Note:
This article was written when Windows Server 2008 was still
RC0.
Changes might occur later once the product is RTM'd
Upgrade Steps
-
On you
Windows Server 2003 DC, insert the Windows Server
2008 DVD, and then open command prompt and run the
following commands, make sure first to browse to the
adprep directory inside the Windows 2008 DVD , in my
case case, the F drive is the DVD Drive letter, so
to browse to the adprep directory I would write the
following inside cmd: cd f:\sources\adprerp
-
If the Install Windows page
did not auto run before the previous step, double
click on your DVD drive where you have inserted the
Windows Server 2008 DVD, then Click on
Install now

-
A please
wait screen will be followed, then a page to
decide what to do, either to go online and get the
latest updates for installation or to skip going
online by clicking on the Do not get the latest
updates for installation option

I will perform the updates later, so for the purpose
of this article, I will click on Do not get
the latest updates for installation

-
Enter the
product key, click
Next

Accept the
license terms and click on Next

What we need
to do is to upgrade our server, so click on the
Upgrade option

The
compatibility report will be displayed telling you
what hardware might not function once upgrade is
completed , also to check with software vendors to
check if their software are compatible with Windows
Server 2008. click
Next

Upgrade is
now in process

The Server will
be restarted automatically several times, the Upgrade
process will continue with the remaining
operations:


After
multiple restarts, the Upgrade process will be
completed and you will be able to start using your
Windows Server 2008.
Summary
In this article, I showed you how to do an
in-place upgrade for Windows Server 2003 Domain
Controller to Windows
Server 2008. The steps are easy and straightforward,
just make sure while reading the compatibility report, if
any of the hardware/software installed on your Server
are compatible with Windows Server 2008.
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