You receive a "Windows Setup does not support upgrading from Microsoft Windows 2000 Server" error message or a "Windows Setup does not support upgrading from Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0" error message when you try to upgrade to Windows Server 2003

When you try to upgrade a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer or a Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0-based computer to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, you may receive an error message that is similar to one of the following:

This issue may occur if both of the following conditions are true:

• Windows 2000 Server or Windows NT Server 4.0 was installed from a retail version of the Windows 2000 CD-ROM.
• You try to upgrade to Windows Server 2003 by using an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) CD-ROM.

OEM versions of Windows Server 2003 do not support any upgrade paths. They are to be used for new installs only, and they cannot be used to upgrade retail or OEM installations of Windows 2000 or Windows NT.

To resolve this issue, obtain a retail version of the Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition CD-ROM to use for the upgrade operation. Contact your OEM for more information.

This issue may also occur when you try to upgrade to other editions of Windows Server 2003. In these scenarios, the edition is listed in the error message that Setup returns. For additional information about how to upgrade to Windows Server 2003, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: