How to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10 - free

1. Windows 10 Home Vs Pro Comparison Chart

[This article has been completely rewritten to incorporate developments in later updates to Windows 10. The most recent review and update was published August 1, 2018.]

Get reassurance on which Windows 10 version to buy. Compare Windows 10 Home vs. Pro with Microsoft’s comprehensive checklist and feel confident in your choice! Dec 04, 2018  I have upgraded a Windows 10 Home PC to Windows 10 Pro using the store, but it costs $99.00. Update & Security. The Windows Store app will open to a special “Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro” screen. Thanks that’s exactly what I’m doing but when it goes to the store I’m informed that I can’t buy Pro. Jan 09, 2017  Insert the Windows 10 Home install media, do an in-place upgrade by launching the setup from desktop (not booting with Windows install media) 8.) When / if asked, enter a valid Windows 10 HOME product key and select what to keep (settings, personal files and apps, only personal files.

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If you purchase a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled, prepare to be annoyed. This down-market edition (maybe we should just call it Windows for Cheapskates) doesn't have the features you need for getting real work done: Remote Desktop server access, BitLocker disk encryption, group policy support, and control over when updates get installed, just for starters.

You could pay $99 for an upgrade, but before you reach for your wallet, consider a less expensive option.

Do you have an old product key from Windows 7 Pro, Windows 7 Ultimate, or Windows 8/8.1 Pro lying around? Those keys can be reused to enable an upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro, potentially saving you the upgrade fee. In fact, you can use a product key from any of these older Windows versions to perform a clean install or to upgrade to Pro.

It's worth rummaging through your garage, storeroom, or email archives to see if you can locate one of those old keys. Maybe you still have a key for one of the heavily discounted upgrades to Windows 8 Pro that Microsoft offered in the first few months after that product's ill-fated launch in 2012.

Or perhaps you have a shrink-wrapped retail copy of Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, where the license associated with the product key is no longer in use.

In fact, you only need to use the older product key one time. After you upgrade from Windows 10 Home, the Windows 10 Pro digital license is attached to the specific hardware you just upgraded, allowing you to reinstall that edition of Windows on that hardware anytime, without the need for a product key.

This scenario worked during the early Windows 10 upgrade program, and after some testing and multiple reports from independent testers worldwide I can confirm that it still succeeds in mid-2018.

Microsoft first made this option available in Windows 10 version 1511. Since then, they have simplified the process dramatically.

I've been testing upgrade/activation scenarios on a wide variety of hardware recently to see how things work. Here's the scoop.

UPGRADING A NEW PC FROM HOME TO PRO

Let's say you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home installed by the OEM. Some vendors offer an upgrade option as part of the purchase, but many PCs sold in the retail channel are preloaded with Home edition.

This could also be the case if you took advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade offer on a PC running a Home edition of Windows 7 or Windows 8.x.

In either case, the upgrade takes just a few minutes. Start at Settings > Update & Security > Activation, where you should see a screen that looks something like this:

If you don't have a Pro product key and you want to buy one, you can click Go to the Store and purchase the upgrade for $100. Easy.

But if you have a product key for Windows 10 Pro, Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, or Windows 8/8.1 Pro, you can click the Change Product Key button and enter that 25-character key here.

Using an older version's product key to perform this upgrade used to require two steps. Fortunately, in recent feature updates this two-step process isn't necessary.

After entering the product key, follow the prompts to perform the upgrade.

You'll see a succession of progress screens and your system will restart. After the upgrade completes, you should see a Success notification. Check the Activation screen again to confirm that you're now running Windows 10 Pro.

CLEAN REINSTALL

After you've successfully performed a Home-to-Pro upgrade, you can safely throw away the key. Your upgrade is now a digital license, attached to your unique hardware. If you perform a reinstallation of Windows, Microsoft's activation servers will recognize the hardware and activate Windows 10 automatically.

I tested this scenario by upgrading the SSD in an HP Spectre x360 that originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home and had then been upgraded to Windows 10 Pro. After the upgrade was complete, I used a USB flash drive to reinstall a clean copy of Windows 10 Pro.

Twice during the installation process, I was prompted to enter a product key. Both times I chose the option to skip entering the key. When prompted, be sure to choose Windows 10 Pro as the edition to install.

When setup was complete, I signed in and checked the activation status (Settings > Update & Security > Activation). The system was properly activated, because Microsoft's servers recognized the hardware and used the digital license.

