Migrate from Server 2012 R2 Essentials to Server 2022 Standard

Quickpath 21 Reputation points
2021-11-03T15:44:34.33+00:00

I need to be able to do a server migration from Server 2012 R2 Essentials to Server 2022 Standard (since the will basically be no "Essentials" version of Server 2022). The upgrade won't work since I'm attempting to go from Essentials to Standard. I can upgrade to Standard 2012 R2 using the evaluation key, but since it won't activate the migration to 2022 won't work (it fails at 3%). Is there any way to do this without having to purchase a 2012 R2 Standard license before I do the Server 2022 upgrade? Seems that Microsoft forgot about this kind of situation since they basically abandoned the "Essentials" version. I can always do a clean install, but the amount of work that will be done and the down-time is a lot of hours.

Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.
1,529 questions
Windows Server Migration
Windows Server Migration
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Migration: The process of making existing applications and data work on a different computer or operating system.
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Accepted answer
  1. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2021-11-03T23:29:49.197+00:00

    need to upgrade first to 2012 R2 Standard

    to convert you can
    Dism /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx /AcceptEula

    then do the in-place upgrade to 2022

    That's unlikely to work. They generally support a single version jump so 2012 R2 to 2019 would be as good as it gets.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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  1. Quickpath 21 Reputation points
    2021-11-08T16:46:10.763+00:00

    If anyone can figure out how to do this without having to purchase a 2012 R2 license that would be EXTREMELY helpful. The eval license will let you upgrade but you can't activate, which means that you CAN'T upgrade to 2022 Standard directly from 2012 R2 Essentials.

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  2. Quickpath 21 Reputation points
    2021-11-08T16:43:40.227+00:00

    I will need to purchase a 2012 R2 standard license, then upgrade from Essentials, then upgrade to 2022 Standard. I'll post when I do this as to my success.

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  3. Quickpath 21 Reputation points
    2021-11-03T23:09:05.387+00:00

    Yep, this exactly the process I used but with Server 2022, however your link is instructions for Essentials to Essentials. Since Microsoft is not releasing 2022 Essentials except directly to OEM's I have no way of purchasing a copy of it. Upgrading directly from Essentials to Standard does not work for any version of Server. I need to upgrade first to 2012 R2 Standard then do the in-place upgrade to 2022, but this requires me to purchase a 2012 R2 standard license from "who knows who", an iffy proposition. Thanks for your input.

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  4. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2021-11-03T22:59:37.08+00:00

    Seems very problematic and unlikely the hardware supports this but give this a go if you must.
    https://server-essentials.com/support/in-place-upgrade-of-windows-server-essentials-2012-r2-to-windows-server-essentials-2016-on-the-same-hardware

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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