Windows 10: Move Server 2012 R2 Essentials Storage Spaces to Windows 10 Pro

My 10-year old home-built Microsoft Server 2012 R2 Essentials server just died. It is not worth the expense to repair or replace it. Instead, I want to go to a Synology DS220+ NAS to handle my backups and shared folders. The first thing I need to do is to recover the Storage Spaces drives on that server by moving those files first to my Windows 10 Pro PC and then to the Synology NAS as far as I know, there is no way to copy or move those files directly to the NAS. I have moved the corresponding SATA card from the server to my Windows PC and connected the Storage Pool drives all configured a

:)

 

Thecus Announces World's First Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials NAS

Thecus Technology Corp. today announces another world first: Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is now available for NAS users. Available this October, the 2-bay W2000, 4-bay W4000, and the 5-bay W5000 offer a host of benefits to SMB users, including data protection, integrated cloud services, and secure remote access.

"Thecus NAS provide users with a complete solution to their storage needs. With the additions to the W Series, Thecus is able to offer a more diversified product to its customers. Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials is an ideal pairing with Thecus NAS and will equip small businesses with a powerful and trusted storage solution," said Florence Shih, CEO at Thecus Technology Corp.









By running Windows Server software on a Thecus NAS, users will be able to simplify the integration of Microsoft's cloud-based applications and services, including Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. These new NAS offerings provide users with an affordable, flexible solution that minimizes resources spent on business operations while still optimizing productivity.

"The Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials software allows small businesses to protect, centralize, organize, and access their data anywhere by using almost any device," said Peter Han, Vice President of Worldwide OEM Marketing, Microsoft. "We believe offering our software on Thecus NAS devices will provide an excellent solution for those small businesses looking to protect their data while optimizing their resources with a hybrid, on premise, and cloud-connected offering."

Thanks to proven Thecus hardware based on the Intel Atom platform, serviced by dual LAN ports and no less than 2GB of DDR3 RAM,and all featuring media connectivity (HDMI and VGA), the new line of world-first Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials NAS are user-friendly yet robust answers to the data needs of every forward-thinking small to medium-sized business.

 

Convert Windows Server 2012 R2 Evaluation to Windows Server 2012 R2

I have purchased the product key of Windows Server 2012 R2. Now the server is on Windows Server 2012 R2 Evaluation. I found a few links there they explained on how to convert from Windows Server 2012 R2 Evaluation to Windows Server 2012 R2 with valid product
key. One of the example is this link:

How to activate Windows Server 2012 R2 Evaluation - Nicolas Ignoto, CTP

Is this a correct way to do? If I follow this step, will my data be erased?

I want to avoid formatting/fresh Windows install because there are some software in the server that we do not know how to backup. We just want to get it activated now, backup will be sorted out later.

 

Is it possible to upgrade Windows 10 to Server 2012 R2?


I can guess the answer, no, but you never know. Is it possible to upgrade Windows 10 Pro 64-bit to Windows Server 2012 R2? What happens if you run the setup from Windows 10 Pro? You will be given the choice to upgrade, or be prompted to restart and do a clean installation? As far as I know, Windows Server 2012 R2 is the server counterpart of Windows 10. They even share most of the drivers. Assuming you have a computer running Windows 10 Pro and want to convert that to a small server, running say Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation Edition. Is that possible, or you have to format and clean install? Hopefully the drivers will be the same as in Windows 10.

Alternatively, is there any upgrade/addon to add server aspects in Windows 10 Pro (eg mail server, file server or HTTP server)? Is there an equivalent of Windows Home Server for Windows 10?

Thank you for your time.