Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server evaluation editions

This article covers some of the most frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server evaluation editions.

General product questions

1. Q: What products can I evaluate for 120 days?
   
   A: Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition and Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.
2. Q: Where can the 120-day evaluation versions be downloaded from?
   
   A: You can download the 120-day evaluation versions from the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/trial/default.mspx
3. Q: What is the Product Key for each evaluation product?
   
   A: The Product Key field is prepopulated for evaluation products.
4. Q: Is the standard version of Exchange 2000 Server available for evaluation?
   
   A: No. The Exchange 2000 Server evaluation editions are no longer available. However, the Exchange Server 2003 evaluation editions can be found on the following Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/trial/default.mspx
5. Q: Can I upgrade from the release-to-market (RTM) evaluation version of Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition to the released version of Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition?
   
   A: No. Currently there is not a downgrade path for the evaluation version of Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition to the released version of Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition.
6. Q: Can I upgrade from the RTM evaluation version of Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server to the released version of Exchange 2000 Server Standard?
   
   A: No. Currently there is not a downgrade path for the evaluation version of Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server to the released version of Exchange 2000 Server Standard.
7. Q: What happens during setup when I upgrade from an RTM evaluation product to a released full product?
   
   A: A full setup is performed again, but Setup is optimized because all the files and registry entries are already on the computer. Setup tries to copy all the files again, but because the files on the hard disk are identical to what is on the CD-ROM, the file copy is unnecessary. Setup still counts through the percentage status, but Setup performs a very fast installation. Setup makes some minor changes to the server, and then finishes.
8. Q: How can you tell if you are running an evaluation copy of Exchange Server versus the full product?
   
   A: The user interface (UI) does not indicate that you are running an evaluation copy. The Exchange Server Setup Progress.log file displays entries that are similar to the following:
   [16:19:37] Setup configuration information:
   [16:19:37] This is a(n) Enterprise version of Microsoft Exchange
   [16:19:37] This is an evaluation copy of Microsoft Exchange Server; it expires in 120 days
9. Q: How can you tell how many days remain until the evaluation copy of Exchange Server expires?
   
   A: The UI does not indicate how many days remain until the evaluation copy of Exchange Server expires. View the Exchange Server Setup Progress.log file to determine when the evaluation copy of Exchange Server was installed. (See the preceding question.)
10. Q: What happens when the 120-day evaluation period expires on an RTM version of Exchange Server?
    
    A: The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service stops and the following error message is logged in the application event log:
    Event Type: Error
    Event Source: MSExchangeIS
    Event Category: General
    Event ID: 1182
    Description: Thank you for your participation in the Microsoft Exchange Server beta program. Your license to use this beta version of the Microsoft Exchange Server software has expired. Contact Microsoft Corporation.
11. Q: Are the expired RTM evaluation version databases still usable?
    
    A: Yes. You can still use the expired server by installing the full Exchange Server product over the expired RTM evaluation version. You cannot install the full Exchange Server Standard version over the evaluation Exchange Server Enterprise version. If you would like to uninstall the server you may get the error message that there are still mailboxes on the server, therefore, the uninstall stops responding and indicates that you must first remove the mailboxes. However, you cannot delete these mailboxes because the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service cannot be started. This issue was fixed in Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 2 (SP2). The Exchange Server evaluation version enables a one hour grace period after expiration for the administrative task of saving information off the database and deleting all mailboxes so you can perform an uninstall of Exchange Server. This one-hour period is available after the expiration. Restarting the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service (either by server shutdown, restart, logoff or by using net start) provides the user with another one-hour grace period to perform the task of removing mailboxes. Then Exchange Server can be uninstalled.

Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server questions

Q: Can I upgrade from the evaluation version of Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server to the full version of Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server?

A: No. Currently there is not an upgrade path for Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server from the evaluation version to the RTM version.

You can obtain more information about Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server from the following Microsoft Web site: