Install SQL Server 2025

This step installs SQL Server 2025 on the Windows Server 2025 instance.

1. Open the Microsoft Evaluation Center - SQL Server 2025 Download page in your browser. Copy the EXE download link for the 64-bit edition.

   

Note

The following steps must be run inside the Windows Server 2025 instance.

2. Run the following command to download the SQL Server 2025 installer:

   $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue' # Silencing the progress bar speeds up the download significantly
   

$url = “” Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile “C:\temp\SQLServer2025.exe”

3. Once the download completes, launch the installer:
```powershell
Start-Process "C:\temp\SQLServer2025.exe"

4. Select the Basic Installation type and click Next.

   

5. Accept the license terms and click Next.

6. Click Install to begin the installation process. This will take some time to complete.

   

Upon installer completion, do not close the installer; proceed to Verify the SQL Server Installation.