to pay special attention to is to make sure that you back up your server data to avoid data loss. Backup server versions 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022 (including previous systems and R2) easily using AOMEI Backupper Server.

It provides diverse backup and cleanup methods for data security. For unlimited PC protection in a company, choose the Technician edition. Deploy system images to multiple computers simultaneously without boot or network issues. Create a portable version for backup, restore, or cloning of Windows Server 2019 and other systems. Try it out for yourself!