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 Windows OS Hub / Windows Server 2019 / How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License

June 19, 2023 Windows Server 2016Windows Server 2019Windows Server 2022

How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License

When we analyzed the server licenses in use, we found that one of the servers had a much more expensive edition of Windows Server Datacenter installed than the tasks running on the server required (no Hyper-V virtualization, S2D, Azure Stack, Storage Replica, etc.). It was considered to change (downgrade) the edition of the installed Windows Server 2019 Datacenter to Standard to save on more expensive licenses. We did not consider a clean reinstall of Windows Server because the server already has a number of roles configured and additional software installed that is strictly licensed to the operating system and hardware.

Contents:
  • Check Windows Server Edition
  • How to Downgrade Windows Server Datacenter to Windows Server Standard
  • Downgrade Rights: Windows Server 2022 to 2019/2016

Check Windows Server Edition

You can use the Control Panel to check which edition of Windows Server is installed on the host. Navigate to Control Panel –> System and Security -> System (or run the command: control /name Microsoft.System).

windows server 2019 datacenter edition

In this example, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter is installed on the host.

You can also view the version and edition of Windows from the command line:

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

or

wmic os get Caption, Version, BuildNumber, OSArchitecture

cmd: check windows server edition

Or with PowerShell:

Get-WindowsEdition –Online

get-windowsedition powershell

Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

The ServerDatacenter edition is installed on the host in this example.

You can use the Get-ADComputers cmdlet to get the edition of all the Windows Server hosts in an Active Directory domain:

Get-ADComputer -Filter {(Enabled -eq $True) -and (OperatingSystem -Like '*Windows Server*')} -Property * | Select-Object Name,OperatingSystem,OperatingSystemVersion

list windows server versions and edition in active directory

Learn how to get a list of Windows versions and builds in a domain.

How to Downgrade Windows Server Datacenter to Windows Server Standard

Previously, we discussed upgrading a Windows Server edition from lower to higher using DISM (see the post How to convert Windows Server Evaluation to Full). You can also do the reverse procedure by downgrading from Datacenter edition to Standard, keeping all your current settings, installed roles, and applications.

Important! Downgrading Windows Server from a higher edition to a lower one is not officially supported by Microsoft. The officially recommended method is to perform a clean re-install of the operating system. However, downgrading as described in this article works, although this is not officially supported.

Before performing a downgrade, we strongly recommend that you create a full image backup of your operating system (at least using Windows Server Backup).

You should also be careful if you are downgrading a Windows server with the ADDS domain controller role installed. It is recommended that you transfer FSMO roles from the Windows Server host (it is assumed that you have at least one additional domain controller) and demote it to a domain member server before downgrading. Back up your Domain Controller so that you can restore the DC from a backup in the event of a problem.

  1. On a host running Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, start Registry Editor and navigate to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion;
  2. Check the values of the following REG_SZ parameters: EditionID = ServerDatacenter, ProductName = Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, CompositionEditionID=ServerDatacenter;
    The CompositionEditionID setting is present in the registry for Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022. This registry parameter is missing in Windows Server 2016 and doesn’t need to be created manually.
      ServerDatacenter: view current edition registry registry
  3. Change the values as follows: EditionID and CompositionEditionIDto ServerStandard, ProductName to Windows Server 2019 Standard;
    It should be noted that there is a fairly rare edition of Windows Server Essentials available. To downgrade to Essential Edition, you must specify EditionID = ServerSolution.
    ; downgrade windows server edition via registry
  4. Close the Registry Editor;
    Do not restart the server after changing the values of the specified registry keys, otherwise, they will automatically revert to the previous values and you will get an error when trying to perform a downgrade in the next step “Your Files and Settings cannot be kept because you try to install an other version as the currently used“.
  5. Mount the Windows Server 2019 installation ISO image and run the setup wizard (setup.exe); run windows server 2016 setup wizard
  6. When you select the installation options in the Windows Server Setup window, select Upgrade and Windows Server 2019 Standard (Desktop Experience); downgrade to windows server standard
  7. Check the option Keep personal files and apps. If this option isn’t available and you get the message “You can’t keep Windows settings, personal files, and apps because your current version of Windows might be installed in a unsupported directory”, check the values of the ProgramFilesPath, ProgramFilesDir(x86), and ProgramW6432Dir registry parameters under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion registry key); update windows server edition - option Keep personal files and apps
  8. Click the Confirm button for each item found. In my case, the first item said that a Windows Server upgrade is not recommended, and it was better to clean install the OS, and the second one said that PnP and RemoteFX USB device redirection was disabled by default in this Windows version; windows server upgrade is not recommended
  9. Start the Windows Server offline upgrade process. Wait for it to finish, and after a few restarts, check that Windows 2019 Standard Edition is now running on the host.downgrade windows server 2019 datacenter to standard

This downgrade method works for all supported versions of Windows Server (2012R2/2016/2019/2022).

