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Article ID: 810613 - Last Review: December 3, 2007 - Revision: 11.2

Supported paths for upgrading to Windows Server 2003 or to Windows Small Business Server 2003

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SUMMARY

This article lists the supported paths for upgrading to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or to Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003.

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MORE INFORMATION

The following list includes the paths and the support status by product for upgrading to Windows Server 2003 or to Windows Small Business Server 2003.

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Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51

No supported upgrade paths.

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Windows NT Server 3.51 Enterprise Edition

No supported upgrade paths.

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Windows NT Server 3.51 with Citrix

No supported upgrade paths.

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Windows NT Server 4.0

Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.0 / 4.5

No supported upgrade paths.

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Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition

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Windows 2000 Advanced Server

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition

Note Windows 2000 Datacenter Server and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, are only available as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products. Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, upgrade media is only available through an OEM provider. This is the only supported upgrade path.

The Independent Software Vendor (ISV) version of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server permits you to upgrade to Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, but this is not supported. This upgrade is used for testing purposes only. You receive a warning when you try to upgrade Windows 2000 Datacenter Server to Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. The ISV version of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, does allow for service pack updates.

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Microsoft Small Business Server 2000

Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition

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Windows Small Business Server 2003

Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition

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Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition

Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition

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Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition

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Windows Server 2003, Web Edition

Windows Server 2003, Web Edition

Note The x86 versions of the Windows operating system cannot be upgraded to the x64 versions of the Windows operating system. However, Windows Server 2003 x64 Standard Edition can be upgraded to Windows Server 2003 x64 Enterprise Edition. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

896334 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896334/ ) Setup and installation considerations for Windows x64 Edition-based computers

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Additional information

Windows XP Home Edition
No supported upgrade paths.
Windows XP Professional
No supported upgrade paths.
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
You must upgrade Windows NT Server 4.0 programs to Service Pack 5 (SP5) or later before you upgrade to Windows Server 2003.
Client operating system upgrade paths
There are no client operating system upgrade paths (for example, Windows 2000 Professional or Window XP Professional) available to Windows Server 2003.
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
There are no upgrade paths available to Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, except from Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) product only.

MSDN

MSDN versions of Windows 2000 Server or of Windows Server 2003 will upgrade to a full retail version of Windows Server 2003, Standard Server.
MSDN versions of Windows 2000 Server or of Windows Server 2003, will not upgrade to OEM versions of Windows Server 2003.
The MSDN - 160 Day Evaluation versions of Windows Server 2003 will upgrade to a full retail version of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

Upgrades across languages are not supported.

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Windows Server 2003 Beta upgrade paths

Beta 1: Build 2296
Beta 2: Build 2462.a 
Beta 3: Build 3590 
RC1: Build 3663 
RC2: Build 3718 
RTM: Build 3790 
	
	Beta 3
	======================
	Beta 2 (Builds 2196 to 3504) blocked
	Beta 1 blocked
	
	RC1
	======================
	Beta 3 allowed
	Beta 2 blocked
	
	RC2
	======================
	RC1 allowed
	Beta 3 allowed
	Beta 2 blocked
	
	RTM (FPP)
	======================
	RC2 allowed
	RC1 allowed
	Beta 3 allowed
	Beta 2 blocked
	
	Builds after RC2 allow upgrade to RTM(FPP)
	
	RTM (EVAL)
	======================
	RC2 allowed
	RC1 allowed
	Beta 3 allowed
	Beta 2 blocked 
	
	Builds after RC2 block upgrade to RTM(EVAL)

Note Upgrades over beta versions will typically work, but sometimes you may have to perform a new installation to resolve issues.

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REFERENCES

For more information about how to upgrade Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 to Windows Server 2003 R2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

912309 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912309/ ) How to upgrade Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 to Windows Server 2003 R2

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