Install Windows Server 2025

Steps 1 to 6 happen inside the DC01 window. Steps 7 and 8 use PowerShell on your laptop. You’ll repeat the short version for SRV01 at the end.

1Start DC01 and begin Setup

In PowerShell on your laptop, run this:

VBoxManage startvm DC01

The VM window opens and boots from the Server 2025 ISO. When Setup shows Select language settings, choose your language and time format, click Next, then choose your keyboard layout and click Next again.

✅ Checkpoint: The DC01 window shows Windows Server Setup.

2Choose Install and the right image

On Select setup option, choose Install Windows Server, tick I agree everything will be deleted including files, apps, and settings, and click Next. On Select image, choose Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Evaluation (Desktop Experience) and click Next. Accept the licence terms.

✅ Checkpoint: You picked the image that ends in “(Desktop Experience)”. The ones without it install Server Core.

3Pick the disk and install

On Select location to install you’ll see Disk 0 Unallocated Space of 60 GB.

Select it, click Next, then Install. Setup copies files and restarts by itself, usually in 10 to 20 minutes. If you see “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD” after a restart, don’t press anything; let it boot from the disk.

✅ Checkpoint: Setup finished copying files and the VM restarted at least once.

4Set the Administrator password and sign in

On Customize settings, type a password for Administrator twice and click Finish. Use something like Lab-Admin-2026! that meets the complexity rules, and write it down.

To sign in, press Right Ctrl + Delete (VirtualBox’s “host key” plus Delete) instead of Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then type the password. Server Manager opens on its own; leave it open.

✅ Checkpoint: You are signed in to DC01 as Administrator and Server Manager is open.

5Install Guest Additions

In the DC01 window’s menu, choose Devices, Insert Guest Additions CD image. In DC01, open File Explorer, open the CD drive and run VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe. Click through with the defaults, allow the driver installs, and choose Reboot now at the end.

✅ Checkpoint: After the restart, the DC01 screen resizes when you resize its window.

6Check what you installed, from inside the server

Sign in again, open PowerShell inside DC01 and run these one at a time:

Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object Caption, Version, CSName
(Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion').InstallationType
Get-CimInstance SoftwareLicensingProduct -Filter "Name LIKE 'Windows%' AND PartialProductKey IS NOT NULL" |
    Select-Object Name, LicenseStatus, @{n='DaysLeft';e={[math]::Round($_.GracePeriodRemaining/1440)}}

You should see something like this:

Caption                                         Version    CSName
-------                                         -------    ------
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Evaluation 10.0.26100 WIN-4JH2T8QK1VD

Server

Name                                         LicenseStatus DaysLeft
----                                         ------------- --------
Windows(R), ServerDatacenterEval edition                 1      180

Three useful facts in three commands. CSName is the random name Setup picked; you’ll change it in Lesson 6. InstallationType says Server for Desktop Experience and Server Core for Core, which is the quickest way to tell them apart from a script.

DaysLeft is the evaluation time. DC01 has no network address yet, because LabNet has no DHCP on purpose, so the evaluation can’t activate online until Lesson 6. If you see a small number like 10 instead of about 180 now, that’s why; check again after Lesson 6.

✅ Checkpoint: Caption says Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Evaluation and InstallationType says Server.

7Shut down, eject the ISO and take a snapshot

In DC01’s PowerShell, shut it down:

Stop-Computer

When the window closes, run these in PowerShell on your laptop:

VBoxManage storageattach DC01 --storagectl SATA --port 1 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive
VBoxManage snapshot DC01 take "Fresh install" --description "Server 2025 installed, Guest Additions, no config"
VBoxManage snapshot DC01 list

You should see something like this:

0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Snapshot taken. UUID: 6b1e0f3a-2c7d-4e85-9a14-d3f52c8e7b10
   Name: Fresh install (UUID: 6b1e0f3a-2c7d-4e85-9a14-d3f52c8e7b10) *
   Description: Server 2025 installed, Guest Additions, no config

Ejecting the ISO stops the “Press any key to boot from CD” prompt from appearing every time DC01 starts. The * marks the snapshot the VM is currently based on.

✅ Checkpoint: DC01 has a snapshot called “Fresh install”.

8Do the same for SRV01

Repeat steps 1 to 7 for SRV01: same image, same disk choice, a password you’ll remember, Guest Additions, then shut down, eject and snapshot. Use these commands for the start and the end:

Run these on your laptop:

VBoxManage startvm SRV01
# ... install, set password, Guest Additions, Stop-Computer inside SRV01 ...
VBoxManage storageattach SRV01 --storagectl SATA --port 1 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive
VBoxManage snapshot SRV01 take "Fresh install"

✅ Checkpoint: Both DC01 and SRV01 run Windows Server 2025 with Desktop Experience and have a “Fresh install” snapshot.