Hello,
I bought recently a new laptop (Asus UX303UA) which come with a pre-installed version of Windows 10 Home. I actually try to receive a refund for it because I have another valid key for Windows 10 Pro.
I wiped the SSD and tried to reinstall Win10 but I was never asked to enter any product key and was not able to choose between Home and Pro version. It is automatically assuming that I want to use the OEM product key registered in BIOS.
I know that a solution was to add two files in the sources folder of my Windows 10 USB key : ei.cfg and PID.txt (as it was suggested in this thread for example). But this solution no longer works...
My question is : how can I use my own product key and force Windows 10 to NOT use the embedded key in BIOS (or I won't be able to get a refund) ?
Thanks in advance for any help (and sorry for my average English) !
Hello Kirat, and welcome to windowssh blog.
Are you able to change the product key after installation has finished to use the key you wanted instead?
Product Key - Change in Windows 10
Hi, thanks !
Actually I don't know. I don't want to boot in Windows 10 in case the product key I want to get a refund of is used. Asus would probably cancel my refund request...
I don't think it would matter. If they ask, you can explain what you did to change the key.
I will try to ask them before, just in case.
But just to know, is there any way to bypass the OEM key in BIOS ?
Using the ei.cfg and PID.txt files to bypass it was the only way I knew.
ASUS won't be able to do anything about the Windows 10 Home because the product key for Windows 10 Home is permanently stored in the UEFI firmware and they can't delete it without replacing the motherboard.
To bypass the product key in UEFI firmware and install Windows 10 Pro during a clean install:
Deletethe ei.cfg file that you inserted into the sources folder of the Windows 10 installation media.
pid.txt file should be added to the sources folder of the Windows 10 installation media. The pid.txt file should contain:
[PID]
Value=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
The value is your Windows 10 Pro product key.
While you can google and find a few claims of people getting refunds for the pre-installed version of Windows, it's a very rare circumstance and the exception rather than the rule. Almost certainly, these were cases of people making themselves so annoying that they finally gave them a refund to shut them up. Unless you plan on spending hundreds of man hours calling, writing, and other annoying tactics, chances are you won't get a refund.
The fact is, you need only enter your Windows 10 Pro product key in the change product key section, It will automatically upgrade you.
I will try again the PID method, I will let you know if it still works, thank you all for the quick answer !
@Mystere : Asus can offer a compensation for the licence very easily. I already started the procedure
EDIT : The PID method still works as intended, I was wrong. Thank you !
