The Desktop Experience feature makes your Windows VPS look like the local Windows 7 desktop. The Desktop Experience installs some useful components and features of Windows 7, such as Desktop themes, Disk Cleanup, Windows Media Player, Windows Defender, Snipping Tool, etc. Refer following steps if you want to enable these additional desktop features in your VPS:
For Windows Server 2008
1. Go to Start >> Administrative Tools >> Server Manager.
2. On the left side pane, click on Features. Under the Features Summary section, click on Add Features.
3. On the Select Features page, select the Desktop Experience check box.
4. Review the required features to be installed, click Add Required Features, and click Next.
5. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, ensure the Desktop Experience feature will be installed, and click Install.
6. On the Installation Results page, you will be asked to reboot the server to finish the installation.
7. Just click Close, and click Yes to reboot the server.
8. Once the server restarts, log in to the server, and the server will finish the remaining installation steps.
For Windows Server 2012
1. Go to Start >> Administrative Tools >> Server Manager.
2. At Server Manager, click on Features.
3. In the Server Manager details pane, under Features Summary, click Add features.
4. This will start the Add Features Wizard.
5. Now, in the Features list, select Desktop Experience, and click Install.
For Windows Server 2016 and later (2019/2022)
Unlike Windows Server 2008/2012 (where Desktop Experience was a feature you could add later), starting with Windows Server 2016 and later (2019/2022), Microsoft changed the model:
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The Desktop Experience is not available as an installable feature.
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Instead, you have to choose it during OS installation.
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There are only two installation choices when you install Server 2019:
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Windows Server 2019 Standard/Datacenter (Server Core) → no GUI.
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Windows Server 2019 Standard/Datacenter (Desktop Experience) → full GUI with Explorer, themes, Media Player, etc.
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If you installed Server Core, there is no way to add Desktop Experience later with Server Manager or PowerShell.
The only solution is to reinstall Windows Server 2019 and, during installation, pick the edition with Desktop Experience.
→ Looking to enable desktop audio on Windows VPS? Please refer to enable audio for more details.
