Is new COA needed to change from Pro to Enterprise or LTSB?

10userNYC · 14 Nov 2016

I have two machines in question. One 8.1x64 Pro and one 10x64 Pro. When I:

Code:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

and

Code:

DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

, on the 8.1 machine I see current edition is

Code:

Professional

and

Code:

Target Edition: ProfessionalWMC

but not Enterprise. Not that it really matters but would I need to upgrade to 10 to switch over to Enterprise or LTSB?

On the 10x64 Pro machine I see:

Code:

Current Edition : Professional

and

Code:

Target Edition : Enterprise

and

Code:

Target Edition : Education

. The 10 machine was 8.1 Pro which I did the free upgrade with so I don't really want to mess with the OS/licensing unless I know its a sure thing. Do I need a new COA/key to go from Pro to Ent and/or LTSB? Thanks.

EdTittel · 14 Nov 2016

You can't switch from Pro to Enterprise unless you have a volume licensing agreement with MS that grants a volume license key for a certain number of Enterprise licenses, or some other kind of licensing arrangement with MS that covers Enterprise. It is not available for retail purchase (at least, not legitimately). The only exceptions to this ironclad rule are
(1) sign up for the Enterprise version of Insider Preview (Windows 10 Insider Preview ISO Advanced)
(2) Each MSDN subscription include a single license for Enterprise, but it is a multiple activation key

Is new COA needed to change from Pro to Enterprise or LTSB?-w10ent-msdn.jpg

(As you can see, that's how I got access to Enterprise myself--and I'm also running the Insider version, too)
Once you have a key for Enterprise, you *may* be able to perform an Upgrade install. However, the consensus of the TenForums wizards is that a clean install is nearly always a better idea/approach.
HTH,
--Ed--