Win10 Downgraded Win8.1 Pro To Home Edition

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  1. Posts : 18
    Thread Starter
       #11

    I have already reinstalled win8... I am just updating now... I will update to 8.1 afterwards.. Then update again... BTW is there any point to installing media center since I'm told win10 removes it??
    Last edited by Omega1; 07 Oct 2015 at 14:47.
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  2. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #12

    Omega1 said:
    I have already reinstalled win8... I am just updating now... I will update to 8.1 afterwards.. Then update again... BTW is there any point to installong media center since I'm told win10 removes it??
    Well....there's no point in updated Windows 8, if you are just going to upgrade to Windows 10 with it. However....I think if you want the Windows 10 DVD player app for free, you have to upgrade from Windows 8.1 with media center. (although VLC plays DVDs just fine for free)
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  3. Posts : 3,506
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 21H1 (May 2021 build 19043.1083)
       #13

    Although there is a method to install Windows Media Center to Windows 10, you won't have DVD support if you upgrade from Windows 8.1 Pro. To have DVD support you must first upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro with WMC and then to Windows 10 Pro. Then install Windows Media Center. If DVD menu is not automatically included, you can download and install windows10.0-kb3081704-x86.cab (32-bit) or windows10.0-kb3081704-x64.cab (64-bit). Google it or search Microsoft's site for kb3081704 to get the link. I have a test computer that was upgraded from Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Pro and then added Windows Media Center. When I try the patch to add DVD support I get a message that my Windows version is not entitled for a DVD upgrade or something along these lines. So first upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro with WMC before upgrading to Windows 10!
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  4. Posts : 18
    Thread Starter
       #14

    I have reinstalled Win8, updated, installed Added Features, updated, installed Media Center, updated, then upgraded to Win8.1 and did all final updates... and Windows stayed activated, like it should... now I just have to wait for the Win10 icon to show up so I can upgrade to Windows 10....
    But now I have a couple other questions,,,
    1.) What version of Windows 10 should be installed (I have Windows 8.1 Pro (w/media center added))? Should it be just Windows Pro ?

    2.) When I download the iso for a clean install (I'm planning a clean install at some point), which iso is it that I should download?
    Windows 10
    Windows 10 KN
    Windows 10 N
    Windows 10 Single Language

    I think this may be where I screwed up last time when Windows downgraded my version to the home edition, but I'm not sure...

    BTW, can I just use the upgrade tool to upgrade to Win10 or do I have to wait for the upgrade icon to show back up by the clock??
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  5. Posts : 463
    Windows 10 Home and Pro
       #15

    Hey mate,

    1) you will get Win10 Pro and either 32 or 64 bit, depending on your system (upgrade will automatically select which one you will need).

    2) You could try a clean install without upgrading first: Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums
    -or-
    you could upgrade then clean install: Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums
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  6. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #16

    The easiest thing for you to do now is use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool:
    Windows 10

    Select the second option to "Create installation media for another PC". Download the English Windows 10 Pro ISO. Not N, Not single language. Just plain old Windows 10 Pro. Keep the bit level the same as you have now, probably 64 bit.

    Save the ISO, I think it is the create DVD later option or something like that.

    Right click the ISO file and select Mount. That will open a new drive letter, just like a DVD. Run setup.exe from the new drive letter. That will start the upgrade to Windows 10. If it asks you for a product key, click the close window X to cancel it because something is wrong - you downloaded the wrong version.

    Once you have the upgrade done, then you can burn a DVD or USB from that same ISO file to create an installation media that you can do a clean install from, after your double check that the Windows 10 upgrade is activated.
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  7. Posts : 3,506
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 21H1 (May 2021 build 19043.1083)
       #17

    First right click on This Computer and select Properties to see System Properties and verify that you have Windows 8.1 Pro with WMC. This will also show you if it is 32-bit or 64-bit. The best version is Windows 10 Pro, others are limited or missing features, avoid them. So download Windows 10 Pro 32-bit or 64-bit, according to your current system. Burn to disc for convenience. Disable or uninstall your antivirus to make sure it won't interfere with the setup progress and mess things. Upgrade to Windows 10 (can take long, so chose a convenient time when you won't need the PC). Upgrade all drivers to Windows 10, if possible, starting from the chipset and graphics driver. Do all the Windows Updates and you should have no problem.
    Then Google for adding Windows Media Center to Windows 10, find and download the installer. Follow the instructions carefully to install WMC in Windows 10. That's it!
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  8. Posts : 18
    Thread Starter
       #18

    spapakons said:
    First right click on This Computer and select Properties to see System Properties and verify that you have Windows 8.1 Pro with WMC. This will also show you if it is 32-bit or 64-bit. The best version is Windows 10 Pro, others are limited or missing features, avoid them. So download Windows 10 Pro 32-bit or 64-bit, according to your current system. Burn to disc for convenience. Disable or uninstall your antivirus to make sure it won't interfere with the setup progress and mess things. Upgrade to Windows 10 (can take long, so chose a convenient time when you won't need the PC). Upgrade all drivers to Windows 10, if possible, starting from the chipset and graphics driver. Do all the Windows Updates and you should have no problem.
    Then Google for adding Windows Media Center to Windows 10, find and download the installer. Follow the instructions carefully to install WMC in Windows 10. That's it!
    Sorry, I forgot to include this pic when I last posted... This is what I have.... and it is 32 bit..
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Win10 Downgraded Win8.1 Pro To Home Edition-my-version.jpg  
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  9. Posts : 3,506
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 21H1 (May 2021 build 19043.1083)
       #19

    Then you are good to go. Proceed with the upgrade to 10. I hope your RAM isn't greater than 4GB otherwise you need to format and install 64-bit Windows 8.1 first. 32-bit have no BSOD (like older windows) when working with more than 4GB RAM, but only about 3.25GB is usable. The rest is just non-taken advantage of with 32-bit Windows.
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  10. Posts : 18
    Thread Starter
       #20

    I finally got Windows 10 Pro to install a few days... and for the fews days just watched to see if anything stopped working or if Windows stayed activated.

    Almost everything worked out with no problems so far.... the only real problem... well not really a problem, I guess you could say it was more annoying then anything else, is this... has anyone had their computer turn itself back on after you had turned it off ?

    It was an easy fix, but I never had it happen until Windows 10....
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