Windows Server Technical Preview Extension Comes in a Patch

Those testing Windows Server Technical Preview, which will eventually be called Windows Server 2016, are familiar with the nag screen stating that the preview expires on April 15. Last week, Microsoft promised to extend the preview because the company is just not quite ready to release a new preview.

Over the weekend, Microsoft released a patch that is intended as the extension mechanism for the current preview.

You can get it here: Windows Server Technical Preview and Hyper-V Server Technical Preview Expiration Extension

The patch comes in both .cab and .msu versions, and this is important. If you installed Hyper-V from ISO, you can't use the provided .msu file. Instead, you'll need to use DISM to apply the .cab file.

You must reboot the computer manually after installing it.

However, most are reporting that after applying the patch the expiration nag screen still exists. Whether or not the patch actually works but doesn't properly update the alert, remains to be seen. It's possible that the patch does work, but we'll have to wait until April 15 to be sure or Microsoft will need to release an updated version of this patch before the preview expires.

After installing and rebooting, let us know if you find that the nag screen disappears.

UPDATE: Late this afternoon, Microsoft updated the Download Center patch page with the following:  If after installing the package you still see the expiration notification and the evaluation end date is not set to 10/1/2015, run slmgr /ato command

A new preview Build is due sometime in May, coinciding with the end of Microsoft's first-ever Ignite conference.