========================================================================== Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 Evaluation → Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 RTM Technical Investigation Report ========================================================================== 1. BACKGROUND I am investigating whether an existing Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 Evaluation installation can be migrated in-place to Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 while preserving applications, drivers, settings and user data. This is NOT an activation question. My target deployment will use a legitimate Microsoft Volume License with MAK (Multiple Activation Key) activation rather than KMS. The licensing model has already been decided. The only remaining question is whether Microsoft’s Evaluation edition can technically be migrated to the corresponding production edition without reinstalling Windows. I intentionally started with Microsoft’s official Evaluation edition, because this is the recommended way to evaluate LTSC before purchasing licenses. During the evaluation period I invested many weeks configuring the operating system, validating drivers, optimizing the installation, hardening Windows and testing software compatibility. I suspect many administrators follow exactly the same workflow: Evaluation ↓ Configuration ↓ Validation ↓ Purchase production license ↓ Desired in-place migration Understanding whether such a migration is technically possible would benefit many users beyond my own project. 2. TEST ENVIRONMENT Hardware • Panasonic Toughbook CF-31 • 128 GB CFast system drive Operating System • Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 Evaluation • Build 26100.8246 Protection • Unified Write Filter (UWF) • Non-persistent 12 GB RAM overlay Because the operating system resides on a protected CFast card with UWF, I can safely perform even potentially destructive servicing experiments. If an experiment fails, a reboot restores the original installation. 3. OBJECTIVE Determine whether the Evaluation servicing identity (EnterpriseSEval) can be migrated to the production identity (EnterpriseS / IoTEnterpriseS) while preserving the existing installation. If this is impossible, identify the servicing component responsible for preventing the migration. 4. INVESTIGATION PERFORMED Phase 1 Modified registry values: EditionID CompositionEditionID ProductName Result: Registry modifications were accepted but had no effect. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phase 2 Started setup.exe from the official Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 ISO. Result: Setup only offered: Keep: Nothing ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phase 3 Executed: DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition Result: EnterpriseSEval ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phase 4 Executed: DISM /Online /Get-TargetEditions Result: IoTEnterpriseSEval No production edition was offered. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phase 5 Mounted the official production install.wim and compared: EditionMappings.xml EditionMatrix.xml UpgradeMatrix.xml ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phase 6 Examined installed CBS / SPP packages. Found: Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-Component-SKU- EnterpriseSEval-Eval-Package 5. KEY FINDINGS • Setup only allows “Nothing” • DISM Current Edition: EnterpriseSEval • DISM Target Editions: IoTEnterpriseSEval only • Registry edits do not influence DISM • Production WIM contains EnterpriseS and IoTEnterpriseS packages • Installed servicing identity still references EnterpriseSEval-Eval 6. WORKING HYPOTHESIS The CurrentVersion registry values no longer determine the effective edition identity. Instead, Windows Setup, CBS and DISM appear to rely primarily on the installed SPP / CBS servicing packages, especially the installed Component-SKU package. Current hypothesis: Registry ↓ Cosmetic only CBS / SPP Packages ↓ Authoritative edition identity DISM ↓ Windows Setup 7. QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY 1. Has anyone successfully migrated EnterpriseSEval to EnterpriseS or IoTEnterpriseS while preserving installed applications? 2. Which component ultimately defines the servicing edition? 3. Is the installed SPP Component-SKU package the decisive factor? 4. Is there a supported servicing path to replace the Evaluation servicing identity? 5. Is the historical Windows 10 LTSC registry method obsolete for Windows 11 LTSC 2024? 6. Does the UpgradeMatrix Fix Tool apply to Evaluation editions? 7. Would a two-step migration EnterpriseSEval ↓ EnterpriseS ↓ IoTEnterpriseS be technically possible? 8. WHY THIS INVESTIGATION MATTERS Many administrators begin with Microsoft’s official Evaluation media, invest weeks or months configuring a production-ready environment, purchase legitimate licenses afterwards, and finally discover that Windows Setup requires a complete reinstallation. If a supported migration exists, documenting it would save significant time for many users. 9. REQUEST TO THE COMMUNITY If there is currently no known solution, I would greatly appreciate links to previous discussions, documentation, research projects or similar threads. Even confirmation that such a migration is impossible would already be valuable. If another MDL member has previously investigated this topic, I would greatly appreciate being pointed in the right direction. I am more than willing to perform additional experiments, collect logs, compare servicing packages and publish all findings back to the community. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this investigation.
SKU switch should works or mod iso to enable keep all https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/upgradematrix-xml-fix-tool-very-beta.88518/
Hi sonic9, First of all, thank you very much for your reply and for all the work you have put into the UpgradeMatrix Fix Tool. It made a huge difference in our case. To answer your questions: 1. Registry modifications Yes, we had modified the registry of the running operating system before starting the upgrade. However, based on our testing we cannot say with certainty whether those registry changes were actually required for the successful upgrade or whether the modified UpgradeMatrix.xml alone would have been sufficient. 2. Our upgrade scenario Our starting point was: Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC Evaluation Build 26100.8246 Edition: EnterpriseSEval Our goal was: Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 Build 26100.8655 Keeping all installed applications, settings and user data. At first we tried with the official English IoT LTSC ISO. The upgrade worked, but Setup only allowed "Keep personal files only" because the installed operating system language was German while the installation media was English. We then switched to a German Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 ISO (Build 26100.8655). After patching that ISO with your UpgradeMatrix Fix Tool, Setup finally offered: "Keep personal files and apps" We selected that option and the upgrade completed successfully. The final result is: Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 24H2 (Build 26100.8655) Edition: IoTEnterpriseS All installed applications preserved All user profiles preserved All settings preserved Unified Write Filter (UWF) configuration also survived the upgrade and works correctly after re-enabling it. We also examined the Panther logs afterwards. The setup logs show that Setup initialized IoTEnterpriseS as the target edition and completed a successful in-place migration without rollback. So, in our case, your UpgradeMatrix modification made it possible to perform a successful in-place migration from Enterprise LTSC Evaluation to IoT Enterprise LTSC, while preserving installed applications and user data. One final question regarding licensing: Our long-term goal is to use this Panasonic Toughbook as a dedicated industrial-style machine that can operate completely offline for years if necessary, without requiring periodic communication with Microsoft or a KMS server. Because of that, we are specifically looking for a legitimate MAK license (or another genuine Microsoft licensing option that allows permanent offline activation). Unfortunately, it has been surprisingly difficult to find a trustworthy source. Most offers on the Internet are either unclear or appear to be KMS-based. Since you have extensive experience with Windows editions and licensing, I wanted to ask: Do you know of a legitimate way to obtain a genuine Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 MAK license for a single machine or a small deployment? Or would you recommend a different licensing model (for example OEM/OEI) for a permanently offline system like ours? Any advice or recommendation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for your excellent work and for taking the time to reply. Best regards, Sohkie