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How to select windows 11 pro during a clean installation

Anonymous
2022-01-12T17:41:17+00:00

I bought a laptop with Win 10 Home. Currently trying to install Win 11 Pro, but the iso keeps installing Home.

Tried IE.cfg and PID.txt. No luck.

I am not interested to upgrade from within Windows. I want a clean windows 11 pro installation without logging into my Outlook. Why don’t I have an option to select Pro during the installation process, like before…

Wasted 1 hour with several installations!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Licensing and activation

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  1. Virginia M 41,105 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-01-12T19:57:39+00:00

    Hello, I’m Virginia, I have 20 years of expertise in fixing my own & friends’ PC problems.

    Sorry to hear you’re experiencing problems.

    Did you try downloading the media creation tool & deselecting ‘use the current pc settings? This should allow you to choose Pro.

    The ei.cfg file should’ve worked:

    Create a “ei.cfg” file containing the following text:

    [EditionID]

    Professional

    [Channel]

    Retail

    Save the ei.cfg file to the \Sources folder on your Windows 11 installation media (USB flash drive).

    If your Pro key is OEM then change [Channel] from retail to OEM.

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  2. Virginia M 41,105 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-01-12T20:37:10+00:00

    Yes I believe it may do.

    The workaround to return to Pro from Enterprise is to go offline & enter the default key for Pro:

    VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T Then enter the purchased Pro key.

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  3. Virginia M 41,105 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-01-13T14:03:58+00:00

    Are you signing in with a Microsoft account during installation?

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-01-12T20:25:15+00:00

    It’s my Home laptop. Bought it a short while ago. Does this mean that I need to use

    [EditionID] 
    Professional 
    [Channel] 
    Retail 

    [VL]

    0

    Or

    [EditionID] 
    Professional 
    [Channel] 
    Retail 

    If using the above, PID.txt is also required, isn’t it?

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-01-12T20:06:40+00:00

    Many thanks for the feedback.

    I indeed used the media creation tool.

    If I deselect use default settings I can only select Windows 11 and no version.

    Unfortunately, it still installed Win 11 Home.

    When I tried adding

    [VL]

    0

    It installed the enterprise version.

    It’s really frustrating. Why don’t they offer a choice like before?

    Is there any way to see if it’s retail or OEM? I bought the key online and it says retail in the confirmation email.

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    3 people found this answer helpful.
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