Tl;dr Is it possible to convert a Windows 10 Pro install back to Home without reinstall the system? ========================================== I work for a company who gives phone support to Windows users. Among the calls, we receive more than 100 calls/week with users who took their computers to 'technicians' who basically delete the original windows installs from their clients and reinstall a Pro version activated with KMS. This actually happens a lot here in Brazil for some reason. Well, most people here doesn't have a good internet connection, so download a Windows ISO and reinstall the system usually takes a long time. Right now what we are doing is basically download a Windows ISO directly from Microsoft, mount them, modify the CompositionEditionID and EditionID values on HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion to 'Core' and run the setup.exe from the ISO to do the trick and do an In-Place install from Pro to Home keeping all files and programs. As I said, most of our clients doesn't have good internet speeds, so I was thinking if there is a way to change from Pro to Home without the need of a 4gb download. Something like a simple changepk.exe /productkey <clientkey> or DISM /online /Set-Edition:Core /ProductKey:<clientkey> I know that are some packages that are exclusively from Core and CoreSingleLanguage versions that aren't present on greater Windows versions. 53 packages to be exact. All of them only take around 200mb. I've tried to extract all of them using the Aunty Mel's Cheap And Nasty SxS Package Extractor and apply them with DISM on a online Windows 10 Professional installation, but when I try to change the Windows version to Home it doesn't work. Analyzing DISM.log I saw an error when I try to run DISM /online /Set-Edition:Core /ProductKey:<clientkey> related to Microsoft-Windows-CoreEdition~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.18362.30.cab package. error 0x80070002. I have even tried to download the file microsoft-windows-editionpack-core-package.esd, convert to cab using @abbodi1406 ESD2CAB-CAB2ESD script and reapply the package, but it didn't succeed either. I can't get pass from this point. Isn't possible to do this after all? Am I missing something? If someone have any ideas, please share with me so I can try. It will greatly improve my work and from my coworkers too.
Do exactly as told below: 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 Professional 4.) Change ProductName to Windows 10 Home. In your case it shoud 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 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 or nothing) 9.) Windows 10 Home in-place upgrade (or downgrade in this case) will be done now.
I appreciate your help, but I already do the In-place install almost like you are suggesting. In fact, I even use a PowerShell script to download the ISO, mount and run the setup using /pkey <defaultkey> /auto upgrade The thing is, what i am trying to do is to go from Pro to Home without the need to download an entire ISO. My goal is to be able to change between them just applying the product key, reducing my download size from 4gb to only a few mb. I know that I wrote a lot, but read my first post so you can see what I already try. Thanks again.
Yes, it's not officially supported, but I am on MDL, the place where I learn that I could take the dedup packages from Windows Server and apply them on a Windows 10 install, where I learn that I can activate Hyper-V manager and Gpedit on Windows 10 Home installations, all of this just by finding the correct packages, extracting them and applying them using DISM. Following the same theory, I think it's possible to do a downgrade In-place install, I just need some help. I'm a long time lurker here and I see you in a lot of threads being helpful @SAM-R. I thought that you could understand my side. Thanks anyway for taking your time to read my thread
IF what boyonthebus works, at the end the iso downloading and the install = an inplace installl. What you want to do is screwing with licensing files and having a frankenbuild, not something you want to offer as help to clients. ps, why not just fix it with pro hwid's, that's as legit as it can be.
It's not a frankenbuild. Look, if you pick a Windows 10 Pro installation and change to Pro for Workstations, you can also change back to Pro without any hassle. I used to do this to format my disks to REFS without the need to messing with regedit. Then, after format my disks, I just change back to Pro. It's a normal conversion. The same thing happens when you change from Home to Home Single Language and then change back to Home, it's a simple changpk command that do the trick, and why? Because the files for this versions are present in the servicing and winsxs folders. I just want some help to find what I'm missing. I know and it's obvious that the regedit trick to downgrade to Home keeping everything works just fine, but unfortunately I live in a place where some people can't easily download a simple 4gb file without taking the whole day. I just want to be more helpful with the clients of our company here. I will keep lurking and hopefully I will find something somewhere that will help me. If someone reading this thread knows something, please share with me. I will be really glad. Thanks again everyone
It's not supported by any official means, the howto by @boyonthebus would be the most normal way to try to do it, what you are trying is creating a frankenbuild, using other sku's files on the install.
Adding dedup to Windows 10, Hyper-V manager and Gpedit to Windows 10 Home we're also not supported by any official means and yet some great people here on MDL found out that this is possible. I already do this regedit trick plus my powershell script to semi-automatize the process, but even doing this it takes a long time to finish everything. The problem is only the download part. Most of our clients have a sub-8Mbps connection, I believe you can imagine how helpful it would be to download just a 200~300mb file instead of a 4gb file and do the same thing. If you think it's a frakenbuild then ok, I think it isn't but I will not discuss that. I just need some help to get this working If you can think of anything that would work on the scenario, then help me create a ""frankenbuild"" hahaha Sorry if I'm being repetitive, but following the examples I learn here in the forum in the past, I believe that is possible do what i am trying to do.
Sorry I don't have a solution, but why not just keep the computers on Pro? Why do you want to convert them back to Home? I can understand if the computer owner asks you. And I can understand you not personally agreeing to upgrade from Home to Pro/Enterprise for 'free'. But they are already KMS'd to Pro when you receive the computer, so personally I see no issue with leaving as the client gave to you.
We do phone assistance. The clients call us to resolve a lot of things (Windows and Office related). When a client call us saying that their Windows are telling them to Activate, we do a Quick Assist remote assistance, run a wmic command to get the original key from their BIOSes/UEFI, use ShowKeyPlus to check the correct edition from their keys (usually Home or Home Single Language) and them do an In-Place downgrade, using a similar reg hack as the mentioned above. The clients call us to resolve *this* issue. Is easier to do a definitive solution instead of reapply the KMS activation and have to make the same thing over and over on each Windows feature upgrade. Unfortunately, for some of them, the download takes a LOT of time and that's the issue for us because 1. We need to make sure that the procedure resolve their problems and 2. We have a AHT (average handle time) of 30 minutes per call (average of 11 calls/day) to resolve the problems of our clients. Find a way to go back to Windows Home without the need of a 4gb download surely would resolve my problem and from my colleagues too.
I think simply generating an HWID for these pro installs using an easily obtainable tool that can't be discussed on MDL would be a far more effective measure to employ.
I think I know about the tool you are referring to (̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶I̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶c̶e̶d̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶e̶r̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶x̶m̶l̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶I̶S̶O̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶m̶o̶r̶e̶), but we need to resolve using the original key from the costumer.
The original key would become a hwid anyway, just generate the HWID for Pro and it's as genuine as possible.
YES, After reading this thread, i have discovered 3 ways of doing this, i am using Win10_1903_V1_English_x64 (10.0.18362.30) for my testing. I am now testing, what i think is the Clean and Easy way.