#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO UPDATE#
#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO UPGRADE#
#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO FOR WINDOWS 10#

So this device actually was registered with digital entitlements for both versions of Windows 10 (Home and Pro) on MicrosoftвЂ™s activation servers. It had then been upgraded from Home to Pro using a Windows 10 product key from MSDN.

#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO UPGRADE#

SCENARIO 2: CLEAN REINSTALL, WITH EDITION UPGRADE As part of my testing, I used a Surface 3 that originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home and had been upgraded to Windows 10 using a digital entitlement. The system was properly activated, because MicrosoftвЂ™s servers recognized the hardware and used the digital entitlement.

#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO UPDATE#

When setup was complete, I signed in and checked the activation status (Settings, Update & Security, Activation). Both times I chose the option to skip entering the key. Twice during the installation process, I was prompted to enter a product key. After the upgrade was complete, I used a USB flash drive to reinstall a clean copy of Windows 10 Pro. SCENARIO 1: CLEAN REINSTALL I recently upgraded the SSD in an HP Spectre x360 that originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home and had then been upgraded to Windows 10 Pro. IвЂ™ve been testing upgrade/activation scenarios on a wide variety of hardware recently to see how things work.

Those keys can be reused to enable an upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro, potentially saving you $100. In addition, you might have retail copies of Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate available, where the license associated with their product key is no longer in use. For example, Microsoft sold heavily discounted upgrades to Windows 8 Pro in the first few months after launch. In particular, it means that old product keys you might have lying around are suddenly worthwhile. IвЂ™ve already seen one article from one notoriously sensational and invariably inaccurate source that claims this allows вЂњfree upgradesвЂќ to Windows 10 Pro.Д«ut the new rules do enable some interesting scenarios, especially where edition upgrades, such as moving from Windows 10 Home to Pro, are concerned.

#UPGRADE WIN7 HOME TO PRO FOR WINDOWS 10#

In addition, beginning with the November 2015 update to Windows 10, aka version 1511, you can use Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 product keys to activate your installation of Windows 10.ДЄnd to further complicate things, Microsoft supplies default product keys for Windows 10 that can be used to unlock an edition without activating it. Instead, a digital fingerprint of your hardware is stored on MicrosoftвЂ™s activation servers, allowing you to reinstall that edition of Windows on that hardware without the need for a product key. The biggest change is in the way product keys are handled for so-called вЂњdigital entitlements.вЂќ If you take advantage of MicrosoftвЂ™s offer of a free upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, you donвЂ™t need a Windows 10 product key at all. MicrosoftвЂs new activation rules for Windows 10 take some getting used to. You can even get the upgrade for no extra cost if you have an unused Pro or Ultimate product key from an older version of Windows. YouвЂ™ve got a bit of time on your hands now that youвЂ™re at home for the holidays, and you want to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

YouвЂ™ve got a new PC (or an old, freshly upgraded one) running Windows 10 Home.

Upgrade win7 home to pro