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I have several clients running Windows Server 2016 Essentials and am planning in-place upgrades to Windows Server 2022 Standard. I would like to perform a test upgrade prior to production. I installed and configured an evaluation version of Windows Server 2016 Essentials on a test server. When I run the Windows Server 2022 upgrade, my only option is a fresh install. The option for keeping files, settings and applications is greyed out. Is this because these are evaluation licenses?
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An in-place upgrade using evaluation media is not possible to do. You'll need to use licensed installation media.
--please don't forget to close up the thread here by marking answer if the reply is helpful--
If licensed media is used to test, won't that affect activation of production server?
No, you can install the server but just skip activation for time being.
Awesome... Thanks!
You're quite welcome.
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Server 2022 Essentials edition/media does not exist, you are trying to upgrade Essentials to Standard, hence no full upgrade option