Question Installed windows pro with home licence. Can I revert and have active Win10 home?

[zakinak]

I reinstalled windows yesterday and selected Pro installation even though I have home licence. Don't ask why.
I've tinkered in regedit a little according to an online guide, just changing some things from pro/enterprise to home.
I'm running the install media (not booting from, just running from external hard drive) with the goal of being able to 'upgrade' (downgrade) to Win10 home. The regedit changes were supposed to allow this to happen, but I'm prompted to enter my win10 home product key. I don't have it, but this machine has active licence for Win10 home.

Usually if I were to just install Win10 home it wouldn't ask for the product key as this device is already activated, so if I had just installed home licence instead of pro yesterday I wouldn't have this problem.

My question is, can I now re-install Windows selectin home version (not pro) and the install will detect the product key and all will be fine? Or have I screwed myself here and I'll need to find the product key to fix the problem?

Apologies if this is very poorly worded. I don't completely understand what I'm asking.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SkyNetRising]

My question is, can I now re-install Windows selectin home version (not pro) and the install will detect the product key and all will be fine?

Question is - why haven't you tried that already?
Because clean install is the only way for migration from Pro to Home version.
Note - clean install (not upgrade). That means, you have to boot from windows installation media, clean the drive and then install.

 

[Colif]

Unfortunately, clean install is your only option, you can't downgrade from Pro to Home. Changing the key will not work. You could try the following work around then test your luck:

1. Open Registry Editor(WIN + R, type regedit, hit Enter)
2. Browse to key HKEY_Local Machine > Software > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion
3. Change EditionID to Home (double click EditionID, change value, click OK). In your case it should at the moment show Pro
4. Change ProductName to Windows 10 Home. In your case it should at the moment show Windows 10 Professional
5. Browse to key HKEY_Local Machine > Software > Wow6432Node > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion, change the same two values as in steps 3 and 4 above
6. Close the Registry Editor
7. Insert the Windows 10 Homeinstallation media, do an in-place upgrade by launching the setup from desktop (not booting with Windows 10 Home install media)
8. When asked, enter your validWindows 10 Home product key and select what to keep(settings, personal files and apps, only personal files or nothing)
9. Windows 10 Home in-place upgrade will be done now.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-to-home/345f5464-cb7a-44b3-8856-237cbec072c8

I see, you stuck at step 8. Most people may not know their keys, its not uncommon.

Clean install should just activate using the Home key.

 

[zakinak]

Question is - why haven't you tried that already?
Because clean install is the only way for migration from Pro to Home version.
Note - clean install (not upgrade). That means, you have to boot from windows installation media, clean the drive and then install.

No good reason. I migrated some of my files from hdd to ssd already which takes some time. Less time than I've spent trying to downgrade without clean install it should be noted, so I should have done it by now. But also at this point curiosity to some extent.

Edit: punctuation

 

[zakinak]

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-to-home/345f5464-cb7a-44b3-8856-237cbec072c8

I see, you stuck at step 8. Most people may not know their keys, its not uncommon.

Clean install should just activate using the Home key.

Yes, that's the one. Stuck at step 8 indeed.

I don't have the Home key, will windows detect it automatically from the previous successful home install?

 

[Colif]

when you reach the screen asking for licence, click "I don't have a key" and win 10 will continue to install and reactivate once finished

I guess we find out which it reactivates at that stage.