Windows Server 2012 r2 Essentails Edition – Configuration Encountered some issues

During a migration from SBS 2003 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials I encountered the error Configuration Encountered some issues when running the configuration wizard.

Configuration Encountered some issues.
Please Click Retry. If the issue still exists please refer to the help link for more troubleshooting steps.

If you take a look in the event log you may see the following event 7041 logged which explains that the ServerAdmin$ account needs to be granted the right to logon as a service:

To fix this problem, go into your group policy settings and grant the ServerAdmin$ account the right to logon as a service.

I used the default domain controllers computer policy to adjust this setting and you can find it under:

Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment -> Logon as a service.

Define the “Logon as a Service” policy and add the user “domain\ServerAdmin$”.  It should look like this:

You may need to wait a while or force or group policy update before trying the Windows Server Essentials r2 configuration wizard again. But as long as you have set this correctly it should move on to the next stage normally:

Hope this helps someone out there!