Windows 10, the latest operating system from Microsoft and successor to Windows 8.1 is available in several editions, with Home and Pro part of the baseline editions. Though both versions have the same core features of Windows 10, there are some additional features on Windows 10 Pro over the Home edition. You can see the difference between Windows Home and Pro below.

see difference between windows home and pro and prepare to upgrade windows 10 home to pro

Some of the features missing in Windows 10 Home edition are BitLocker disk encryption, domain join, remote desktop, group policy support, device guard, etc. Windows 10 Pro edition has all the features of Home edition, with these additional features. But it also costs more than Home edition ($120) i.e. $200 (Pro). Windows 10 home edition is perfect for standard users, but if you demand high performance, then you might want to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro. In this article, we will tell you how to perform Windows 10 Pro upgrade from Windows 10 Home.

Part 1. Something You Should Know Before Upgrade

Before you upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro, you should meet the following requirements:

  • The C drive or Windows installation drive should have enough space that it can download and install the Windows 10 Pro upgrade files. Otherwise, the upgrade files may not download and you won't be able to upgrade.
  • You should make a backup of apps or data in the C drive as there is a chance that it might get deleted. The backup will help you recover your data in case a mishap happens.
  • Bad sectors and file system error should be removed from the hard disk to prevent update failures.

If you don't have enough free disk space or bad sectors on your hard drive, you won't be able to upgrade to Windows 10 pro. Bad sectors or file system errors can also cause BSOD error while upgrading and you may be caught in a reboot loop.

Part 2. How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro for Free

If had a license of Windows 8.1/7 Pro, then with the Windows 10 upgrade assistant, you would have been able to install Windows 10 Pro for free. Update to Windows 10 with Windows 10 upgrade assistant preserves the edition of the Windows you are using. That means if you had Pro version, your Windows 10 will be Pro.

Moreover, if you have a product key of Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 Pro versions, then you can upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro with it. Even if you don't have the old product keys, you can follow the below methods to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro for free.

Method 1: Manually Upgrade Windows 10 to Pro

You can upgrade Windows 10 to Pro edition from Windows Store. There is a trick that allows you to upgrade Windows Home to pro for free. You just need to upgrade the Windows Store first and then you could download the Windows 10 Pro upgrade. When the upgrade process is completed, your Windows 10 Pro will be activated. Follow the below steps to know how to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro by upgrading Windows store.

Step 1: At the first step, one has to open the Windows Store and log in with your Microsoft account.

Step 2: Now, one has to click on the account icon and choose "Download and updates".

Step 3: After that, select the store and click on the "update". One has to wait for a couple of seconds until the update process finishes.

Step 4: Once the Windows store update process completed, search for Windows 10 in the search text field and hit on the "Enter" button.

Step 5: Now, click on the "Install" button if you want to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro edition.

Step 6: You will prompt with the message "Have you saved all your files?" click on the "Yes, let's go" button.

manually upgrade windows 10 to pro step 6

Step 7: One has to wait until the process is 100 percent. After that, restart your computer once you got the completion message on the screen.

wait for the upgrade step 7

Step 8: Once restart completed, go to the "settings" > "update & security" and click on the "Activation" to check the Windows is activated or not.

Method 2: Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro without Activation

You can also upgrade Windows 10 home to profor free without activation through Activation settings. Activation Settings allows you to view the details about your Windows edition, as well as upgrade Windows 10. Using the upgrade option in Activation, you will be able to download a 30-day free trial version of Windows 10 Pro for free. Follow the below steps to upgrade to Windows 10 pro trial version for free without activation.

Step 1: In this, you have to open the "Settings" > "Update & Security" and choose "Activation" on the left pane.

click on activation

Step 2: Under the Activation, you have to click on the "Go to Store" button. This will direct you into the Windows store.

go to the store

Step 3: Click on the "Upgrade to Pro" button.

upgrade to windows pro

Step 4: Choose "Start upgrade" by clicking on it and click on the "Yes, let's go" for confirmation.

select start upgrade

Step 5: Once the above process 100% completed, simply restart your computer. That's it.

Congratulations, you have got 30 days free access to the Pro edition of Windows 10.

Part 3. Windows Password Can't be Recognized After the Upgrade?

After upgraded your Windows system many users may encounter a problem, which is the Windows password can't be recogined. So they are unable to access their computer anymore. But it's not big deal, we've prepared a good solution for that. Select PassFab 4WinKey to remove the Windows password easily. Following the steps below to get started.

Step 1: First, the user needs to download the PassFab 4WinKey and install it on the computer.

Step 2: After installation, insert a blank CD/DVD/USB to this computer, burn this Windows password recovery software to it.

burn usb successfully in passfab 4winkey

Step 3: Take the Windows password reset disk to the locked computer and restart it, press F12 quickly and enter BIOS settings. You need to choose your disk as the boot priority.

Step 4: Select the Windows installation and click on the "Reset your password" radio button and click on the "Next" button.

choose the windows in passfab 4winkey

Step 5: Now, all accounts will be displayed that are associated with the selected Windows. Choose the username and click on the "Remove the password" and click on the "Next" button.

remove windows password in passfab 4winkey

Step 6: Password resetting process will take a couple of seconds, click on the "Reboot" button to restart the computer.

restart computer afer using passfab 4winkey

Summary

As we know Windows 10 Pro edition contains lots of amazing features that are not packed in other editions of Windows. When you try to upgrade the Windows Home to Pro, it requires administrator account access. If you have forgotten the Windows admin password then, you can try tools like PassFab 4WinKey. This will help you to bypass, remove or reset Windows admin password.