For desktop operating system versions (Windows 10, 11, etc.), you can also change editions without reinstalling.

Downgrade Rights: Windows Server 2022 to 2019/2016

Microsoft license agreements allow you to use earlier versions of Windows Server if you have a license for a newer version of the product (downgrade rights). For example, if you have the required commercial licenses for Windows Server 2022, you can run Windows Server 2019 and 2016.

To activate a previous version of Windows Server through a downgrade, you need to get a valid product key from your Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) account. If you do not have such a key, you can contact Microsoft support to generate a product key under the downgrade right.

If you have deployed a KMS service to activate Windows Server, you can install Windows Server with a public GVLK key and then activate your host on KMS. In this case, you do not need to contact Microsoft Support (see the Key Management Service/KMS Activation FAQ).

It is not possible to perform an in-place downgrade of an already installed Windows operating system version. This means that if you have Windows Server 2022 installed but need Windows Server 2016 for legacy compatibility, you will not be able to downgrade your deployed operating system version. You will need to perform a fresh installation of Windows Server 2016 and activate it with the appropriate product key.

You must also downgrade your RDS CALs when you downgrade the Windows Server version if you have Remote Desktop Services deployed.

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41 comments

Iqbal August 25, 2020 - 9:04 am

Awesome!! This is really worked well. Thanks 🙂

Reply
Teronbytes January 19, 2023 - 1:13 pm

Y r a Machine God kkkkk, worked wonderfully

Reply
Scott September 17, 2020 - 3:57 pm

This works, but after when looking at the local server in the Server Administrator the Product ID shows as Unknown. Any way to fix this?

Reply
Vlad October 14, 2020 - 4:34 pm

Hey guys,

Its not working for me, after modifying the registry and running the setup.exe again I do not get the screen to pick the version but instead whether I want updated or not to my current version and no matter what I chose I am being asked for a SN which is obviously not accepting a standard one but a datacenter one.

Any ideas ?

Reply
Vlad October 14, 2020 - 4:52 pm

apparently this is only possible for 2016, for 2019 it isnt working …

Reply
Matt February 12, 2021 - 10:40 pm

See my comment below. It worked on 2019 for me.

Reply
ed December 11, 2020 - 8:12 pm

super awesome cos it worked

Reply
Matt February 12, 2021 - 10:38 pm

Worked for me on 2019. Accidentally installed the wrong version, then installed all my apps. Didn’t want to have to rebuild. With this procedure, downgraded 2019 Datacenter to Standard.

To the commenter above who says it didn’t work on 2019, there is another reg key to edit called “CompositionEditionID” … I also changed this from ServerDatacenter to ServerStandard before running the setup. Perhaps that’s necessary for it to work? I don’t know for sure as I didn’t try it without doing that. Just seemed to make sense to change that as well. 🙂

Reply
matt February 16, 2021 - 4:34 pm

Thanks Matt, works for my 2019 accident also

Reply
steven February 16, 2021 - 5:17 pm

Hey Matt,
u got the “unknown” state at the local server in the Server Administrator the Product ID and some other Entries too?
any solution so show the

Reply
steven February 16, 2021 - 5:19 pm

Sry for typo,
any solution for this issue?
ps: worked and slmgr /dlv gives also the expected output (std).

Reply
Sebastian March 3, 2021 - 7:25 am

Wehn i got to the point to pick what to keep, there is the prompt: “Your Files and Settings cannot be kept because you try to install an other version as the currently used”.

Reply
DSC May 3, 2021 - 9:49 am

Works for my Windows Server 2019 Domain Controller with changing three (!) registry parameters:
CompositionEditionID = ServerDatacenter,
EditionID = ServerDatacenter,
ProductName = Windows Server 2019 Datacenter,
to ServerStandard / Windows Server 2019 Standard

Thx!

