change of OS version. how do I go about it please

Hi, I have bought a preinstalled win 11 single from dell .
Now, I have bought a product key for win 11 pro and got activated .
If suppose, I want to reinstall thro usb, then how do I go about it.
Suppose, I download the same pro version of ISO from microsoft and then to reinstall if necessity arises,
1. default pre installed system is windows home activated by the microsoft account .
2. downloaded version is win pro for which I got the key code.
3 The account is still shown activated by microsoft account with valid tick.
Then how do I get the win Pro 11, again as my default OS is windows 11 home.
In short default OS windows home, Changed OS windows pro with key. How to get win pro activated in reinstall?

Go to the activation screen and change the product key to VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

What is the key that you provided. I think that every key is personally given.
Hi, navy, what I want , is how to go about it , if i need to reinstall windows pro on a machine, that came with windows home edition.
I think I explained my query

jraju said:

What is the key that you provided. I think that every key is personally given.
Hi, navy, what I want , is how to go about it , if i need to reinstall windows pro on a machine, that came with windows home edition.
I think I explained my query

Click to expand...

When you do a clean install from the standard Windows 10/11 usb flash drive it will pick up the product key stored in the computer's firmware for Windows 10 Home and install Home by default without giving you a choice. Simply go to the activation screen and change the product key to the generic Windows 10/11 Pro product key, VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T. This will cause Windows to contact Microsoft's Activation Servers with the unique hardware ID of the computer. Microsoft's Activation Servers will query the unique hardware ID of the computer and find the previously established digital license for Windows 10 Pro, return that digital license to Windows on the computer and it will upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and activate with the digital license returned by Microsoft. Hundreds of thousands of Windows 10/11 Pro installations are activated with the generic product key given installed. You can change your product key right now to it and it will stay activated.

Hi, this was not known to me and thank you for the reply. I bought a new desktop.
But if it is preinstalled with windows 11 home, and activated by the key I got it from the vendor, then , pl say
I am a newbie to windows eleven and please let me know.

jraju said:

Hi, this was not known to me and thank you for the reply. I bought a new desktop.
But if it is preinstalled with windows 11 home, and activated by the key I got it from the vendor, then
I am a newbie to windows eleven and please let me know.

Click to expand...

I do not completely understand your question. Is this a second computer in addition to the computer you were talking about in your first post?

No,
It is the new one. I want to know, if the OS i got from the vendor is already preinstalled and If i change to win 11 pro from the Key he provided my windows single edition turned to windows 11 pro.
If this is the case, how I go about, when reinstalling.
I hope that I explained it

This works on Win10 and should on Win11, Change product key and enter the new one:



When I did it there was no download except for some updates, most features for Pro are already there, just need activating.

Hello, if you have a Pro key, change the key to this one directly. Why use the generic key? If you use the generic key you will upgrade to Pro but then asked for a valid Pro key to activate. I would use the Pro key directly.

I get the point/
What you say, is download 11 pro for my build pro version, iso and supply the vendor code directly during install and it will be activated for pro.
Thanks.

What I was saying is run Windows 11 Home, go to Settings, System, Activate and change the key with your Pro key. This will automatically install all Pro features. Running the Setup inside Windows will only do an in-place upgrade/repair of Windows 11 Home. It won't change the version. Doing a clean installation is not necessary and you risk Setup finding a Home key in BIOS and force Windows 11 Home without letting you choose. The only way is to run Home and change the key to Pro.

I asked the query because I do not know the exact procedure for this kind of upgrade.
Users only knows about install and does not know the risk of bios bricking of system. So, I asked.
There were more than 4 ways of upgradation.
I did not have the key shown in generic home edition.
I just bought a pc having home edition and to use the same I was asked to create outlook account to get activated status.no jey was given to me.
To get more features I purchased pro key and activated pro using the bought key.
I was confused about change of key procedures

The easiest way is just follow Microsoft's instructions: Upgrade Windows Home to Windows Pro

The tutorial really confuse a newbie to windows 11. There was a mention that I have to enter generic key for Home, which I never had and then go to settings of activation, select change product key and then put the key code for windows pro activation. This scenario indirectly asks me to download home iso for the version build and first use the change of product key in settings to get pro version. Here I do not have home version key.
It was activated by opening outlook account and supply of ac pw and ph.no.
Another thing, noticed in the discussion, is that I should not directly activate the pro version as it could mess with bios system leading to bricking of bios and windows.
The too technical explanation in the link confuse newbies

The Microsoft Guide I posted says nothing complicated. There are precisely three steps to the upgrade process if you already have Windows 10 Home installed and activated; and you are connected to the internet:

If you have a Windows 11 Pro product key​

1. Select Start > Settings > System > Activation.
2. Select Change product key, and then enter the 25-character Windows 11 Pro product key.
3. Select Next to start the upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.

Nonsense, using the key directly doesn't affect BIOS in any way, unless you got a virus. Don't believe everything you read online.

spapakons said:

Nonsense, using the key directly doesn't affect BIOS in any way, unless you got a virus. Don't believe everything you read online.

Click to expand...

Then you'd better inform Microsoft. That process has always worked for me and I have carried it out successfully more times than I care to remember.

I have upgraded over 10 computers from Home to Pro by just changing the key. Never had any issue with BIOS.

sub query:
What is the difference between oem key and installed key.
Hi, spa, I mean installing iso via usb for reinstall. I am asking. please see the first post

An OEM key is given to Manufacturer (Dell, HP etc) cheaper than the retail key and usually activates only once or twice. The retail key can be activated 2-3 times (for format and reinstall, not on 3 computers at the same time) before it fails and you must contact Microsoft for activation by phone. Apart from that there is no difference in the available features in the same version (Home or Pro). An OEM key can also be stored in the BIOS (unlike Windows 7 and earlier that came on a sticker). Windows 8 or higher Setup detects the embedded key and automatically selects the appropriate version. That's why you cannot select Windows 11 Pro even if you have activated it before on the specific computer. In that case install Windows 11 Home first and then use a Pro key (or the generic Windows 11 Pro key) to upgrade. Windows will activate automatically if they find a digital license of 10/11 Pro in Microsoft server.

Tip: If you have an embedded Windows 8 (not 8.1) key in BIOS, Windows 10/11 Setup doesn't always detect it automatically. In that case, select I don't have a key, then make sure you select the appropriate version (Home or Pro) and proceed with the installation. Once online Windows will detect the embedded key and activate with a digital license. You can even use a utility such as Showkeyplus to see which is the embedded key and type it during installation.