Moving Azure 2022 Data Center VM from Azure to back on-prem - license issue.

Question

We have the need to move some Azure 2022 Data Center VM from Azure to back on-prem for performance reasons. We have migrated one VM and the license is no longer valid. The VM has Windows Server 2022 Data Center Azure Edition, and we cannot activate that On-Prem. Tried to convert the license using DSIM but that returns and error. 'This Windows image cannot upgrade to the edition of Windows that was specified. The upgrade cannot proceed. Run the /Get-TargetEditions option to see what edition of Windows you can upgrade to.'

How can I get the VM activated with 'Windows Server Data Center" and not the 'Azure Edition'?

Answer 1

Hello, @Jim Collier (inf) !

Thank you very much for following up and sharing your migration solution so that others experiencing the same thing can easily reference this! Since the Microsoft Q&A community has a policy that "The question author cannot accept their own answer. They can only accept answers by others ", I'll repost your solution in case you'd like to "Accept " the answer to increase visibility.

Issue:

I need to migrate Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition to on-premises, however converting is not supported for Azure Edition.

Solution provided by Jim Collier (inf):

I know this is not supported but for anyone who faces this issue follow this article. I have completed this on 4 servers and had no issues. https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ Instead of downgrading to Standard replace the registry entries with ServerDatacenter (2 keys) and Windows Server 2022 Datacenter (1) key. In the ISO setup select 'Server 2022 Datacenter (Desktop Experience). Most importantly select 'Keep personal files and apps'. It took about 75 minutes to update the install.

Answer 2

Well you didn't say what Get-TargetEditions reported but it may be the Azure DataCenter is deemed a higher version that plain DataCenter in which case down converting wouldn't be possible.

--please don't forget to close up the thread here by marking answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 3

Hello, @Jim Collier (inf) ! We've received your feedback and would like to make sure that your question is answered.

Why am I getting an error message when attempting to convert Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition?

Azure Edition for Windows Server has virtualization optimized to run on Azure. As a result, you are able to change editions from Standard or Datacenter to Datacenter: Azure Edition however you are unable to change from Datacenter: Azure Edition to either Standard or Datacenter editions:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/upgrade-conversion-options#upgrade-licensed-versions-of-windows-server

Alternatively, you can change to certain other editions when upgrading. You can change from Standard to Datacenter or to Datacenter: Azure Edition, or change from Datacenter to Datacenter: Azure Edition. You can't change from Datacenter to Standard edition or from Datacenter: Azure Edition to either Standard or Datacenter editions when upgrading.

These require a clean installation of Windows Server. Migration is a complicated process that involves assessing your Azure environment, downloading the VHD from Azure, and recreating the VMs on-premises. There is a great blog by Anderson Patricio that goes into this process in more detail:

https://techgenix.com/moving-azure-vm-on-premise/

DISM Get-TargetEditions on Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition:

---

While likely not what you were hoping to hear, I hope this has been helpful in getting you started down the right path. Your feedback is important so please take a moment to accept answers. If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!