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HP Recommended
HP ProBook 450 15.6 inch G9 Notebook PC (4D3X1AV)
Microsoft Windows 11

Hello,

 

I have a HP Probook 450 that came pre-installed / activated with Windows 11 Pro. I now re-installed Windows 11, but it activates as Windows 11 Home. What to do to get this device installed back to Windows 11 Pro?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

The computer has a Home key embedded in the firmware, so it will use that and will install Home automatically. Go into Settings and then at the activation screen hit change key and punch in your Pro key to upgrade without reinstalling.

Or with a reinstall, create an special ei.cfg file and place it on the Windows 11 installation flash drive, this will stop Windows from automatically using the embedded key. To do this, create a new text document with the following contents:

[EditionID]


[Channel]
Retail

[VL]
0

Save it to the flash drive in the Sources folder.

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
HP Recommended

The computer has a Home key embedded in the firmware, so it will use that and will install Home automatically. Go into Settings and then at the activation screen hit change key and punch in your Pro key to upgrade without reinstalling.

Or with a reinstall, create an special ei.cfg file and place it on the Windows 11 installation flash drive, this will stop Windows from automatically using the embedded key. To do this, create a new text document with the following contents:

[EditionID]


[Channel]
Retail

[VL]
0

Save it to the flash drive in the Sources folder.

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