Windows Server Shuts Down After 1 Hour

The physical server abruptly shutting down can be due to faulty hardware like a power supply or a failing hard drive. Or it can possibly be a response to overheating. The Systems Administrator is usually responsible for the hardware and will have monitoring tools in place to determine the problem.

However, if Windows Server shuts itself down, this can sometimes be a product activation issue. Especially, if you have the Windows Server Evaluation edition which is intended for testing environments only.

The Windows Server Evaluation Copy gives you 180 days of free use. However, after the initial free period has ended, you will be shown the above message, on the desktop, that the Windows License has expired. You can extend this trial period (rearm) for up to 6 times meaning you can get a total of 1260 days (180 days x 7). This means that for almost 3 and a half years; you can use the same copy of Windows Server Evaluation.

My initial trial period has ended, so I need to rearm the server. To see if you can extend your own copy, open the command line as the Administrator and run the command:
slmgr -dlv

We can still rearm up to 6 times. To rearm the server, use the command:
slmgr -rearm

If you are successful, you will be asked to restart for the changes to take effect. When the server has restarted, you will see 180 days left on the server:

When this period expires, you can now rearm 5 more times.