Microsoft makes evaluation versions of its products available to anyone and they can be downloaded for free from the Evaluation Center. You will find Windows Server, Windows 10, and other on-premise server products, such as SQL Server, Visual Studio and SharePoint. I use the evaluation version of Windows products for testing and evaluations in a local VM.
One disadvantage of using evaluation version is that the evaluation versions of Windows Server ‘deactivate’ after 180 days. It’s possible to continue using Windows Server after this period but personalization options are disabled, and the server will automatically shut down after a period of time, which can be very inconvenient.
However, Microsoft allows you to extend the trial period 6 times, so you don’t need to worry when your initial 180 days is up. Using the Software License Management Tool, you can see how many days are left on your current evaluation and how many times it can be extended (rearmed).
Check Windows Server Trial Status
To check the status of your server, open a command prompt with administrator privileges and run the command shown below:
slmgr /dlvAfter a few seconds, a pop-up window should appear giving lots of information about the licensing status of your server.
Extend Windows Server Trial
f you don’t have any days left on your evaluation and the rearm count isn’t 0, run the command below to extend the trial and then restart the server.
slmgr /rearmOnce the server has rebooted, you can check its status again to see if the rearm was successful using the below command.
slmgr /dliThat’s all you need to do to keep using your Windows Server evaluation.
Note: Remember that evaluation copies of Windows are not licensed for commercial use.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day…!
