How to upgrade 1511 from Home to Pro?

Anonymous

I'm not having any luck figuring out how to upgrade from Home to Pro with an existing key. My system has been running Home and is currently running version 1511. I've decided to go ahead and use an existing key to upgrade to Pro. I did a clean install, expecting to be asked to specify a version and provide a key during install, but was never asked for either. The installer simply formatted the hard drive and installed Home and activated it, with no input from me after the install started other than agree to the terms and tell it my language.

OK, no problem I thought, I'll just go to the Activation setting and give it the new key from there. However, if I tell it I want to change the key it comes back and says the key I'm giving it can only activate Pro and I'm running Home. If I go the Store route and tell it I already have a Pro key, it gives me the same message - it tells me my key is for Pro but I'm running Home. Nowhere along the way does it offer to take my key and give me the upgrade, rather it implies that I must somehow magically upgrade it myself before changing the key. And that would be fine if I could figure out how to do that.

Anyone know how to force an install of Pro when the installer automatically installs Home with no option given to change it?

Volunteer Moderator/MVP Edit 4/21 -

One must insert the Generic Version Key to first change to Pro. After Version 1803 if you don't yet have a Digital License for Pro it will not change to Pro version by inserting the default Version key. So access Action Center at right end of task bar to turn on Airplane Mode to go offline, copy and paste the Generic Pro Key VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T in Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Change Product Key which will change Home to Pro, then go back online and it will activate with your Pro Product Key or Digital License.

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181 answers

Greg Carmack 24,780 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2016-01-19T06:37:27+00:00

Thanks, Travis. I've passed this along.
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Anonymous

2016-01-20T00:04:39+00:00

Oddly enough I've just been presented with an unexpected opportunity to repeat this entire scenario on a computer which is nearly a carbon-copy of the one I just did (and experienced all the problems with). It is a Dell that originally had Windows 7 Home Edition on it which was later upgraded to Pro via a Win 7 Pro Pack and then on up to Win 10 Professional. I was able to go back and find the original MCT for the first version 1511 update (the one MS later pulled due to some minor problems which in reality didn't amount to a hill of beans) and used it to create a flash drive upgrade media. Sure enough, at the install screen it gave me the choice of either Home or Professional Edition. I chose Professional of course and after that everything went as smooth as silk. I was asked for a product key 1 time up front (which I skipped over) and by the time the Windows 10 Desktop appeared it had already been fully activated; in other words it worked flawlessly and the whole process went off without a hitch. If there's any way you can communicate this experience to Microsoft I wish you would, because this is the way it should work each & every time under this particular scenario, that being one in which a computer has been previously upgraded to Pro Edition when it had an earlier qualifying operating system installed on it and then subsequently upgraded to Win 10 Pro (which had to be wiped out, for whatever reason, and a clean re-install performed). Given the choice of installing the correct version of the OS from the get-go made all the difference in the world; it enabled the OS to ignore the embedded OEM product key and in-turn allowed the Microsoft Activation Servers to immediately verify that the correct OS version had indeed been previously installed and properly activated. In other words, given the proper sequence of events the system worked exactly as Microsoft seemingly intended it to, before they ill-advisedly monkeyed around with it and messed everything up. As I said earlier, "If it ain't (that) broke, don't fix it". Thanks for all your help in at least trying to get MS to do the right thing. Please let us know their commentary, if any.
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Anonymous

2016-02-19T15:14:08+00:00

Use my Pro key if you want. Works every time. But my PC got 8.1 when bought with factory settings. I did the free upgrade to Windows 10 home. Then i changed product key and it will auto install Windows 10 Pro. If you want i will help you? Just sent me an email: ******@gmail.com. one4allall4one
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Anonymous

2016-02-25T05:32:04+00:00

You might try disconnecting one drive (0), doing what you want with the other drive (1), then do the same with the one drive (0). Use BIOS/UEFI to manage the boot order. I had similar issues with triple boot, 7, 8.1 and 10 all pro versions.

Good luck.
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Anonymous

2016-02-26T06:39:37+00:00

You might try disconnecting one drive (0), doing what you want with the other drive (1), then do the same with the one drive (0). Use BIOS/UEFI to manage the boot order. I had similar issues with triple boot, 7, 8.1 and 10 all pro versions.

Good luck.

@vdavis

The op replied on Nov. 20, 2015 that the method MSFT provided resolved the issue.

No matter how many drives are connected, the product key on firmware*(embedded) doesn't change...and that embedded key for the Home version was the source of problem preventing Win10 Pro from being installed.
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