Windows 10 Professional for (Almost) Free W 734/1 Add the ......Windows 8.1 Business. Instead of...

Add the Expert Features of Windows 10 Professional toYour Home System for Virtually Nothing

When you buy a computer today, it usually comes with the operating systempre-installed. Unfortunately, it is usually the cheapest version of Windows –Windows 10 Home. If you want the more advanced Windows 10 Professional,you’ll need to pay upwards of £100 more, and if you want the Enterprise versioninstalled you’ll need to spend up to £150 more.

Thankfully there is another option: follow the steps in this article to add themissing Windows 10 Professional features to your Windows 10 Home system, ata fraction of the price charged by Microsoft.

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Using the information given in this article you will be able to:

� Add features found in Windows 10 Professional to your Windows 10Home system,

� Upgrade to Windows 10 for free using an old licence key,

� Save a lot of money by upgrading your Windows system yourself with free tools.

The Windows Advisor March 2018

• Differences Between the Windows 10 Versions............

• 3 Steps from Windows 10 Home to Professional.........

• Option 1: Windows 10 Professional the Microsoft Way..................................................................

• Option 2: Legally Upgrade to Windows 10 Professional for Cheaper.................................................

• Use these Free Tools to Turn Your Home Version into a Professional One...................................................

• Encrypt Data on Your Hard Drive Using VeraCrypt.......

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Differences Between the Windows 10 VersionsBill Gates is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and nodoubt plans on staying one of them for quite some time tocome. The hefty price tag of the Professional versions ofWindows indicates how he plans to do this. Whereas theHome version comes supplied on new PCs, you can usuallyonly get the full Professional version by paying for anexpensive upgrade.

There are many differences between Windows 10 Home andWindows 10 Professional, especially related to theManagement and Security features. As a home user, you canstill benefit from many of these features, such as BitLockerdata encryption or the Remote Desktop feature to log intoyour PC over the Internet.

The following table lists the most important and criticaldifferences between the Windows Home and the WindowsProfessional versions:

The Professionalversion isexpensive

Windows 10Professional extra features

A summary of themost importantdifferences

Feature Home Pro Description

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Your data is encrypted. You canonly decrypt the data if you havethe right encryption key.

Your computer can access acompany network. Not importantfor private users.

Allows you to configure variousWindows settings using theGroup Policy Editor.

Deviceencryption

Access domains

Group Policies

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The Windows Advisor March 2018 57

Windows 10 Professional for (Almost) Free

Feature Home Pro Description

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Protects the data on your harddrive using encryption. You canonly access the data if you enteryour login PIN or set up a USBflash drive that includes a key.

Allows you to run older Webapplications without problems.EMIE can do more thanCompatibility Mode in InternetExplorer, because it also allowsyou to access older ActiveXobjects, for example.

Allows a user to only access asingle App from the WindowsStore after login. This limitedaccess prevents access to otherApps and data on the system.

Manage your PC remotely as ifyou were actually in front of it.

Allows you to install anotheroperating system inside a virtualmachine that runs on yourdesktop.

Allows mobile users access totheir company network using anencrypted connection withoutusing a VPN. This isn’t of generaluse to home users.

BitLockerencryption

Enterprise Mode InternetExplorer (EMIE)

Kiosk Mode

Remote Desktop(remote access)

Client Hyper V(virtualisation)

DirectAccess

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Expensive,cheap, free


3 Steps from Windows 10 Home to ProfessionalI have tried and tested three possible ways that you can useto install Windows 10 Professional onto your computer. Anew installation is not necessary and all your data andprograms are copied over. I have called the three optionsexpensive, cheap and free. The following diagram shows thethree options in detail:

Three ways to get Windows 10 Pro features: use the officialor unofficial route, or simply add the missing features

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The mostexpensiveoption is theeasiest

Buy a newlicence


Option 1: Windows 10 Professional the Microsoft WayIf it were left up to Microsoft, you’d have to pay a lot ofmoney to upgrade your Windows 10 Home system toWindows 10 Professional. They make the process easy for you,directly from your Windows 10 system. Here’s how to do it:

Upgrade to Windows 10 Professional using the Windows Store

1. In Windows 10 Home, click on Start then open yourSettings.

2. Click on Update & security.

3. Click on Activation in the left-hand menu.

4. Click on Go to store in the right-hand window.

5. In the store, click on Start upgrade, Buy or the priceof the upgrade.

6. Next, you are prompted to log into your Microsoftaccount and enter your payment details.

:

Click to start theupgrade

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7. Once you’ve paid, you’ll receive a new licence foryour upgraded version of Windows.

