12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub

Home About   
Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 

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

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

How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License https://t.me/woshub

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 Join WindowsHub Telegram channel to get the
Stack, Storage Replica, etc.). It was considered to change (downgrade) the edition of the installed Windows Server 2019 latest updates!
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.
CATEGORIES

Contents:
 Active Directory

Check Windows Server Edition

 Group Policies
How to Downgrade Windows Server Datacenter to Windows Server Standard

Downgrade Rights: Windows Server 2022 to 2019/2016  Exchange Server

 Microsoft 365

Check Windows Server Edition  Azure

You can use the Control Panel to check which edition of Windows Server is installed on the host. Navigate to Control Panel –>  Windows 11

System and Security -> System (or run the command: control /name Microsoft.System ).
 Windows 10

 Windows Server 2022

 Windows Server 2019

 Windows Server 2016

 PowerShell

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

 Hyper-V
You can also view the version and edition of Windows from the command line:

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

 MS Office
or

wmic os get Caption, Version, BuildNumber, OSArchitecture

RECENT POSTS

Send a WhatsApp Message

Or with PowerShell:
from the CommandLine
(Shell)
Get-WindowsEdition –Online December 2, 2024

How to Verify a File Hash

(Checksum) on Windows
November 25, 2024
Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

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

Bridging Multiple Network
Interfaces on Windows
You can use the Get-ADComputers cmdlet to get the edition of all the Windows Server hosts in an Active Directory domain:
November 21, 2024

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

Object Name,OperatingSystem,OperatingSystemVersion
Network Monitor: Capture
and Analyze Network Traffic
on Windows
November 12, 2024

How to Install Node.js and

NPM (Package Manager) on
Learn how to get a list of Windows versions and builds in a domain. Windows
November 12, 2024

How to Downgrade Windows Server Datacenter to Windows Server Standard

Remove a Specific Device
Previously, we discussed upgrading a Windows Server edition from lower to higher using DISM (see the post How to convert from the Safely Remove
Hardware List on Windows
Windows Server Evaluation to Full). You can also do the reverse procedure by downgrading from Datacenter edition to
October 16, 2024
Standard, keeping all your current settings, installed roles, and applications.


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 1/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub
Disable BitLocker Automatic
Windows
Important! Downgrading  Microsoft
Windows Server from Virtualization
 a higher PowerShell
edition to a lower Linux supported by
one is not officially Drive Encryption in 

Microsoft. The officially recommended method is to perform a clean re-install of the operating system. However, Windows 11
downgrading as described in this article works, although this is not officially supported. October 16, 2024

Before performing a downgrade, we strongly recommend that you create a full image backup of your operating system (at
Check the Software
Installation/Removal History
least using Windows Server Backup).
in Windows
You should also be careful if you are downgrading a Windows server with the ADDS domain controller role installed. It is October 8, 2024

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 Run PowerShell Scripts on a
so that you can restore the DC from a backup in the event of a problem. Schedule with Task
Scheduler
1. On a host running Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, start Registry Editor and navigate to the registry key
October 3, 2024
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion;

2. Check the values of the following REG_SZ parameters: EditionID = ServerDatacenter, ProductName = Windows
Graylog: Centralized Log
Server 2019 Datacenter, CompositionEditionID=ServerDatacenter; Collection and Analysis
October 1, 2024
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.

FOLLOW US

Your email address:

SUBSCRIBE

3. Change the values as follows: EditionID and CompositionEditionID to 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.

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);

6. When you select the installation options in the Windows Server Setup window, select Upgrade and Windows
Server 2019 Standard (Desktop Experience);


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 2/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub

Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 

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);

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;

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.

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.

 51 comments 3    

previous post next post

How to Allow Non-Admin User to Start/Stop Service in Connect to MS SQL Server Database in Visual Studio
Windows Code


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 3/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub

Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 

RELATED READING

Send a WhatsApp Message from the Network Monitor: Capture and Analyze How to Install Node.js and NPM (Package
CommandLine (Shell) Network Traffic on... Manager)...

December 2, 2024 November 12, 2024 November 12, 2024

51 COMMENTS

IQBAL Reply
 August 25, 2020 - 9:04 am

Awesome!! This is really worked well. Thanks 🙂

TERONBYTES Reply
 January 19, 2023 - 1:13 pm

Y r a Machine God kkkkk, worked wonderfully

SCOTT Reply
 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?

VLAD Reply
 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 ?

