Full Guide to Upgrade Windows Server 2019 to 2022

What’re the differences between Server 2019 and 2022?

If you feel good about using Windows hosting, then, you’re likely to be satisfied with the latest released Server 2022 by Microsoft. It’s built on the strong foundation of Server 2019 but by comparison, it provides much better features.

Many users would love to install Windows Server 2022 for its excellent functionalities and useful features that Server 2019 and other Server versions don’t have. For example, the security module gives advanced multi-layer security to keep Servers safe comprehensively; the core edition of Server 2022 is built on 3 key pillars that provide simplified security, advanced protection, and preventative defense; meanwhile, Microsoft Edge is included with Windows Server 2022 to replace Internet Explorer…

How to upgrade Windows Server 2019 to 2022?

Since Windows Server 2022 is much more powerful, it’s reasonable for people to launch a Windows Server 2019 to 2022 free upgrade. But how? Don’t worry, here, in the following paragraphs, a step-by-step tutorial will be given to help deal with the upgrade easily.

First read: Windows Server 2022 system requirements

Before starting the Windows Server 2019 to Server 2022 upgrade, let’s first check what the system requirements of this latest Server OS are.

Part 1. Make sure Server 2019 is up to date

To run Windows Server 2022 installation process from your Server 2019 computer, you must make sure whether the current OS is up to date. Just follow the path: “Settings > Update & Security > Check for Update”. If outdated, you should install the latest version by following the onscreen guide.

Part 2. Prepare the Server 2022 ISO media

There’re multiple ways to upgrade Server 2019 to 2022 but the easiest way is to download the ISO media from the Microsoft Evaluation Center. After entering the web page, you’ll see several download options as follows.

1) Sign up for a free Azure account

2) Create a Windows Server VM in Azure

3) Download the ISO

4) Download the VHD

Here, we choose “Download the ISO”. Then, you’re supposed to enter some basic details asked by Microsoft, select your preferred language and download the file.

Part 3. Set up Server 2022 installation

Now, you can right-click on the ISO file and hit the “Mount” option.

1. In the first popup window, select “Change how Setup downloads updates”.

2. Check the option “Download updates, drivers and optional features” and click on “Next” to get the updates.

3. Wait for the process to be completed and type your product key.

4. Select the OS image you want to install and hit the “Next” button.

5. Accept the applicable notices and license terms.

6. Choose what to keep on your computer and then, click on “Next”.

7. When it shows “Ready to install”, click on the “Install” button.

Now, wait for the installation to be completed and after the computer reboots, you can find whether the installation is successful by checking the system info.

Note: If you don’t want to install Windows Server 2022 from the ISO file or simply think it’s too complex, you might as well try OS to SSD migration with the help of some other tools.

There’s not enough space when attempting to install Server 2022

Can I upgrade to Windows Server 2022? I believe after going through the previous paragraphs, the question no longer exists. However, some people respond that during the Server 2022 installation, they’re prompted that there’s not enough space. So, to resolve the issue, here, a powerful third-party disk manager – AOMEI Partition Assistant Server – is recommended to help extend the boot drive in only a few clicks.

Download the demo to have a try!

Solution 1. Allocate free space to the boot drive

This way enables you to directly move free space to the boot drive from another drive with sufficient storage space.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Partition Assistant Server. Then, right-click on the drive where you want to extract free space and select “Allocate Free Space”.

Step 2. In the popup window, decide how much storage space you hope to allocate and select the destination drive to allocate the storage space to. When it’s done, hit the “OK” button.

Step 3. After returning to the home interface, follow “Apply > Proceed” to commit the operation as follows.

Solution 2. Merge other partitions/unallocated space with the boot drive

Besides free space allocation, you can also combine the system drive with another piece of unallocated space regardless of its position or contiguous data drive.

Step 1. Run the AOMEI product, right-click a partition, choose “Advanced” and select “Merge Partition”.

Step 2. Tick the unallocated space or the partition you want to merge and after that, click on “OK”.

Step 3. In the “Pending Operations” window, you can find that the system drive has been already extended. Now, just hit “Apply” to start the merging process.

Conclusion

If you have trouble finding any tutorial on how to upgrade Server 2019 to 2022, then, this post should be your best choice. It provides the most explicit guide along with a screenshot for every step to get the Server 2022 upgrade done with ease. Meanwhile, for the “no sufficient storage” issue, a third-party powerful program AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is introduced to help extend the system drive. Also, you can move apps from one drive to another to free up storage space with the feature of app mover. Other features including disk clone and partition clone are supported.