How to Upgrade Windows Server Evaluation to Full Version with License Key

Before starting the upgrade process, you need to identify your current Windows Server edition and confirm it's an evaluation version.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the following command:

DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition

This command displays your current edition. You should see something like ServerStandardEval or ServerDatacenterEval if you're running an evaluation version.

You can also use PowerShell to get more detailed information:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsEditionId, WindowsInstallationType

Next, determine which full editions you can upgrade to from your current evaluation version.

Run this DISM command to see available upgrade paths:

DISM /Online /Get-TargetEditions

The output will show available target editions such as:

• ServerStandard - Windows Server Standard edition
• ServerDatacenter - Windows Server Datacenter edition

Note that you can only upgrade to the same or higher edition. For example, if you're running ServerStandardEval, you can upgrade to ServerStandard or ServerDatacenter, but not downgrade.

Before running the upgrade command, you need to prepare your server to avoid common issues during the conversion process.

First, disable NIC Teaming if it's configured on your server:

Get-NetLbfoTeam | Remove-NetLbfoTeam -Confirm:$false

If your server is a Domain Controller, you must demote it first. This is a critical step that many administrators overlook:

# Check if server is a Domain Controller
Get-ADDomainController -Identity $env:COMPUTERNAME -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

If the command returns information about your server, you need to demote it using the Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard or PowerShell:

Uninstall-ADDSDomainController -DemoteOperationMasterRole -RemoveApplicationPartitions

Create a system restore point as a safety measure:

Checkpoint-Computer -Description "Before Server Edition Upgrade" -RestorePointType "MODIFY_SETTINGS"

You'll need the appropriate Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) for your target Windows Server version and edition. These keys are provided by Microsoft for the initial conversion process.

Here are the current GVLK keys for different Windows Server versions:

Identify your Windows Server version:

(Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion").ReleaseId

For Windows Server 2025 (the latest as of 2026), use the 2019/2022/2025 column keys.

Now you're ready to perform the actual upgrade. This is the most critical step and requires patience as it can take 5-60 minutes to complete.

Run the DISM command with your chosen target edition and GVLK. For example, to upgrade to Windows Server 2025 Standard:

DISM /Online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:N69G4-B89J2-4G8F4-WWYCC-J464C /AcceptEula

For Windows Server 2025 Datacenter:

DISM /Online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:WMDGN-G9PQG-XVVXX-R3X43-63DFG /AcceptEula

The process will show progress percentages. Don't panic if it appears to hang at 10% - this is normal behavior. The upgrade can take anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes depending on your server's hardware and installed features.

When the upgrade completes, you'll be prompted to restart. Type Y to restart immediately:

Restart the computer to complete this operation.
Do you want to restart the computer now? (Y/N)

After the server restarts, log in and verify that the upgrade was successful. The server should boot normally without the evaluation edition limitations.

Check the current edition using PowerShell:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsEditionId

You should now see ServerStandard or ServerDatacenter without the "Eval" suffix.

You can also verify using DISM:

DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition

Check the system properties to confirm the change:

systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"

The OS Name should now show the full version without "Evaluation" in the name.

The final step is to activate Windows Server with your actual retail or volume license key. The GVLK used earlier was only for the conversion process.

If you have a retail license key, use the Software Licensing Management tool:

slmgr /ipk YOUR-RETAIL-LICENSE-KEY-HERE

Then activate the license:

slmgr /ato

For volume licensing environments with KMS servers, the activation should happen automatically. You can force activation with:

slmgr /ato

Alternatively, you can use the Settings app:

1. Open Settings → Update & Security → Activation
2. Click "Change product key"
3. Enter your retail or volume license key
4. Follow the activation wizard

Check activation status:

slmgr /dlv

This command displays detailed licensing information including activation status.

After successfully upgrading and activating your Windows Server, restore any configurations that were disabled during the preparation phase.

If you disabled NIC Teaming earlier, you can re-enable it:

# Example: Create a new NIC team
New-NetLbfoTeam -Name "Team1" -TeamMembers "Ethernet","Ethernet 2" -TeamingMode SwitchIndependent -LoadBalancingAlgorithm Dynamic

If you demoted a Domain Controller, you can promote it back after the upgrade:

# Install AD DS role first
Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools

# Then promote to DC using the configuration wizard
Install-ADDSDomainController -DomainName "yourdomain.com"

Verify all server roles and features are functioning correctly:

Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object {$_.InstallState -eq "Installed"}

Check system event logs for any issues:

Get-EventLog -LogName System -EntryType Error -Newest 10