VLAD Reply
 October 14, 2020 - 4:52 pm

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

MATT Reply
 February 12, 2021 - 10:40 pm

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

ED Reply
 December 11, 2020 - 8:12 pm

super awesome cos it worked

MATT Reply
 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. 🙂

MATT Reply
 February 16, 2021 - 4:34 pm

Thanks Matt, works for my 2019 accident also

STEVEN Reply
 February 16, 2021 - 5:17 pm

https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 4/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub
Hey Matt,
Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 
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

STEVEN Reply
 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).

SEBASTIAN Reply
 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”.

DSC Reply
 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!

SERVER 2019 STANDARD TO DATACENTER Reply

 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 […]

PREMAX Reply
 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

VEIJO JONES Reply

 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.

SQUUIID Reply
 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

THOMAS Reply
 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.

FERNANDO Reply

https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 5/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub
 January 7, 2022 - 8:10 pm
Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 
you’re not supposed to boot from the iso. Just mount it and run setup.exe

THOMAS Reply
 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.

THOMAS Reply
 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.

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 Reply
 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.”

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 Reply

 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?

ADMIN Reply
 April 7, 2022 - 8:22 am

Double check check you Windows version and build number:

Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion,
OsHardwareAbstractionLayer

ANDREW BRAND Reply

 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?

ADMIN Reply
 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)

https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 6/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub
0xC004E016 – The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is
Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 
invalid.

CESAR Reply
 February 6, 2023 - 11:09 pm

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

ZDENEK Reply
 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

THIBAL Reply
 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 ?

BATUHAN Reply
 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,

CESAR Reply
 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?

CHAD Reply
 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!

CESAR Reply
 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?

PREMAX Reply
 February 7, 2023 - 9:07 am

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

JOSEPH TULLIS Reply

 February 9, 2023 - 10:00 pm

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


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 7/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub

Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 

JAMES Reply
 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.

ADMIN Reply
 October 4, 2023 - 8:15 pm

For finding OS version just click on Run and enter winver

PETER Reply
 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!

TAARIQ Reply
 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?

TT Reply
 February 23, 2024 - 6:05 pm

Verifique se não é o espaço em disco faltando… precisa de ao menos 25GB livre…

Check that you are not running out of disk space… you need at least 25GB free…

EDDY ABIKHALIL Reply

 February 19, 2024 - 11:01 am

it didn’t work for me,

Facing issues with keep files is greyed out, I tried all of the above solutions and didn’t work.
Any updates?

PREMAX Reply
 February 28, 2024 - 11:24 am

As I had pointed before, “If you use trial ISO, the first save option will be always greyed out”. Have you
used licensed ISO?

JAVI Reply
 February 22, 2024 - 10:09 am

me too in 2022 version, cant keep files apps and configurations

TT Reply
 February 23, 2024 - 6:06 pm

After downgrading, my access to TS only works if the user is in the Administrators group. Any solution?

ALI SAHIN Reply

 February 28, 2024 - 11:15 am

Is server 2016 datacenter to server 2019 standard?

CLINT Reply
 April 29, 2024 - 8:58 am

Tried this for WS2022 Datacenter to Standard and once I changed the three entries in registry I ran setup.exe. It
would not allow me to keep my files. I went back to the registry and noticed two entries reverted to their
original. I changed them again and re-ran setup.exe and could keep my files.

TORY0162 Reply
 July 16, 2024 - 5:53 pm

The same here!

RXL22 Reply
 July 17, 2024 - 8:22 am

The same for me on 2019 Datacenter to Standard


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 8/9
12/6/24, 7:49 PM How to Downgrade Windows Server Edition or License | Windows OS Hub

Windows  Microsoft  Virtualization  PowerShell Linux 

TOBIAS Reply
 August 12, 2024 - 7:44 am

Thank you for the guide!

I had the same issue as some of the others here.
The option to “keep files” were greyed out due to the simple mistake by me:
I didn’t choose the DESKTOP EXPERIENCE of the version I was installing.
After changing that, it worked like a charm!
Thank you!

LEAVE A COMMENT

Your Comment

Name* Email* Website

NOTIFY ME OF FOLLOWUP COMMENTS VIA E-MAIL. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE WITHOUT COMMENTING.

POST COMMENT

 FACEBOOK  TWITTER  TELEGRAM

Popular Posts
Fix: Remote Desktop Licensing Mode is not Configured

Configuring Port Forwarding in Windows

Allow Non-admin Users RDP Access to Windows Server

Tracking and Analyzing Remote Desktop Connection Logs in Windows

Configuring SFTP (SSH FTP) Server on Windows

@2014 - 2024 - Windows OS Hub. All about operating systems for sysadmins
Configuring User Profile Disks (UPD) on Windows Server RDS
 Installing Remote Desktop HTML5 Web Client on Windows Server RDS
BACK TO TOP


https://woshub.com/downgrade-windows-server-datacenter-standard-edition/ 9/9