Installing from a Windows 11 Pro stick gets Windows 11 Home installed

My laptop had Win 10 Home. Someone from my family bought a Windows 11 pro. When I used the stick, Windows 11 home was automatically installed (no option). I somehow believe it got Windows 11 Home installed because my laptop hardware keeps record of Win 10 even if the HDD is completely wiped out.

Now. I DO have a Win 10 Pro licence key. I believe that key should work with the Win 11 Pro correct? My question is, how to make Windows 11 Pro to get installed instead of Home?

Just change the product key in the settings, reboot and you are ready.

POLYSIUS said:

Just change the product key in the settings, reboot and you are ready.

Click to expand...

Thanks! So basically Win 11 home is pro with some locked features since I don't need to uninstall/re-install?

Do not re-install. Don't worry be

Me262 said:

Thanks! So basically Win 11 home is pro with some locked features since I don't need to uninstall/re-install?

Click to expand...

Yes. The install media will have ALL Windows 11 versions on it. The product key tells Windows, which version it should be.

The BIOS has your version embedded. You may want to read this very short thread for a little more info.


It is my experience and understanding that regardless that the ISO has all versions, it will not give you the choice of which version to install without modifying the ei.cfg file in the ISO. It will by default, install the version marked in the BIOS… OR you can upgrade as mentioned above, by adding your Pro key after install for the upgrade to take effect.

You can't get all versions. It depends on the install.wim and which versions are included.
To find out what the running online version can provide type

Dism /Online /Get-TargetEditions

and you get the answer.

@Me262 every win 11 iso or USB has on install.wim or install.esd all 11 Win 11 types:
INDEX="1" Windows 11 Home
INDEX="2" Windows 11 Home N
INDEX="3" Windows 11 Home Single Language
INDEX="4" Windows 11 Education
INDEX="5" Windows 11 Education N
INDEX="6" Windows 11 Pro
INDEX="7" Windows 11 Pro N
INDEX="8" Windows 11 Pro Education
INDEX="9" Windows 11 Pro Education N
INDEX="10" Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
INDEX="11" Windows 11 Pro N for Workstations

As already mentioned, on OEM computers, the version that has the Digital License for the computer is engraved on BIOS so it does install by default that version.

Ghot said:

The product key tells Windows, which version it should be.

Click to expand...

I missed this, it makes sense. I haven’t tried it this way as I always install with a MS account/digital licence, in which case the modified ei.cfg is needed.

Me262 said:

My laptop had Win 10 Home. Someone from my family bought a Windows 11 pro. When I used the stick, Windows 11 home was automatically installed (no option). I somehow believe it got Windows 11 Home installed because my laptop hardware keeps record of Win 10 even if the HDD is completely wiped out.

Now. I DO have a Win 10 Pro licence key. I believe that key should work with the Win 11 Pro correct? My question is, how to make Windows 11 Pro to get installed instead of Home?

Click to expand...

If the Win 11 pro key is an OEM license and has been used it can't be used on another computer.

Has the Windows Pro key been used on another computer? If not then you can use it to upgrade the computer from Home to Pro.

My laptop came with Windows 11 Home. I bought a key for Windows 11 Pro. Changing the key to the one from Windows 11 Pro failed. I found out I had to first enter a generic key for Windows 11 Pro. It then did the upgrade to Pro. When done I entered the Pro key I bought. I had to do that for the activation to extend beyond 30 days.

Megahertz said:

If the Win 11 pro key is an OEM license and has been used it can't be used on another computer.

Click to expand...

That is not true any longer. Change the original installation installed product key to the generic product key for the same retail edition of Windows 10 or 11. Then the OEM product key becomes available for use on a second computer. Or use the activation troubleshooter with a Microsoft Account to copy the license from the original computer to the second computer (after the first computer is changed to the retail channel with the generic retail product key.)

MisterEd said:

Has the Windows Pro key been used on another computer? If not then you can use it to upgrade the computer from Home to Pro.

My laptop came with Windows 11 Home. I bought a key for Windows 11 Pro. Changing the key to the one from Windows 11 Pro failed. I found out I had to first enter a generic key for Windows 11 Pro. It then did the upgrade to Pro. When done I entered the Pro key I bought. I had to do that for the activation to extend beyond 30 days.

Click to expand...

There is no 30 day time limit in Windows 10 or 11. And, yes, if the upgrade product key is OEM, the upgrade must first be done by using a generic retail product key to upgrade while not connected to the internet. After the upgrade completes, you can then activate it with the OEM product key.

NavyLCDR said:

That is not true any longer. Change the original installation installed product key to the generic product key for the same retail edition of Windows 10 or 11. Then the OEM product key becomes available for use on a second computer. Or use the activation troubleshooter with a Microsoft Account to copy the license from the original computer to the second computer (after the first computer is changed to the retail channel with the generic retail product key.)

Click to expand...

Is it a workaround or a legally procedure?

Megahertz said:

Is it a workaround or a legally procedure?

Click to expand...

You tell me. For Windows 10/11 Home the command is:
slmgr /ipk YTMG3-N6DKC-DKB77-7M9GH-8HVX7

For Windows 10/11 Pro the command is:
slmgr /ipk VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

What would you consider simply changing the product key to be? I don't consider it to be anything other than changing the product key. (and often times Microsoft will change the installed product key to the generic during an upgrade without the user even knowing it)

As was already eluded to, adding a super simple 2-line ei.cfg file to your installation media will solve this. In fact, I ALWAYS add an ei.cfg file to my media.

How to create the ei.cfg file

Open notepad (or any other text editor that won't embed special formatting characters). Type in these lines of text:

[Channel] Retail

Save the file as ei.cfg. Copy that file to the \sources folder on your installation media. That is literally all that is needed.

More information

If you have Windows media that has more than one edition of Windows (Home, Pro, etc.) and you boot from it on a generic system that you built yourself, Windows setup will ask which edition of Windows you want to install like this:



However, if you purchase a system that came with Windows preinstalled from any of the large OEMs such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, etc. they embed a signature into the BIOS that indicates what version of Windows the system shipped with. This causes Windows setup to just automatically proceed with installation of that edition of Windows. There are several advantages to this. First, it prevents errors by the user. Some users may not even know what edition of Windows they had on their system, so this eliminates a decision point from the user interaction. In addition, this also allows Windows to activate without even needing to talk to Microsoft activation servers.

By adding the the ei.cfg file, we bypass that action and behave just as on a system with no BIOS signature. As you have discovered, this is very helpful in situations where you have upgraded the edition of Windows from what originally shipped on the system.

My personal preference is to always add this file to my installation media because it gives me greater flexibility by allowing me to make the choice of what edition I want to install. I can also use that same installation media on any system, regardless of whether it has been upgraded to a new Windows edition or not.