Upgrading from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Professional

If you performed a clean install of the 64-bit version of Windows 10  using the DVD that burned from the downloaded ISO resulting from using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool, it is possible that you were not given the option to install Windows 10 Professional, but instead, by default, Windows 10 Home version was installed.  You can force an upgrade to Windows 10 Professional, then activate it if you have a valid product key for the following operating systems.

Make sure that you have a valid product key for Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Pro Pack, or Windows 8.1 Pro Pack.  These keys will activate installations of Windows 10 Professional.

If you created a Windows 10 Installation DVD by using the Microsoft Windows Media Creation Tool (by Creating an ISO image that you burned to DVD), then it is possibly that when you try to install the 64 bit version of Windows 10 as a clean install (not as an upgrade to an activated system), the installation DVD may not offer you the option to install Windows 10 Professional.  Instead, Windows 10 Home is installed by default.  In order to upgrade to Windows 10 Professional, you must first remove the product KEY that was automatically installed from the DVD install.

Open an elevated “administrative” command prompt and Change the current directory as follows:

cd\windows\system32

Run the following command from the prompt in order to uninstall the product key, thus removing the default Windows 10 Home installation product key:

slmgr.vbs /upk

Now to upgrade the fresh OS Installation from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro:

  • Select Windows 10 Home Start Button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
  • Select Change Product Key, and then enter this 25-character default product key:
    VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T
  • This product key will upgrade your devide to Windows 10 Pro, but it won’t activate it.
  • Select Next to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.
  • After your device is upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, you will need to activate Windows.  Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
  • Select Change Product Key, and then enter your 25-character Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Pro Pack, or Windows 8.1 Pro Pack product key.
  • Select Next to activate Windows 10 Pro.
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