In this screencast, we will demonstrate step-by step how to perform an in-place upgrade of a Windows Server 2008. It is important to note that we will be upgrading in-place a Windows 2003 Member server.
If you are looking for in-place upgrade of a domain controller, check the following screencast: How to perform in-place upgrade of a Domain Controller – Windows Server 2008.

One of the main problems that most of the administrators who choose to perform in-place upgrade will meet, is the increased value of free space required by the Windows Server 2008 Installation. We will outline a nice solution to this problem in our screencast. In addition, you have to make sure that your hardware is capable of running Windows Server 2008, and you have the necessary drivers for it.

Step 1 When you decide to perform an In-place upgrade of Windows Server 2008, you will notice that the installation process requires at least 14062 MB of free space. This means free space, not the size of the Boot Volume. If you do not pass the free space check, you will not be able to proceed with the upgrade. We would like to remind you that according to Microsoft’s terminology, the Boot volume is the disk volume that contains the Windows/Winnt folder ( the Windows operating system files and the supporting files). In Step1, we demonstrate a nice way to extend your Boot volume using the Windows Server 2008 installation disk.

Step 2 In step2, we will perform the actual upgrade and check the result.