To explore the capabilities of Windows Server, whether it’s 2016 or 2019, there is a special Evaluation version available. It could be Windows Server 2016/2019 Standard Evaluation or Datacenter Evaluation. After installation, you have 180 days to test all its features, during which time the full functionality of the system is available to you. After 180 days, the system will require activation and will begin to shut down every hour. Additionally, a notification “Windows License is expired” will appear on the desktop. However, if you have already launched all productive tasks for further work and want to activate it into a full-fledged Windows Server while keeping your data without reinstalling, simply activating it with a product key will not work—you will need a conversion. In this article, we will discuss how to do it.
If you attempt to enter a KMS key or Retail/MAK product key for the RTM version in the Evaluation version, you will receive a warning “This edition cannot be upgraded” because upgrading this edition is not possible.
1) Launch the command prompt as an administrator and enter the following command: DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
You will get a message about which version your OS can be converted to; the output should look something like this:
Using publicly available KMS keys for Windows Server 2016/2019, you can perform the conversion (Note: these keys are only for upgrading/converting and installing Windows Server; to properly activate the system itself, you will need a Retail key, which you can purchase in our online store on this page.)
KMS keys:
Windows Server 2016 Standard: WC2BQ-8NRM3-FDDYY-2BFGV-KHKQY
Windows Server 2016 Datacenter: CB7KF-BWN84-R7R2Y-793K2-8XDDG
Windows Server 2019 Standard: N69G4-B89J2-4G8F4-WWYCC-J464C
Windows Server 2019 Datacenter: WMDGN-G9PQG-XVVXX-R3X43-63DFG
2) In PowerShell, run the command:
dism /online /set-edition:ServerStandard /productkey:WC2BQ-8NRM3-FDDYY-2BFGV-KHKQY /accepteula (After “productkey,” insert the required key for your operating system)
3) After restarting, check if you now have a full version of Windows Server without the “Evaluation” label.
