Replacement of corporate Windows 10 made pro. How to change Windows edition without reinstalling Windows

Introducing the translation of the TechNet article "Is Group Policy Slowing Me Down?" which, in our opinion, will be of interest to a wide range of Russian-speaking readers.

Hello everyone, Nathan Penn has revisited one of the most frequently asked questions: Is Group Policy in my environment slowing down boot and login? Luckily, if we know where to look, we can quickly get the answer to this question.

“Study, study and study” - these words of Vladimir Ilyich are more relevant today than ever. Windows OS is a complex system and there can always be another mechanism that will run counter to the knowledge and experience the administrator already has. But it’s worth delving a little deeper into the theory and figuring out how a harmonious picture will be restored, otherwise panic out of the blue and making completely unfounded decisions that can be very costly are possible.

Windows deduplication is an excellent technology that allows you to use disk space much more optimally and significantly reduce data storage costs. But there are scenarios in which the use of deduplication is undesirable, for example, virtual machine storage, and if you are forced to enable deduplication on such volumes, it should be abandoned as soon as possible. However, this process has its own characteristics, which we will discuss in detail in this article.

Problems related to user profile corruption are among the most common, usually accompanied by the messages "Cannot sign in to your account" and "You are signed in with a temporary profile." Therefore, today we decided to tell you how the user profile is structured, what can lead to its damage, and what methods can be used to restore normal operation of the system.

The relationship between Windows and Linux has been strained for a long time, and the joint use of both systems was hampered by a large number of various kinds of barriers, many of which were erected artificially. But recently everything has changed and Microsoft, unexpectedly for many, introduced the Windows subsystem for Linux, better known as “Ubuntu on Windows 10.” In this article we will tell you what this subsystem is, what it is not, and what it can be used for.

Safe mode is often the only available option for dealing with a system that has suddenly failed, especially when there is nothing else available. And in many cases it turns out to be quite enough, especially if the malfunction is caused by an incompatible software version or unsuccessful updates. However, an unpleasant surprise may be that the Windows Installer service is disabled in this mode. Fortunately, this is easy to fix and today we will tell you how.

Deduplication technology has long been known to users of server editions of Windows and is widely used by system administrators, allowing efficient use of disk space. This feature is not available in client systems, since home scenarios do not provide for storing large amounts of data, but it can be easily added, which will undoubtedly be useful for specialists and computer enthusiasts.

A new version of the operating system brings not only new opportunities, but also new problems. Unfortunately, this is true; modern programs are quite complex and it is almost impossible to avoid errors in them. But even more often, problems are caused by ignoring new mechanisms and opportunities, along with the use of old approaches to solving certain problems. Our case today is just one of those.

When working with a Squid proxy server, you may encounter a situation where Windows Update or WSUS stops receiving updates. The situation is really unpleasant and it most often manifests itself “after the fact”, when client machines stop receiving updates and urgent action needs to be taken. However, this behavior of the update service has long been known and is reflected in the documentation. Today we will analyze in detail the cause of the error and show possible actions to eliminate it.

By introducing various editions of the Windows operating system to the market, the manufacturer implies that the user will choose the edition that best suits his needs and financial capabilities. However, in life everything is different: ready-made PCs usually come with a pre-installed system of the simplest (and cheapest) edition, and unlicensed users, without bothering too much, install one of the older editions. All this often leads to the fact that the Windows edition needs to be changed, preferably without reinstalling the system.

How to change the Windows edition without reinstalling the OS? Officially, Microsoft only allows you to upgrade the version, but not downgrade. And there are no official ways to get around this limitation either, so it’s time to turn to undocumented possibilities. We find it difficult to imagine why Microsoft does not support arbitrary changes to the Windows edition by entering the appropriate key and/or updating using the distribution kit of the desired edition, especially since there are no technical obstacles here.

