Is it possible to change windows 8 pro vl to windows 8 pro?

Your computer will not catch fire if you try. The key may be rejected at worst.

 

Why do you want to do this?

If you have a retail key, use it.

If you have a VL key, use it.

Just pick one.

 

For the record, and I think this was the underlying question, it is possible to upgrade an installation from VL Pro to VL ProWMC.

You need to create your own WMC iso, following the guide in these forums, or obtaining one from somewhere else (that you trust...). Make sure the ISO is such that you don't need to provide a product key at install time.

Once you have that, you use the downgrade (hxxp://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/35827-Windows-8-FAQ/page9?p=619324&viewfull=1#post619324) trick to prepare your windows for the switch over.

Open up regedit (search for it in the start menu)

Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
Change the EditionID to "ProfessionalWMC"
Change the ProductName to "Windows 8 Pro with Media Center"

Repeat under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

Then run setup.exe from your ISO and let it do its upgrade thing. Eventually you'll land back in windows needing to reactivate. Use your favourite (hxxp://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/28669-Microsoft-Toolkit-Official-KMS-Solution-for-Microsoft-Products) KMS tool to reactivate and there you go.

(Insert usual caveats here about how VL ProWMC isn't supposed to work and it's a bug that it does and MS might fix that bug, etc)

Sorry for the lame links. I'm not allowed to insert actual links yet.

 

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As long as you stick with Pro edition and no funny business, the key determines the license type. Back in the old days, i.e. windows xp, there were a few files that also needed to be swapped between retail and vl, but those days are gone.

I read it as VL Pro eventually going to retail ProWMC.

 

There is a key - I'm not sure why or how it exists, but it's out there (GNBB8-.....). Even then it only works with the KMS server emulator - the real KMS server will not activate WMC.

That's right. I wasn't attempting to provide a detailed guide as to rebuilding an iso, but yes, it's outside the wim but part of the overall iso.

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There are so many things that people do in this community just because they can The most practical reason would be if you have an actual in-use win8 system that you decide you want to upgrade to WMC while still using VL and don't want to rebuild it from scratch.

 

I downloaded a VL copy of Windows 8 -Mounted it - DISM reports:

Code:

C:\Users\Humphrey\Desktop\AIO\tool\Dism>dism /image:%aio%\mount /get-targeteditions

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Image Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Editions that can be upgraded to:

(The current edition cannot be upgraded to any target editions.)

The operation completed successfully.

C:\Users\Humphrey\Desktop\AIO\tool\Dism>

I also mounted and check target editions of a WMC install wim I made and cannot change it back to normal PRO.

What would one change outside the install.wim to make it accept VL keys? EI,CFG? That is the only thing I know if and its present in the VL edition only.

They key you speak of verifies as valid in the Ultimate PID Checker.

Weird, I put a version of ProWMC (from a non-vl) as a install.wim in a VL version of windows 8 replacing its install.wim, removed the editionID from the ei.cfg, and it says to me in the license screen that this is PRE-RELEASE.

I finished that installation. Everything seems to be retail. I used a program called UpDown8 and put in a non-vl install media and told it to "upgrade" to JUST pro and used a VL key with it- It started the process.

 

That's what I was saying in a precedent post, an original Windows 8 pro vl cannot be upgrade to prowmc, but nobody seemed to understand. Open your ears guys

 

Although I am fairly sure you can swap vl and retail keys on pro edition, i am not certain that installing from vl media gets you the same features as installing from rtm/retail media. Since you have not yet installed, better to start with rtm/retail media rater than vl.

 

I would say that you can swap the keys. While performing the updown8 steps I used a VL key on a retail installation and when finished it showed as VL in slmgr.vbs /dlv

 

You could if the installed platform would be an RTM/Retail but VL! If the Platform is VL, you couldn't!

 

fwiw: In the last day or so, I installed Win 8 Pro from vl media, then changed to a retail upgrade key that I purchased during last year's promotion. I became permanently activated in the retail channel, but the 'add features' option is missing. Popped in rtm/retail disk and did an in place upgrade using the same upgrade key, and 'add features' is now available. So the keys interchanged okay, but 'add features' option is missing on vl install, making the ProWMC upgrade difficult.

 

That's exactly what I suggested in Post #2 and #11! Isn't it?!

 

that was a well known fact since MS was giving away free wmc keys we had lots discussion about it on different thread.

 

yeah, you suggested the vl to rtm upgrade, but I still had l some uncertainty about pemanently activating vl install with a retail key. You seemed to imply that keys interchanged in only one direction, unless I misread you ...