Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. Feedback will be sent to Microsoft: By pressing the submit button, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Privacy policy. When your business needs exceed the limit, you can perform an in-place license transition from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server Standard to remain license compliant. After you transition to Windows Server Standard, the user account and devices limits are removed, but the features that are unique to Windows Server Essentials such as the Dashboard, Remote Web Access, and client computer backupstill remain available.
However, technical limitations for these features support a maximum of 75 user accounts and 75 convert windows server 2012 essentials to standard free download. If it becomes necessary to add more than 75 user accounts or devices, you should turn off the Windows Server Essentials features and use the Windows Server Standard native tools to manage user accounts and devices.
Before transitioning from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server Standard, you should fully back up the server data. Without a full backup of the server, you cannot restore the server to the state that it was in prior to the transition. To view the EULA:. Where eula path represents the location to which you want to save the EULA convert windows server 2012 essentials to standard free download.
Be sure to use. After you have decided to transition from Windows Server Essentials to Windows Server Standard, complete these two steps:. If you purchased Windows Server Standard initially and exercised your downgrade rights to install one of your two virtual instances as Windows Server Essentials, you do not need to purchase anything additional.
Performing the transition as described in the next step will convert the evaluation product convert windows server 2012 essentials to standard free download a fully licensed and supported product.
After the transition, the Windows Server Essentials features remain on the server and are supported for up to 75 users and 75 devices. If you exceed either of these limits, you should use the Windows Server Standard native tools to manage user accounts and devices.
Additionally, after you transition to Windows Server Standard, the Media features of Windows Server Essentials are no longer available. If you no longer need the Windows Server Essentials Dashboard or other value-add features to manage the server, you can turn the features off and remove them from your server. It also cleans the server of files that were created by the Windows Server Essentials server software. Some cleaning operations are performed immediately, while others are initiated after the server restarts.
To view a list of installed add-ins, open the Application page in the Dashboard. The wizard will alert you if it detects installed add-ins, and prompts you to uninstall them. In Organize list, select the alert that reports information about turning off Windows Server Essentials features after transition.
It is possible that some tasks performed by the Turn off Windows Server Essentials Features Wizard will not complete successfully. In some cases, this can prevent the Dashboard from running. If this occurs, you can start the wizard manually by running the file:. Transition convert windows server 2012 essentials to standard free download Windows Server R2 Standard. Skip to main content. This browser is no longer supported. Download Microsoft Edge More info.
Contents Exit focus mode. Is this page helpful? Please rate your experience Yes No. Any additional feedback? Important Without a full backup of the server, you cannot restore the server to the state that it was in prior to the transition.
Note If you purchased Windows Server Standard initially and exercised your downgrade rights to install one of your two virtual instances as Windows Server Essentials, you do not need to purchase anything additional. In this article.