Reply
Server 2019 Standard to Datacenter May 5, 2021 - 9:26 am

[…] Strangely I'm going the other way as Std Licencing was far cheaper than DC. It's not an officially supported route (AFAIK) but it seems pretty straight forward. How to Downgrade Windows Server Datacenter to Standard Edition? | Windows OS Hub […]

Reply
premax May 23, 2021 - 9:20 pm

This tutorial is perfect and this is the only one working on the Internet. I’ve just converted my Windows 2019 Datacenter Trial to Windows 2019 Standard Retail. Previously I have downloaded Windows 2019 Datacenter VHD from MS Website and installed AD, DNS, SQL and other stuff and really tried to avoid reinstalling all the stuff once again.

First (1), I’ve setup secondary AD controller and demoted my W2019 Datacenter.
Second (2), did the hack with HKLM registry (all three values updated: CompositionEditionID, EditionID, ProductName).
Then (3) I’ve downloaded VL ISO Windows 2019 Standard – it took me hours to find out that with Windows 2019 Standard TRIAL we cannot save files and apps! You really NEED to have a licensed copy of ISO (mine was: “SW_DVD9_Win_Server_STD_CORE_2019_1909.4_64Bit_English_DC_STD_MLF_X22-29333.ISO”) to be able to run setup and save the files and apps. If you use trial ISO, the first save option will be always greyed out.
And finally couple of reboots, and change of license to mine (slmgr.vbs /upk + slmgr.vbs /cpky + slmgr.vbs /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx + slmgr.vbs /ato) and I have working licensed Windows 2019 Standard. All is fine when querying via GUI or DISM /online /get-currentedition or sslmgr /dlv. Now will promote DC again, keep fingers crossed! PP

Reply
Veijo Jones July 10, 2022 - 1:47 am

Thanks very much for posting your experience – it was exactly what my problem was and I was able to follow your steps to fix it.

Reply
Squuiid November 4, 2021 - 1:08 pm

Worked perfectly from 2016 Datacenter to 2019 Standard.
Thank you!
ISO used: SW_DVD9_Win_Server_STD_CORE_2019_1809.18_64Bit_English_DC_STD_MLF_X22-74330.ISO

Reply
Thomas January 7, 2022 - 12:51 pm

Unfortunately, this does not work for us. I have a 2019 Datacenter VM that I want to downgrade. I make the changes to the registry, boot from our image “Windows Server 2019 Datacenter SSS_X64FRE_DE-DE_DV9.iso”.
When I select “Upgrade”, the message appears:
The upgrade option is not available when you boot the computer using the Windows installation media.

Reply
Fernando January 7, 2022 - 8:10 pm

you’re not supposed to boot from the iso. Just mount it and run setup.exe

Reply
Thomas January 11, 2022 - 6:57 am

Ok, I run setup. I have to enter a license key to continue.
I enter the standard key, choose Windows Server Standard, continue and cannot choose to keep data.
“Your Files and Settings cannot be kept because you try to install an other version as the currently used”.
The same as Sebastian wrote.

Reply
Thomas January 11, 2022 - 7:53 am

Got the solution. You MUST NOT reboot the machine after changing the values in the registry, or otherwise they will be reverted.

Reply
Thomas January 11, 2022 - 9:43 am

Our AVMA key is not accepted in the “SAFE_OS” phase.
But I tried it once more with the general KMS key and changed it later, that worked.

LUCA January 20, 2022 - 8:31 pm

i have the same problem on win19 .. can you give me the details pls ? “But I tried it once more with the general KMS key and changed it later, that worked.”

Reply
Thomas January 22, 2022 - 9:20 pm

You can google for the KMS Key. That key is normally used with a key management system, a special server in your network. Therefore, that key is always accepted when installing and is later checked for validity. In our case, that key cannot be validated and so after reboot Windows is not activated. You can then provide a valid key and Windows gets activated.

Andrew Brand April 5, 2022 - 8:40 am

Hi there – thanks for your guide. I’ve come across an issue where im unable to upgrade the server despite making the following reg key changes:

CompositionEditionID = ServerStandard,
EditionID = ServerStandard,
ProductName = Windows Server 2019 Standard,

When i try to update the server, the option to ‘Keep personal files and apps’ is greyed out. Below i get the following message, ‘your files, apps. and settings can’t be kept because you’re installing an edition of Windows that’s different thna the once you’re currently using’.

