How to Install Exchange Server 2013

I’ll be honest—setting up Exchange Server 2013 isn’t something I do for fun. But when you’re managing legacy environments or migrating from older mail setups, sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and dive in. I recently had to spin up Exchange 2013 on a test VM to validate a hybrid scenario for a client still running Server 2012. Here’s how it went.

Why I Went with Exchange 2013 (Yes, Still)

Before you ask—no, this wasn’t a production rollout in 2025. The client had a stubborn dependency on a third-party archiving tool that hadn’t caught up with newer Exchange versions. So, we needed a clean Exchange 2013 install to test compatibility before planning a full migration.

I ran this on a Hyper-V VM with 32GB RAM and a couple of SSD-backed VHDs. OS was Windows Server 2012 (not R2), fully patched. Not gonna lie, I was winging it at first, relying on old notes and muscle memory.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough (With Commentary)

1. Prepping Active Directory

Logged into the domain controller and ran the usual schema prep commands. If you’ve done this before, you know the drill:

Import-Module ServerManager
Add-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS

Then came the schema update:

setup /PrepareSchema /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
setup /PrepareAD /OrganizationName:"LegacyMailTest" /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Tip: Always run these from an elevated command prompt. I’ve seen folks get tripped up by UAC blocking schema changes silently.

2. Installing Windows Features

This part felt like deja vu. I used PowerShell to install the required roles and features. Here’s the full command I used:

Install-WindowsFeature AS-HTTP-Activation, Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework-45-Features, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-ADDS, Web-Server, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Digest-Auth, Web-Dyn-Compression, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Metabase, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Windows-Auth, Windows-Identity-Foundation

Restarted the server after that. The reboot took longer than expected—black screen, no cursor, just silence. Thought I bricked the VM. Turns out it was just slow applying updates.

3. Installing Exchange Server 2013

Downloaded the ISO from Microsoft’s archive portal (yes, it’s still available if you dig deep enough). Extracted the setup files and launched Setup.exe.

I went with the typical install—Mailbox and Client Access roles on the same box. For unattended installs, I’ve used this command before:

Setup.exe /mode:Install /role:ClientAccess,Mailbox /OrganizationName:LegacyMailTest /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

The wizard was straightforward, but the readiness checks flagged a missing component—had to manually install the Unified Communications Managed API. That part wasn’t in most guides I found.

4. Post-Install Checks

Once installed, I opened Exchange Admin Center (EAC) via browser. The login screen loaded fine, but the dashboard was sluggish. I had to tweak IIS settings and recycle the app pool to get it responsive.

Also ran Get-Mailbox and Get-ExchangeServer in PowerShell to confirm everything was wired up correctly.

Bugs, Surprises, and Workarounds

• The install screen froze once—no progress bar, no logs. I killed the process and restarted setup. Worked fine the second time.
• Most guides skip the UCMA dependency. If you don’t install it, setup fails halfway through.
• DNS hiccups: I had to manually flush and register DNS on the server before EAC would resolve properly.

Final Thoughts

Exchange 2013 isn’t pretty, but it still gets the job done if you’re stuck supporting legacy systems. Just be prepared for quirks, outdated documentation, and the occasional “why am I still doing this?” moment.

Ever had to install Exchange 2013 in 2025? Or maybe you’ve dealt with legacy mail setups that just won’t die? Drop your story below—I’d love to hear how others are navigating these edge cases.