8. Switch back to the Activation screen (see step 3) andclick on Change product key to enter your newlicence.

Option 2: Legally Upgrade to Windows 10Professional for CheaperThere’s a completely legal way you can get hold of Windows10 Professional for a lot less money than the officialMicrosoft upgrade. All you need is:

• A new Windows 10 licence key, or • An older licence key for Windows 7 Professional or

Windows 8.1 Business.

Instead of using the expensive Microsoft upgrade path, youcan find many online retailers that offer Windows 10Professional licences cheaper. These are usually OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) versions of Windows 10.Large companies such as HP or Dell buy Windows licencesin bulk at a discount. You can then buy the licences theydon’t use from third party companies on the open market –which is absolutely legal according to European law.

Online traders will sell on legitimate Windows 10 Professionallicences for as little as £20 (see screenshot on next page).

Option 3: There’s No Cheaper Way ofGetting Windows 10 Professional You can upgrade even cheaper if you already have aWindows 7 Professional licence. If you have Windows 7

Cheaper option

Use anupgradedlicence

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Professional you can upgrade to Windows 10 Professional,providing your Windows 7 licence has already beenactivated for the upgrade.

The trick to using a Windows 7 licence only works if youhave Windows 10 Home from version 1511. You can checkwhich version of Windows 10 you have by pressing

+ , typing winver and clicking on OK. R

Check that you have version 1511 or higher in orderto carry out this procedure

Use Google to find the cheapest Windows 10licence

You’ll findWindows 10Professionallicences cheaplyavailable online

Check the versionnumber

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How to Install Windows 10 Professionalwith a Windows 7 Licence KeyIf you have a Windows 7 Professional licence key that hasbeen activated for the Windows 10 upgrade, you can use itas follows:

This is a so-called generic licence key. These are freelyavailable from Microsoft. When you type in the new key, allof the necessary changes will be made to the system but nonew Windows 10 version will be downloaded and installed.

Windows 7Professionallicence key

Enter a genericlicence key

1. On Windows 10 Home, click on Start and open theSettings.

2. Click onto Update & security.

3. Click on Activation on the left-hand side.

4. In the right-hand window, click on Change productkey.

5. Type in the following licence key: VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T.

6. Re-boot Windows 10.

7. Since Windows 10 is still not activated, open theActivation window again and click onto Changeproduct key.

8. Now type in your old Windows 7 Professional keyand activate Windows 10 with a click on ActivateWindows now.

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Use these Free Tools to Turn Your HomeVersion into a Professional OneMany of the Windows 10 Professional features listed in thetable on W734/2 are free, allowing you to build your ownversion of Windows 10 Professional. The benefit is that youcan simply add the features that you need, without havingto pay for features that you don’t need.

The following table lists the features that you can add toyour Windows 10 Home system for free:

Encrypt Data on Your Hard Drive UsingVeraCryptInstead of using Microsoft’s BitLocker, you can encrypt yourdata using the free VeraCrypt tool. Important data shouldn’tfall into the wrong hands, which is why you should encrypt

Windows 10Professional isready to use

Windows 10 Profeatures withadditionalprograms

Use VeraCryptinstead ofBitLocker

Once you have completed the activation process, yourWindows 10 Professional system will be ready to use. Pressthe + key combination. You should now see theWindows edition field telling you that you have Windows10 Pro.

Pause

Feature Tool Description

Encrypts the data on your hard drive orUSB flash drive.

Allows you to remotely connect to acomputer over the Internet.

Allows you to run other operating systemswithin virtual machines, on your Windows10 Home desktop.

Encryption

Remotemaintenance

Virtualmachine

VeraCrypt

TeamViewer

VirtualBox

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it. If you encrypt the data on your USB stick, for example,if you lose the stick no one will be able to read your data.

Download VeraCrypt from the Downloads area of theWindows Advisor website, www.windowsadvisor.co.uk.Once downloaded click on the setup tool and follow theinstallation instruction. You can then create an encrypteddrive as follows:

1. Click the Create Volume button. Ensure the Createan encrypted file container option is selected andclick Next. Keep the Standard VeraCrypt volumeoption selected and click Next.

2. On the Volume Location screen, click the Select Filebutton and navigate to your USB memory stick.Type a name for the file and click Save > Next >Next > Next.

3. Type in a strong password in both text boxes. Thisis one that contains a mix of upper and lowercaseletters, special characters (!, $, ^, etc.) and numbers.Click Next to proceed. Click Format > OK > Next >Cancel. As soon as you connect the drive to a PC,you will be asked for the password in order to gainaccess to the data.