Have you got any guidance around what could help to resolve this issue?

Reply
admin April 7, 2022 - 8:22 am

Double check check you Windows version and build number:
Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

Reply
Andrew Brand April 22, 2022 - 3:57 pm

Hi We were able to complete these steps successfully. Just struggling to activate windows now… we get the following error code: 0x8007232B. Alternatively, i have tried to clear the key with CMD and input a legitimate key for 2019 Server Standard and getting the following error code: 0xC004E016.

Any thoughts on how we can get past this?

Reply
admin May 12, 2022 - 7:14 am

0x8007232B: DNS name does not exist (The KMS client cannot find KMS server resource records (SRV RRs) in DNS)
0xC004E016 – The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid.

Reply
cesar February 6, 2023 - 11:09 pm

hi, i have the same problem how did you solved?

Reply
Zdenek May 12, 2022 - 4:52 am

Hi all, it works perfect fot me from W2K12 DC to Std., also for W2k8. But now I’ve found one server with W2k8 R2 Enterprise and changing to Std. doesn’t not work – there is still greyed out “keep files” even for Std., even for Datacenter (tried w2k12,w2k16, w2k19, w2k22). Changing both keys – done. But there still in About this comp “Windows Server 2008 R2 Enteprise” (but both keys are changed), also tried restart.
any idea? thanks

Reply
Thibal August 9, 2022 - 6:58 am

Thanks for the tip ! And what about moving an AD server from 2012 R2 datacenter to 2019 standard ? Is there any problem with the FSMO roles ?

Reply
Batuhan October 24, 2022 - 6:18 am

Dear All, I had finished multiple downgrades (2019 Datacenter to Standard). Thank you very much for the article. FYI, if you are going to downgrade Hyper-V Host Server, please downgrade the guest machines first, afterwards, shutdown the guest machines and disable the automatic start of the guest machines before initiating downgrade process for Hyper-V host. This will give you a smooth operation. Best Regards,

Reply
cesar February 6, 2023 - 11:12 pm

hi im tryng to downgrade windows datacenter 2019 to standar edition 2019 but i cant press ‘keep files’ its gray.

i changed this keys

CompositionEditionID = ServerStandard
EditionID = ServerStandard
ProductName = Windows Server 2019 Standard

and checked late with this
Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

i didnt reset the vm. some help?

Reply
Chad February 2, 2023 - 8:20 pm

In 2019 I installed, configured, and deployed a Windows Server 2019 Domain Controller and Application Server ( RemoteApp ) before i realized the VHD I used was DataCenter Edition ( didn’t notice until I went to apply the licenses ). I could not find a way to downgrade at the time, and so I kicked the can down the road for a couple years by resetting the trial license before finding this article. I thought I was going to have to re-create the application server, which isn’t trivial to do ( due to SSL and what not ). Thanks You So Much!

Reply
cesar February 6, 2023 - 11:12 pm

hi im tryng to downgrade windows datacenter 2019 to standar edition 2019 but i cant press ‘keep files’ its gray.

i changed this keys

CompositionEditionID = ServerStandard
EditionID = ServerStandard
ProductName = Windows Server 2019 Standard

and checked late with this
Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

i didnt reset the vm. some help?

Reply
premax February 7, 2023 - 9:07 am

Please read the previous comments. Are you using Windows 2019 Standard trial ISO?

Reply
Joseph Tullis February 9, 2023 - 10:00 pm

Why? Are you not able to use the Eval ISO to do this?

Reply
James June 8, 2023 - 10:56 am

Works like charm. This is practically the only article on the internet that works and straightforward. Been on this for a while now.

Reply
Admin October 4, 2023 - 8:15 pm

For finding OS version just click on Run and enter winver

Reply
Peter October 9, 2023 - 7:00 am

Hi. Worked perfect for Domain Controller and FileServer 2019 DataCenter to Standard. Not worked for Server 2019 Datacenter with RDS Role installed. Removed RDS Role and the Licence downgrade worked perfect. Thank you!

Reply
Taariq October 23, 2023 - 9:26 am

When I try to do a downgrade it hangs on 33% then fails. Any idea what’s causing it to fail?

Reply

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