Install Windows Server 2012 (R2) Using Local or Remote Media
System Requirements
Although most of the servers nowadays probably have the necessary requirements for Windows Server
2012. It will certainly be useful to know them in case you want to upgrade from an older system.
- The main requirements are −
CPU socket minimum 1.4 GHz (64-bit processor) or faster for single core and Microsoft recommends is 3.1
GHz (64-bit processor) or faster multi-core. - RAM memory minimum is 2GB, but Microsoft recommends 8GB.
- 160 GB hard disk with a 60 GB system partition space in your hard disk.
- One important thing to note here is that the installation process itself will verify your computer hardware and
let you know if it qualifies for a Windows Server 2012 installation. If not, then you will need to upgrade your
hardware.
Installation
The following steps are to be adhered for the installation of Windows Server 2012.
Step 1 − We can download the evaluation ISO of Windows Server 2012 R2 from the following link −
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2
But you will need to sign in first with a Microsoft account like Hotmail for example in order to complete the download and the good thing is that the evaluation period will last for 180 days, so you will have enough time to know if it will be the right product for you or not.
At the end, if you decide to buy the license of your Windows server 2012 R2. You can purchase it online via a Microsoft online store found in − https://mikrosoftkenya.com/product/windows-server-2012-r2-standard/
For the Enterprise solution, I would recommend to purchase it via a Microsoft partner that is found in your country.
Step 2 − After downloading the ISO of Microsoft, create a boot USB driver which can be created with the Microsoft tool called Windows USB/DVD Download Tool and can be downloaded from the following link −
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool.
After downloading the EXE file, open it and select the ISO file location and then click next like in the following screenshot, and wait up to the end when the Boot USB is created.
Step 3 − After completing the above given steps, plug-in the USB to the server and wait for a while till it loads the files. This will continue for about a couple of minutes as shown in the following screenshot. If prompted with Press any key to boot from CD, press any key. The Windows installation wizard starts and the Loading files… screen appears.
Select your language and other preferences, and then click Next to continue. The Install Now screen appears.
Note – The Install Now screen allows you to continue the installation or access an optional Repair menu
(see lower left of the screen) for troubleshooting.
Click Install now. The Setup Is Starting screen appears.
In the Select Operating System dialog, select the desired operating system, and then click Next to continue. For most installs, select Windows Server 2012 Datacenter (Server with GUI) at the bottom of the list. For more information on the different types of Windows operating systems, see the Windows 2012 documentation at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/default.aspx.
In the License Terms screen, check the I accept the license terms box, and then click Next to continue. The Which Type of Installation
For all new installations, in the Which Type of Installation Do You Want dialog, click Custom: Install Windows only.
Select (highlight) the disk to which you want to install Windows, and then click Next. The Installing Windows screen appears.
After the system reboots, the Getting Devices Ready screen appears and the Windows Installation Wizard configures the device settings.
Enter the Administrator user name and password, and then click Finish. The Finalizing Your Settings screen appears.
After the installation completes, type Ctrl+Alt+Delete to log in. The Administrator log in screen appears.
Enter the Administrator password, and then click the arrow to log in. The Windows Server 2012 desktop appears. This completes the installation. Proceed to Post Installation Tasks for Windows Server and perform the post installation tasks.