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Activating windows for the first time

WestTexan
By WestTexan
in Windows
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I just bought windows 10 home USB retail pack (64 bit)

 

I am currently using free windows and in the bottom right corner it says activate windows.

When I installed free windows it gave me the option between windows pro and home (64 bit)_

 

I chose Pro. Now I am trying to activate my windows with USB. I just put the USB in and I clicked on Setup.exe

 

And the problem is, it is saying that I want to install windows 10 pro and  not home. I bought Win 10 Home.

15983586051561365188808.jpg

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You bought a Home key but installed Pro?

You need to either reinstall or get a Pro key. You can't downgrade without a reinstall but you can upgrade (Home > Pro) withouot it afaik.

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If you have a spare USB, try manually installing Windows 10 home, and then use the provided USB and see what happens. It may just be an error that's occuring since you're trying to activate Windows 10 pro using a Windows 10 home installation media.

 

You probably would have been better off just buying a code and activating through settings, rather than getting the more expensive USB kit, but at this point it's too late to do anything about that.

I mostly speak from my own past experience from similar problems. My solution may not work for you, but I'll always try my best to help as much as I can. If you want me to see your reply, make sure to quote my comment or mention me @WaggishOhio383, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

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You don't activate windows with your USB stick. 

 

You have to enter your Licence key and then click on activate online.

 

Aunt Edith says, read before posting: "you can't activate a Pro install with a home Key."

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23 minutes ago, Lurick said:

You bought a Home key but installed Pro?

You need to either reinstall or get a Pro key. You can't downgrade without a reinstall but you can upgrade (Home > Pro) withouot it afaik.

Can I reinstall free windows and make it free windows home and after that is done, I just put in my windows activation code while keeping all my files?

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No the installer does not give you the option off keeping existing files when reinstalling windows. You'll need to backup what files you want to keep onto another drive or use cloud storage. After install copy files back.

 

You can enter your license key at any time either do it when it asks you during installation or after.

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1 hour ago, C2dan88 said:

No the installer does not give you the option off keeping existing files when reinstalling windows. You'll need to backup what files you want to keep onto another drive or use cloud storage. After install copy files back.

 

You can enter your license key at any time either do it when it asks you during installation or after.

Can I put al my files on my HDD and then disconnect it from my PC.What I do next is keep my 256GB ssd inside my pc and format + install windows 10 home?

 

I have one question, how do I install win10 home and what happens to my drivers? Will I need to reinstall them?

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14 minutes ago, WestTexan said:

Can I put al my files on my HDD and then disconnect it from my PC.What I do next is keep my 256GB ssd inside my pc and format + install windows 10 home?

yes you can do that.

 

14 minutes ago, WestTexan said:

I have one question, how do I install win10 home and what happens to my drivers? Will I need to reinstall them?

Connect your usb drive containing Windows installation media and boot to bios. Find the boot section of your bios make sure your usb drive is selected as first boot device. Press F10 to save changes. You PC should boot from the usb drive starting the WIndows installer. Just follow onscreen instructions, plently of websites/videos explaining this process.

 

All software and drivers will need to be reinstalled. For drivers best go to your motherboard manufactures website. You should only need chipset, lan/wifi and audio drivers

For your GPU go to your gpu manufactures website. The rest Windows update should install the drivers for.

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30 minutes ago, C2dan88 said:

yes you can do that.

 

Connect your usb drive containing Windows installation media and boot to bios. Find the boot section of your bios make sure your usb drive is selected as first boot device. Press F10 to save changes. You PC should boot from the usb drive starting the WIndows installer. Just follow onscreen instructions, plently of websites/videos explaining this process.

 

All software and drivers will need to be reinstalled. For drivers best go to your motherboard manufactures website. You should only need chipset, lan/wifi and audio drivers

For your GPU go to your gpu manufactures website. The rest Windows update should install the drivers for.

Thank you for your help!

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