How to upgrade an existing VM from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2019

@Eugene Juneau - Welcome to Microsoft Q&A and thanks for reaching out to us.

You can upgrade an existing VM from Windows server 2012 to 2019 using an in-place upgrade process. It allows you to go from an older operating system to newer one while keeping your settings, server roles and data intact.

You will need to use licensed installation media to perform the upgrade.

You can upgrade to a newer version of Windows Server by up to two versions at a time. For example, Windows Server 2016 can be upgraded to Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022. If you are using the Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade feature you can only one version at a time.

You can take a look at this document for more information: https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/perform-in-place-upgrade

https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/upgrade-overview#which-version-of-windows-server-should-i-upgrade-to

Hope this helps. and please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

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