Empirically, it was found that the installer receives information about the system edition from the registry branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
as the value of the EditionID parameter. To successfully update with a change of edition, we need to change this parameter so that it matches the edition of the target distribution.

Some sources also recommend changing the ProductName parameter, but this is completely unnecessary. After changing the EditionID, you should update immediately without rebooting the system. This method is suitable for all current Windows client systems, and below we will look at the correspondence of the EditionID to the operating system editions.

This version of Windows has the largest official number of editions, but the naming system is simple and clear, which makes it easy to identify the one you need. For Windows 7, the following EditionID values ​​are valid depending on the edition:

Starter - The initial, most limited edition, distributed only in the OEM channel, most often with netbooks
HomeBasic - Home basic
HomePremium - Home Extended

Ultimate - Maximum
Enterprise - Corporate, distributed only under the corporate licensing program
All editions, except for the Starter and Corporate editions, were available both at retail and through OEM channels, differing in nothing except the type of license, but you will not be able to update from the OEM distribution using the key from the boxed version and vice versa.

At first glance, there are fewer editions of Windows 8, just Basic, Professional and Enterprise. But in fact, Microsoft managed to segment them in such a way that, in fact, there were even more editions of Windows 8.1 and acceptable EditionID values:

Core - Basic
CoreSingleLanguage - Basic for one language, OEM only
ConnectedCore - Basic with Bing, free for major OEMs
CoreConnectedSingleLanguage - Core with Bing for one language, manufacturers only
Professional - Professional
ProfessionalWMC - Professional with Windows Media Center

As we can see, there are four Basic editions alone, although you can purchase only two of them at retail or as an OEM supply: Basic and Basic for one language. The versions with Bing are only available to manufacturers, and you can only get it with hardware. However, you may need to revert to this version if you uninstalled the pre-installed version and now want to return the license. In this case, you will need to find an installation distribution, which is quite difficult (they are not and never were publicly available).

The situation with Windows 10 tends to completely repeat the history of Windows 8.1; three editions are also officially announced: Home, Professional and Enterprise. In reality, there are more editions; Home is already available for one language and, perhaps, other options will appear.

At the moment, we can talk about four editions, but this list does not pretend to be complete and will be updated as information becomes available.

Core - Home
CoreSingleLanguage - Home single language, OEM only
Professional - Professional
Enterprise - Corporate, only in the corporate licensing channel

Read 3811 once Last modified Sunday, March 19, 2017 10:46 am

Windows 10 has several editions. The Home version contains everything you need to use it at home. But if there is a need to use the Group Policy management function, enable restricted access mode, or use the capabilities of Hyper-V, then “home” Windows will not be enough. Windows Pro was created for these purposes.

How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro

If you are an advanced computer user, the "basic" version of the operating system from Microsoft may not be enough. In this case, it is possible to upgrade to the professional version of Windows 10. For this, there are two transition options.

The professional version of the Windows 10 operating system is suitable for advanced users

Updating Windows 10 using a product key

To make the transition to the professional version, you need to make sure that the latest version of the operating system is installed on your device. If so, then you can move on to the next step. It will require a product key or digital license.

When switching from the home version of the system to the professional version, all files on the computer remain untouched.

The easiest way to update is to use a product key. You can purchase it from the Windows Store. To do this, you need to follow the chain: “Start” > “Settings” > “Update and Security” > “Activation” > “Go to Store”.

After purchasing the key, you need to follow simple steps that will not take you much time.

Upgrade with Digital License

The presence of a digital license in one of the cases assumes that the Pro version is already installed and a key is not required. Go to Start, then Settings > Update & Security > Activation.

A digital license represents rights tied not to a computer (as was the case before), but to a Microsoft account.

Therefore, if you activated the professional version on your device using your account, then switching to it in the future will not be difficult. With the home version installed, just go to the “Store”, where a free update will be offered. Even if the “basic” edition is not activated, you will be prompted to “Troubleshoot.”

