How to Install Windows Server 2022 and Activate It with a Product Key

To install Windows Server 2022 and activate it, start your server from the installation media, choose the Standard or Datacenter edition with Desktop Experience, finish the setup and then convert it to the full version with your product key, using one DISM command. Below are all the steps, with screenshots from our own Windows Server 2022 test server and the video of the whole process.

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IMPORTANT: choose the same edition as your product key. A Windows Server 2022 Standard key activates Standard, and a Datacenter key activates Datacenter. If they don't match, the activation fails with error 1605 (see step 10).

1. Before you start

• Your product key for Windows Server 2022 Standard or Windows Server 2022 Datacenter. Reveal it when you are ready to activate.
• The installation media. In this guide we use the Windows Server 2022 ISO from Microsoft's Evaluation Center, on a USB drive or mounted in your virtual machine. It installs the evaluation, and from step 6 you turn it into the full version with your key.
• A server or virtual machine that meets Microsoft's system requirements for Windows Server 2022.
• An internet connection, for the activation.

Good to know: according to Microsoft, mainstream support for Windows Server 2022 ends on October 13, 2026, and it keeps getting security updates until October 14, 2031 (extended support).

2. Start the setup

2.1 Start your server from the Windows Server 2022 installation media. Choose your language, time and currency format and keyboard, and click Next.

2.2 Click Install now.

3. Choose the edition

3.1 Select Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience), the version with the full Windows desktop. On the evaluation media it's called Standard Evaluation (Desktop Experience). If your key is for Datacenter, choose Datacenter Evaluation (Desktop Experience). Click Next.

Why Desktop Experience? According to Microsoft, an evaluation with Desktop Experience can't be converted to a Server Core version, and the Standard Server Core evaluation can only be converted to Datacenter Server Core. If you want the full desktop, choose it here.

3.2 Accept the license terms: select I accept the Microsoft Software License Terms and click Next.

4. Choose where to install it

4.1 Choose Custom: Install Microsoft Server Operating System only, for a clean installation.

4.2 Select the drive where you want to install Windows Server and click Next.

4.3 Windows Server installs and the server restarts. It takes a few minutes.

5. Set the Administrator password

Type a password for the Administrator account, type it again and click Finish. Use a strong password and keep it safe: you will use it every time you sign in to the server.

6. Activate it: open Command Prompt as administrator

Sign in as Administrator. The media installs the evaluation, so now convert it to the full version with your product key.

Search for cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

7. Check your edition

7.1 Type this command and press Enter:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

ServerStandardEval means it's the Standard evaluation (for Datacenter, ServerDatacenterEval). You can also see it at the bottom right of the desktop: "Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation".

7.2 Now type this command and press Enter:

DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

It lists the editions you can convert to: here, ServerStandard and ServerDatacenter. Use the edition you bought.

8. Convert it with your product key

8.1 Type this command with your edition and your product key, and press Enter:

DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula

For a Datacenter key, use ServerDatacenter instead of ServerStandard. Replace the X's with your product key, with the dashes.

8.2 The conversion takes a few minutes. When it finishes, Windows asks you to restart. Type Y and the server restarts.

9. Check that Windows Server is activated

After the restart, Windows Server starts as the full version. Open the Start menu, click Settings, go to Update and Security and then Activation. It shows Windows Server 2022 Standard and Windows is activated: it's no longer an evaluation.

10. Key not working?

If your key doesn't match the edition in the command, DISM shows Error: 1605: the product key is not valid for the target edition. Check that your key is for the same version and edition (Windows Server 2022, Standard or Datacenter) and run the command again with the right edition name.

If you see an error during activation, switch to another network, for example your phone's hotspot, and try again.

11. Frequently asked questions