Solved Windows Pro for Workstations

Just being hypothetical, I've no intention of buying as I have no need

Does the WS version receive regular Windows updates like other versions?
What happens to a Pro RETAIL Windows licence if it's upgraded to WS? Is there even a Retail version of WS?

Sadly there is a problem receiving latest upgrades.

Brink's W10 Tutorial applies the same to W11 Pro for Workstations:
Upgrade Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Pro for Workstations


WS Pro receives the same updates as normal Home/Pro/EDU/Enterprise editions. As a Pro SKU, you can switch between editions by entering the upgrade license using slmgr or re-activating Windows.

Here's one way to buy a license... yikes. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/windows-11-pro-for-workstations/dg7gmgf0kr4m

FreeBooter said:

Sadly there is a problem receiving latest upgrades.

VMware Workstation auto-updates broken after Broadcom URL redirect

VMware Workstation users report that the software's automatic update functionality is broken after Broadcom redirected the download URL to its generic support page, triggering certificate errors.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

Click to expand...

I'm not talking about VMWare

pseymour said:

View attachment 137117

Here's one way to buy a license... yikes. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/windows-11-pro-for-workstations/dg7gmgf0kr4m

Click to expand...

An upgrade from Pro is less than half that!

I would hope an upgrade license is less than a full one.

If you really, really need WS Pro for real then your company is paying for it.

But then if you don't need the HW performance features, it's just plain old Pro as a Windows experience. A true workstation is usually more than double the cost of a high-end PC.

We have Workstation on some actual workstations, and to be honest, I can't smell the difference.

garlin said:

If you really, really need WS Pro for real then your company is paying for it.

But then if you don't need the HW performance features, it's just plain old Pro as a Windows experience. A true workstation is usually more than double the cost of a high-end PC.

Click to expand...

Yes as I said in my original post I'm not intending to buy it, I was just curious how it worked!

pseymour said:

View attachment 137117

Here's one way to buy a license... yikes. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/windows-11-pro-for-workstations/dg7gmgf0kr4m

Click to expand...

UK price 339GBP, over 440USD!

They only charge 309 if you switch the URL to en-US. Well, I say "only," but that's a lot for Pro plus a few features.

Windows 11 Pro for Workstations is a superset of Windows 11 Pro meaning it has the same features plus a lot more. Yes, it receives all the updates like any other version of Windows, even if you don't activate it. When the trial period expires it won't receive any more updates and it will popup messages to activate. Like any other version of Windows if not activated it will get gradually slower until you give up and activate or downgrade to a lesser version. To upgrade from Windows 11 Pro to Windows 11 Pro for Workstation change Windows key to the generic DXG7C-N36C4-C4HTG-X4T3X-2YV77. I am not sure if you must first disconnect from the internet to let you upgrade your Windows version. You can try Windows 11 Pro for Workstations and when it expires you can downgrade back to Windows 11 Pro by changing the key to the generic VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T. This time you must disconnect from the internet because downgrade usually fails when online. When you have successfully downgraded and connect to the internet again, your digital license is detected on Microsoft servers and Windows 11 Pro will automatically activate.

Remember Windows 7? The Home Premium version had almost everything a typical home user needs, but many would install Professional or even Ultimate to have all features, regardless if they needed/used them. Windows 11 Home is the equivalent of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 11 Pro is the equivalent of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 11 Pro for Workstations is equivalent to Windows 7 Ultimate. You get all features (except those of Enterprise editions) but you need only a small percentage of them. However, Windows 11 for Workstations have a feature that is hidden in lesser Windows 11 versions. This is the Ultimate Performance Power plan. This forces the CPU to work always at maximum speed (aka Turbo Boost is always on) and minimizes idle time to improve performance. You don't need to upgrade to Windows 11 for Workstations for that, open a PowerShell as Administrator and execute this code to enable the Ultimate Performance Power Plan in any Windows 10/11 version:

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

Needless to say that you should avoid it in a laptop/tablet because it will drain the battery faster and make it hotter.