How to update for free

At the moment, a Windows 10 Pro license costs just over 15 thousand rubles. If you don’t want to spend money, but the capabilities of a home edition are not enough, then there is a way out. Old activation keys for Windows 8 Pro, Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate operating systems will come to the rescue.

The update is conditionally free, because it is assumed that you already have purchased keys for earlier versions.

To use this method, enter the standard key for Windows 10 when updating. But do not forget to change the universal key after activation to the license key of an older version of the system.

Video: upgrading Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro and activating it

How to Upgrade Windows 10 Pro to Enterprise

The Enterprise version is even more advanced. It is widely used in large companies, as it has a number of useful functions:

• Direct Access - the ability to remotely access without using a VPN;
• Windows To Go Creator is a fully managed Windows 10 enterprise workspace located on a specially configured bootable USB drive;
• AppLocker is a set of policies that allow you to configure user access to various applications;
• BranchCache is an option that makes the update and download process much easier and faster;
• Managing the Start screen using Group Policy.

To install Windows 10 Enerprise, you will also need a product activation key. Entering the key is performed in the same way as updating to the professional version. The entire installation will take no more than 30 minutes.

Be sure to check for the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.

The creators of Windows 10 have made the transition between editions as convenient and fast as possible. Mostly it doesn't take half an hour. Don't be afraid to take advantage of new features if possible. Moreover, Windows provides the ability to return to the previous version.

You have a new (or old but recently updated) PC withWindows 10 Home. Do you want to go toWindows 10 Pro. Here you will learn how to quickly deal with this. You can evenupgrade this at no additional cost if you have an unused product keyProorUltimatefrom an older versionWindows.

Microsoft's new activation rules for Windows 10 take some getting used to. The biggest change in the way product keys are used is a method called Digital Entitlement. If you took advantage of Microsoft's offer to upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free, you won't need a Windows 10 product key at all. Instead, your system's hardware digital tag stored on Microsoft's activation servers will be used - it will allow you to reinstall the new version of Windows without entering a product key.

Additionally, starting with Windows 10 update 1511 released in November 2015, you can use Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 keys to activate your Windows 10 installation.

And for added complexity, Microsoft supplies standard Windows 10 keys that can be used to unlock the Pro version without the activation process. I have already come across a note from one source known for sensationalism and inaccuracy in presenting information, which claims that this allows you to “upgrade for free” to Windows 10 Pro.

Actually this is not true.

However, the new rules do allow for some interesting scenarios, especially in the case of version upgrades, such as moving from Windows 10 Home to the Pro version.

For example, if you might have some old product keys lying around, now suddenly they become valuable. So, at one time, Microsoft sold an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro at large discounts for several months. It is possible that you also have keys to no longer used licenses for boxed versions of Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate.

You can use these keys again to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro, saving $100.

To test how this all works, I recently tested the upgrade and activation scripts on a variety of hardware. I share my experience.

Scenario 1: Clean Reinstall

I recently upgraded the SSD on an HP Specter x360 laptop originally sold with Windows 8.1 Home, which was then upgraded to Windows 10 Pro. After replacing the drive, I used a USB flash drive to reinstall a clean copy of Windows 10 Pro.

During the installation process I was prompted to enter the product key twice. Both times I selected the option to skip key entry (Fig. 1)

Once the installation was complete, I logged in and checked the activation status (Settings, Update & Security, Activation). The system was properly activated because the Microsoft servers recognized my hardware and used the digital resolution.

Scenario 2: Clean reinstall and upgrade

In my tests, I also used a Surface 3 tablet that originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home and was upgraded to Windows 10 through Digital Entitlement. Next, it was updated once again from Home to Pro using the Windows 10 product key from MSDN. Therefore, this device was actually registered on Microsoft's activation servers with digital permissions for two versions of Windows 10 (Home and Pro).

After that, I downloaded the Microsoft OS recovery image for the Surface 3, copied it to a USB flash drive, and restored the original Windows 8.1 Home OS.

