Introduction
I got a new laptop and on it was windows 11 Home but for running windows containers with docker you have to have windows 11 Pro installed. So that blog post is all about how you can achieve the upgrade - normally there is no problem but for me there was a big problem.
Problem
I bought a Windows 11 Pro key from a website. Now you get the key and can go into
Settings > System > Activation > Change Product key
and just Copy-Paste your key and you should be good to go - well it was not so easy for me.
I got the error: Activation error: 0xc004f050.
Step-by-Step Solution
There are many blog posts about that topic but none solved it for me. So I will give you the step by step solution that worked for me and maybe this will also work for Windows 10 or any other versions of windows. Though I did not test it on other windows versions.
1. Repair Windows 11
There are many ways to repair windows. Either create a new usb stick and choose “keep files and apps” while reinstalling or go to:
Settings > System > Recovery
Then select Fix problems with windows updates or simply reset computer.
In all the ways be sure that you select the option keep files and apps or else you will miss important data of yours as everything will be deleted.
2. Universal Key
Did you ever heard of the universal keys from Microsoft for Windows? These are keys which allow you to move to a windows on your system which is not activated but can be used to update your windows version e.g. from Home to Pro.
Here is a list of the ones I found:
Windows 11 Home: YTMG3-N6DKC-DKB77-7M9GH-8HVX7
Windows 11 Home N: 4CPRK-NM3K3-X6XXQ-RXX86-WXCHW
Windows 11 Pro: VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T
Windows 11 Pro N: 2B87N-8KFHP-DKV6R-Y2C8J-PKCKT
Windows 11 Pro for Workstations: DXG7C-N36C4-C4HTG-X4T3X-2YV77
Windows 11 Pro N for Workstations: WYPNQ-8C467-V2W6J-TX4WX-WT2RQ
Windows 11 Pro Education: 8PTT6-RNW4C-6V7J2-C2D3X-MHBPB
Windows 11 Pro Education N: GJTYN-HDMQY-FRR76-HVGC7-QPF8P
Windows 11 Education: YNMGQ-8RYV3-4PGQ3-C8XTP-7CFBY
Windows 11 Education N: 84NGF-MHBT6-FXBX8-QWJK7-DRR8H
Windows 11 Enterprise: XGVPP-NMH47-7TTHJ-W3FW7-8HV2C
Windows 11 Enterprise N: WGGHN-J84D6-QYCPR-T7PJ7-X766F
You have to select the key which version you want to have after the upgrade - e.g. I you want to have the Windows 11 Enterprise version you use the key listed above.
For me I wanted to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro so I used this key: VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T. BUT don’t just start the uprade with this key.
3. Upgrade
Before you can start the upgrade you have to disable your Wi-Fi connection and Lan so you don’t have internet connection. If you have done it you can go to change activation code and use the universal key you want.
Now your system will restart a few times until the upgrade is ready. It took me like 15 mintues. After that you have to enable the internet connection again and NOW you can use your bought key and your system should be activated.
Conclusion
The process is kinda easy if you know it can happen that you have to repair your current windows version. Why it can be broken - there are so many reasons. The usage of the universal keys is important to know. Now you can switch between Windows version pretty easy and don’t have to be scared about why it does not work.
Whish you a great day!