1909 clean install - list pro licence

Hope someone can help here. I have an HP spectre which originally came with Windows 8 home. Upgraded free to windows 10 by clean install. It was running 1903. I had a Windows 10 pro licence from my old laptop which died and I linked the Windows 10 pro licence to the HP spectre instead, via Microsoft account. All fine until HP spectre installed 1909. I thought I had turned off feature updates- but anyway - had a few problems and decided to clean install 1909. Backed everything up first.

I noticed when installing 1909 it doesn’t give you the option to choose “home” or “pro”. It is showing as Windows 10 home now. So assume that is because it was originally a “home “version in bios. So signed into Microsoft account (my account from install was set up with my Microsoft account ) to see if I need to sync or activate the pro licence- but it no longer seems to be in my Microsoft accounts.

This is where it gets confusing for me - the laptop is showing with a different name in my Microsoft account since clean install - so maybe it thinks I have two computers and this is a new one? Account also shows I have two devices when I only have the one - but can’t seem to find a listing for these two devices. Everything else re my account is there - my annual email subscription, my family set up etc. But no record of the pro licence which was a digital purchase.

I guess I could try changing the computer name back to what it was before - instead of the genetic “desktopxyz “ except I can’t remember exactly what I called it before.

I have gone into settings - account- and verified my account but still nothing is showing in Microsoft account about my pro licence and it’s still showing as Windows 10 home. Grr.

Any suggestions?

- - - Updated - - -

I have found the two devices in Microsoft account (ie only one device but with two names) but it won’t let me remove the old names device. Maybe because it’s set up with the family account settings. Grr. If I can remove that maybe my W10 pro licence will be available again.

Hazel123 said:

...I have an HP spectre which originally came with Windows 8 home... I had a Windows 10 pro licence from my old laptop which died and I linked the Windows 10 pro licence to the HP spectre instead... All fine until HP spectre installed 1909. I thought I had turned off feature updates- but anyway - had a few problems and decided to clean install 1909....
...I noticed when installing 1909 it doesn’t give you the option to choose “home” or “pro”. It is showing as Windows 10 home now. So assume that is because it was originally a “home “version in bios.....

Yes, a clean install will skip asking what edition to install if it finds a key in the bios, and your bios key was for Home.

If your W10 Pro was activated before you clean installed, then this PC has a digital licence for Pro linked to its hardware ID and stored on the activation servers. It is the hardware ID that is primarily used to determine if Windows should activate, not your MS account.

From what you say it seems that it should already have a digital licence. If so, then the simplest solution would be to upgrade from Home to Pro by changing the installed key to the generic Pro key.

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Generic Product Keys to Install Windows 10 Editions

Change Product Key in Windows 10

Cheers. I am assuming it has activated with the embedded one in the bios. The Oem that was originally Windows 8. The retail licence was the pro upgrade - which should show in my Microsoft account and doesn’t.

It was w10 pro until I did the clean install of 1909. As I am signed in as an administrator with my Microsoft account, it should sync with my pro upgrade.

I have now got ride of the two devices in the Microsoft account be removing the original computer name from child account, which allowed me to remove it from
My account. So I only have the one device showing now- same pc, as recognised by ms account- even if pc name is different. Anyway it still hasn’t got the pro licence - which doesn’t appear on my ms account anywhere.

Is it possible that you can only transfer a pro licence once (which I have done, from one pc to this one? Technically it is still only once as it’s the same pc. But maybe the reinstall is treating it as a different pc.

Hazel123 said:

...maybe the reinstall is treating it as a different pc.

Forget about the MS account, it's the hardware ID of the PC that counts. Just try upgrading to Pro with the generic key. If it had an existing digital licence for Pro it will be successful.

Cheers. How do I do that!

Hazel123 said:

Cheers. How do I do that!

by changing the installed key to the generic Pro key.

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Generic Product Keys to Install Windows 10 Editions

See this tutorial: Change Product Key in Windows 10

Worked a treat! So upgraded to pro and activated. But I am not happy! Firstly I can no longer choose to install pro on clean install - which I have to keep doing every time there’s a featured update. Secondly there is no record of my pro licence in my Microsoft account (there used to be before they redesigned the account look). Thirdly no key is supplied when you buy the upgrade. Masked me think they want me to give up and buy it again. Which I nearly did - as still have a lot of setting up to do to get the kid’s pc up and running and all his stuff back on it.

If you hadn’t showed me that I’d have been stuck.