Then I used Windows Update to upgrade this system to Windows 10. It turned out fine, but with one problem. The new OS was Windows 10 Home version. But I have a digital resolution for Windows 10 Pro. How to force such an upgrade?

This is where a standard product key comes in handy. I clicked Change Product Key from the System Control Panel (there is a similar button in Settings on the Activation page). This opens a dialog box (Fig. 2).

I entered the standard Windows 10 Pro key into it:

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

This signaled to Windows that I wanted to upgrade from Home to Pro (Figure 3).

I clicked Start Upgrade and within a few minutes the system rebooted. Since I was connected to the Internet, the Windows activation process checked my hardware details against Microsoft's servers. Since it was already registered with digital resolution on Windows 10 Pro, the system activated immediately without entering a product key.

Scenario 3: upgrading a new PC from version Home on P ro

Let's say you bought a new PC with an OEM installation of Windows 10 Home. Then open the Activation page in Settings (Fig. 4), and if you have a Windows 10 Pro product key, you can click the Change Product Key button and enter it - it's as simple as that.

If you don't have a Pro product key and want to buy one, you can click Go To Store and purchase the $100 upgrade. Also easy.

But what if you have a Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate key, or a Windows 8/8.1 Pro key? In this case, you need to update in two stages.

First of all, make sure that you are using OS version 1511 and have the November update installed.

Perhaps you were hoping that a standard key would magically give you a $100 upgrade? Alas, this is not the case, even if you read about it somewhere.

Instead, click the Change Product Key button and enter your Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate or Windows 8/8.1 Pro key. In case this key is real and you are running Windows 10 version 1511 or later, your activation should complete successfully.

All this, I agree, looks somewhat cumbersome, but it won’t take much time.

When purchasing a desktop computer or laptop, many users would prefer that Windows already be installed on it, and not just any Home, but at least Professional. In reality, it usually turns out that they receive just this lowest edition, however, with the possibility of updating, but for an additional fee. Those who prefer to install the system themselves choose the highest edition, activating it with KMS or another pirated method.

Now imagine this situation: the user actively uses this system, installs programs, configures it, etc., etc., and suddenly at one fine moment decides to go astray and purchase a license. And to save a little money, instead of the corresponding edition of the Enterprise license, he chooses a Professional, CoreSingleLanguage or even Core license.

But here the question arises with activation. The fact is that you can activate the system only when upgrading to a higher edition, but if you apply the Core key to, say, Professional or Enterprise, then nothing will come of it. Officially, Microsoft does not support such a downgrade, but instead recommends installing the system from scratch, which would mean completely losing all installed programs and settings. Fortunately, Windows has one little-known, undocumented feature that we'll look at today.

Since the installer obtains information about the system edition from the registry, by making appropriate changes to the registry, you can make the installer “think” that it is dealing with the target system.

Using the regedit command, open the registry editor and expand the following branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion

Find the EditionID parameter in the right column and look at its value. In our example, this is Professional, corresponding to the system edition.

Let's try to downgrade Windows to the home edition. We replace the value Professional with Core, close the editor and, without rebooting the system, run the installation file of the Windows distribution (you can mount the ISO image or, unpack it, run the setup.exe file).

After checking your computer, you will be asked to save or delete personal data and installed programs when updating. Of course, we save everything and click the “Install” button. The system installation (update) process will begin, upon completion of which your Windows will be downgraded to the selected edition.

This trick works on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, but keep in mind that different versions of operating systems may have different editions. There are four editions available in Windows 10: Home (Core), Home for one language and only for OEM (CoreSingleLanguage), Professional (Professional) and Enterprise (Enterprise). Windows 8.1 has even more editions, in particular, in addition to those found in Windows 10, Windows 8.1 also has ConnectedCore, CoreConnectedSingleLanguage and ProfessionalWMC.

Have a great day!