Remotely Maintain Your PC Just LikeWindows 10 Professional Windows 10 Professional gives you lots of options toremotely control your PC over the Internet.

To add the same functionality to your Windows 10 Homesystem, you need to use the TeamViewer tool.

:

Free:TeamViewer

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Download the test version of TeamViewer from the websitehttps://www.teamviewer.com. After installation you canlaunch TeamViewer from the Start menu.

In order to be able to connect to another system,TeamViewer has to be running on both PCs. In the sectionheaded Allow Remove Control, you will see the user ID andpassword that someone else needs to able to connect to yoursystem. In the Control Remote Computer section you canenter the user ID of a person that you want to connect to.

To make a connection between PCs, on the Control RemoteComputer panel, enter the ID of the PC that you want toconnect to (the host PC) and you will be prompted to enterthe password supplied to you by the host PC user. Enter thisand click on Connect to partner in order to establish aconnection to the guest machine.

When you launch TeamViewer you can choosebetween allowing someone to control your computer,or controlling someone else’s

Type in thepartner ID andpassword

Download andinstall

Configureaccess

You need to supplyyour contacts withthese details sothey can connect

Enter the details ofa contact here toconnect to their PC

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How to Copy, Delete or Move Data Usingthe Data Transfer ManagerWhen you are working on a remote maintenance session,you sometimes have to exchange files between systems,when you’ve downloaded a new update for a system, forinstance. TeamViewer makes it simple to drag & drop databetween PCs. Drag the file or folder you want to transfer intothe TeamViewer window on the guest PC. The user of thehost PC has to confirm the transfer.

You can transfer larger amounts of data using the FileManager, which you launch with Files & Extras > Open filetransfer:

Create theconnection

Drag & drop files

The FileManager

For security reasons the host PC has to agree to the session.The details of the connection are shown in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

TeamViewerallows you toauthenticate toa remote PCusing thepartner ID andthe passwordsupplied

The File Manager shows the host and guest PCs in separatesections of the window

File managementtools are shownalong the top

Navigatedirectories as youwould in Explorer

…then thepassword

Enter the PartnerID and…

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Install VirtualBox as a Replacement for Hyper-VHyper-V allows you to create virtual machines on yourWindows 10 Professional system, so that you can installextra ‘guest’ operating systems that run independently onyour main operating system. This is great for testing out newsoftware, for example.

If you have Windows 10 Home, I recommend using the freeVirtualBox to set up virtual PCs. I myself use VirtualBox totest new operating systems before installing them.

Download the current version of VirtualBox fromwww.virtualbox.org. Click on the large Download VirtualBoxbutton and select the first download VirtualBox 5.2.2 forWindows hosts.

Save the file to a folder of your choice. You should alsodownload the extensions pack in the same way.

You can now install the software on your system. VirtualBoxworks on all recent Windows versions. To install thesoftware, proceed as follows:

VirtualBox

Download and install

Simpleinstallation

Set up anetwork

1. Press + to open Windows Explorer, thennavigate to the folder where you saved theinstallation files.

2. Double-click on the VirtualBox setup file that youdownloaded (e.g. VirtualBox-5.1.6-xxxx-Win.exe)to begin the installation.

3. Click onto Next and confirm the installation of thenetwork interfaces with Yes. Your virtual PC will beable to access your local area network and theInternet as if it were a real PC.

4. Next, click on Install.

E :

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Once you have installed VirtualBox, you need to install theExtension Pack:

The official upgrade route from Windows 10 Home toWindows 10 Professional is very expensive. There are waysyou can legally get hold of Windows 10 Professional formuch less. If you only need to access certain Windows 10Professional features, simply add them to your Windows 10Home system using free tools.

Install drivers

Install theExtension Pack

Installationcomplete

Summary

5.

6.

During the installation process, VirtualBox checksyour existing hardware. If you want VirtualBox tobe able to access the complete range of hardwaredevices on your PC, you need to install specialdrivers. When the installation routine prompts youto install these drivers, confirm the process withInstall. If you don't want your virtual machine tobe able to access your hardware devices, you canclick Don’t install.

Finally, click on Finish and VirtualBox will beinstalled.

1. Open the folder that you saved the Extension Packto using Windows Explorer.

2. Double-click on the Extension Pack setup programthat you downloaded (e.g. Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.3.16-95972.vbox-extpack) tobegin the installation.

3. Confirm the request with a click on Install.

4. In the window showing the licence terms, scrolldown to the bottom and click on Accept. Theinstallation process will now complete automatically.

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