Windows Server 2016 with Desktop Experience is the same as the full installation option available in Windows Server 2012 R2 with feature installed. The Server with Desktop Experience option installs the standard user interface and all tools, including client experience features that required a separate installation in Windows Server 2012 R2. Server roles and features are installed with Server Manager or by other methods. Windows Server 2016 with Desktop Experience required more space on disk and higher servicing requirements as compared to Windows Server core 2016 It is always recommended to go with Windows Server Core 2016 unless you need the additional user interface and graphical tools.

How to Install Microsoft Windows Server 2016 -Desktop Experience?

Once the .ISO is burned to a DVD, you can boot the server upon the Windows Server 2016 ISO image. Select the language to install, Time format and Keyboard method and Click on Next.

Click on Install Now to start the installation wizard of Microsoft Server 2016.

When you install Windows Server 2016 using the Setup wizard, you can choose between Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server (Server with Desktop Experience). The Server with the Desktop Experience option is the Windows Server 2016 equivalent of the Full installation option. Since I am installing Windows Server 2016  (Desktop Experience), I have selected Windows Server 2016 Datacenter Evaluation (Desktop Experience). Click on Next.

Click on “I accept the license terms” to accept the license terms of Microsoft Server 2016  and click Next.

Installation type will provide you two options. The first one is for Upgrade. If you want to upgrade your Windows Server 2012 to 2016, You can select the “Upgrade” option. For Fresh Installation, Select “Custom” Install the newer version of Server 2016 GUI only”

The next step will allow you to decide where you want to install the Microsoft Server 2016. In this example, I have a server with a 40 GB disk drive installed. You can even create new partitions on the disk for the Server 2016 installation. Click on New to create a new partition.

Enter the Size in MB for the New partition and click on Apply.

The new partition will be created and select the newly created partition and click on Next to start the installation of Microsoft server 2016.

Installation will start and proceed through the series of steps to complete the windows server 2016 installation.

Once the installation is completed, the Server will boot into Microsoft Server 2016 and it will prompt you to change the Administrator password before signing in on the first time on the server.

Press Ctlr+Alt+Delete to unlock and log in to the Windows server 2016.

Login with Administrator Credentials to login to your server.

Once logged to the server, You will feel the rich desktop experience of  Server 2016 Desktop Experience.

That’s it. We are done with the installation of the Windows Server 2016 (Desktop Experience). I hope this is informative for you. Thanks for Reading!! Be social and share it in social media, if you feel worth sharing it.