Determining Whether Server Core Is Running
In Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 see the GetProductInfo function to retrieve the product information for the current operating system. If Server Core is running, one of three values will be returned by GetProductInfo: PRODUCT_DATACENTER_SERVER_CORE, PRODUCT_ENTERPRISE_SERVER_CORE, or PRODUCT_STANDARD_SERVER_CORE. Calling GetProductInfo is the recommended way to test if Server Core is running on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008.
In Server Core for Windows Server 2012 and later, the recommended way to determine Server Core is configured is to check these registry values:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Microsoft Windows NT CurrentVersion Server ServerLevels NanoServer = 1 ServerCore = 1 Server-Gui-Mgmt = 1 Server-Gui-Shell = 1
The possible states of these values are:
- Nano Server
NanoServer=1
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012: This configuration is not supported before Windows Server 2016.
Server Core
ServerCore=1Server Core with Management Tools
ServerCore=1Server-Gui-Mgmt=1
Not supported.
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012: This minimal GUI configuration has management tools but does not contain Explorer, Internet Explorer, or features that depend on those features. This configuration is not supported starting with Windows Server 2016.
Full Server
ServerCore=1Server-Gui-Mgmt=1
Server-Gui-Shell=1