CLEAN REINSTALL, WITH EDITION UPGRADE

The one gotcha in this series of scenarios comes when you have a system that includes digital licenses for both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. In that scenario, you can inadvertently restore Windows 10 Home.

This happened during my testing when I used the recovery image for a PC that originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home and then upgraded the restored PC using Windows 10 recovery media. Not surprisingly, I ended up with an installation of Windows 10 Home.

If that happens to you, don't bother searching for your original product key. Instead, use Microsoft's generic product key to force the upgrade.

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and click Change Product Key. Next, enter the default Windows 10 Pro product key:

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Follow the prompts to upgrade from Home to Pro. Because your hardware already has a digital license for the Pro edition, it will activate automatically.

That generic product key isn't magical, of course. If your hardware doesn't already have a Pro license, you'll get an activation error and you'll need to supply a proper product key or pay for an upgrade.

Any questions?

Windows 10 Home Vs Pro Comparison Chart

Do you want to upgrade from Windows 10 Home edition to Windows 10 Pro edition? Want to buy the Pro license and upgrade to the same from Windows 10 Home edition? Would you like to upgrade from Windows 10 Home edition to Pro without the product key? In this article, we will see how to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro with ease.

Difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro

The Home edition of Windows 10 is designed for home users, and is perfect for most users who do not need the advanced security and business features available in the Pro edition. The Pro edition offers advanced features like BitLocker, Group Policy, Domain Join, Remote Desktop, Hyper-V, and Azure Active Directory. Go through our difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro editions for detailed information.

Can I upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro for free?

While you can upgrade a non-activated Windows 10 Home edition install to Pro edition, you need to activate the install to keep on using the Windows 10 Pro after the initial 30-day trial period.

Upgrade from Windows 10 Home edition to Pro edition is not free. In other words, even if you have an activated copy of Windows 10 Home edition, you need to purchase the upgrade license and activate the install before or after upgrading to Pro edition.

Upgrading Windows 10 Home to Pro edition

Here is how to upgrade from Windows 10 Home edition to Pro edition with a few mouse clicks.

Step 1: Open the Settings app by either clicking Settings icon in the left side of the Start menu or using Windows logo + I hotkey.

Step 2: Once Settings app launched, click Update & security.

Step 3: Click Activation to see the current activation status of your Windows 10 Home edition installation.

As you can see in the picture below, we’re upgrading from a non-activated install of Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro edition without entering a product key. So you don’t need to have an activated install of Windows 10 Home in order to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro edition.

Step 4: Click the button labelled Go to Store to open the Store app.

Step 5: Clicking the Go to Store button will open the following page of the Store app. To upgrade from Home edition to Pro edition, click Upgrade to Pro button.

If you want to buy the Pro edition license right away, click the $99.99 or $119.99 button right before the Upgrade to Pro button. The $99.99 button appears when you are trying the upgrade to Pro edition on an activated install of Windows 10 Home edition. The $119.99 button will be shown when you are upgrading a non-activated Windows 10 Home edition to Professional edition (here you will be purchasing the Pro edition, not just the upgrade license).

Note that you can upgrade to the Pro edition without a key or license. If you like the Pro edition after trying out the features it offers, you can purchase the key later by performing above mentioned instructions again.

While purchasing the Professional edition from the Store, you will need to provide your Microsoft account details.

Step 6: Finally, you will see the following page with information about features that you will get by upgrading to the Pro edition.

As said before, the setup will not remove your files and programs while upgrading from Windows 10 Home Edition to Pro edition. That said, it’s a good idea to backup important files before making any major changes to your operating system.

Step 7: Click Start upgrade button and then click Yes, let’s go button when you see the confirmation dialog with “Have you saved all your files?” message to begin upgrading your Windows 10 Home edition to Pro edition.

Your PC might be restarted during the upgrade process but the upgrade is done on most PCs without a restart.

Depending on your PC’s configuration, the upgrade process might take from few minutes to hours. On most PCs, the upgrade process should be done in less than 30 minutes.

Once Windows 10 Home Pro edition upgrade is done, you will see Edition upgrade completed notification. That’s all! You may now start exploring new features of Windows 10 Pro edition.

If you have upgraded a non-activated Windows 10 Home edition to Windows 10 Pro edition, you may now activate your Windows 10 install. If you want to know the activation status, please refer to our check if your Windows 10 install is activated article.