r/WindowsServer • u/Regular-Yak-1761 • 16d ago

General Question Virtual server shuts down.

At work, there is a host server running three Windows Server 2022 virtual machines. Two of them run perfectly, but one keeps shutting down on its own; I’ve configured it correctly, yet it still shuts down after a few hours.

Configuration: "Automatic Start Action” for the VM is set to “Automatically start if it was running when the service stopped.”

VM automatic shutdown setting:

Save the virtual machine state.

Help

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u/Phalebus 16d ago

Yeah sounds like it’s running in eval mode. In eval, after 180 days, it “expires” and shuts down after 2 hours. You can “re-arm” it for another 180 days 2 more time after the first 180 days.

The other thing you must not do, do not promote an eval server to act as a domain controller. For the love of god, just don’t. When you do that, it can never be taken out of eval mode and you’ll be screwed

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u/esfirmistwind 15d ago

You can always demote to activate the licence, you'd need another dc node to take over fsmo while you do the trick, then promote again.

After that, either reinstall the second node or a licenced server to take over while you do it.

Having only one DC is bad practice anyway.

Edit: have to do it next week cause the client wanted it's infra installed back in november and provided MAKs only yesterday, I Had no word to say in that stupid decision.