Which Windows 11 Edition Does the Media Creation Tool Install? (How to Choose)

Windows 11 installation media from Microsoft, whether made with the Media Creation Tool or from the ISO, contains several editions at once: Home, Pro, Education and others. Setup usually chooses the edition for you. It installs the same edition as any Windows it finds on the drive, or the edition matching the product key stored in your PC's firmware. A laptop that shipped with Home therefore reinstalls Home, and activates automatically. To choose an edition yourself, select I don't have a product key during setup on a PC without a firmware key, or add a small ei.cfg file to the USB drive's sources folder to force the edition list to appear. Install the edition you have a license for; installing Pro on a Home-licensed PC leaves Windows unactivated.

Ethan's sister bought a refurbished desktop with a Windows 11 Pro sticker on the box, but it arrived with Home installed. Wanting a fresh start, she made a USB drive with the Media Creation Tool and reinstalled. It came back as Home again, with no edition choice offered anywhere. She called Ethan, who called Jake. Jake explained what was happening in one sentence: the PC's firmware held a Home key from its original manufacturer, and Windows setup always obeys it. The refurbisher's Pro license was a separate key on a printed card in the box. Five minutes later, with that key entered in Settings, the PC was running activated Pro. This page explains how setup decides, how to choose, and how to fix the wrong edition without reinstalling at all.

Everything below applies to the official media from Microsoft. Media made by PC manufacturers for recovery contain only the edition that PC shipped with.

What is on Windows installation media

Microsoft offers Windows 11 in two download forms: the Media Creation Tool, which downloads Windows and writes it to a USB drive of 8 GB or more, and the ISO disk image, which you can mount, burn or write to USB with another tool. Both contain the same thing: a single Windows image file holding several editions side by side, sharing most of their files.

Because one download covers every consumer edition, Microsoft does not offer separate Home and Pro downloads. The edition you end up with depends on what setup finds on your PC and on any key you enter, not on which file you downloaded.

See exactly which editions your media contains

To confirm what is on a USB drive or mounted ISO, open Command Prompt as administrator and run dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:E:\sources\install.esd, replacing E: with the drive letter. Media made by the Media Creation Tool uses install.esd; some ISOs use install.wim, so adjust the file name. The output lists every edition with an index number, name and size. It is a quick way to check that a download contains the edition you need before you start, especially for N editions or media from a business portal.

Technicians use the index numbers with deployment tools to apply a specific edition directly, but for an ordinary install, the edition list during setup or a product key does the same job.

Arm-based PCs need Arm media

PCs with Snapdragon and other Arm processors need Windows 11 for Arm, which uses separate installation media from Intel and AMD PCs. The editions inside are the same, Home, Pro and so on, and the same rules about firmware keys apply. Most Arm laptops are best reinstalled from Reset this PC or the manufacturer's recovery, because those include the drivers that Arm devices depend on. If you use generic Arm media, have the manufacturer's driver package ready before you start.

Reinstalling Arm laptops with the wrong media is a common mistake: Intel and AMD media will not boot on an Arm PC at all, so if a USB drive is not recognized, check that it was made for Arm.

How setup decides which edition to install

Windows setup follows a fixed order of rules. Knowing them explains nearly every "it installed the wrong edition" complaint.

1. An answer file or configuration on the media, such as an unattended setup file, ei.cfg or PID.txt, is followed first.
2. An existing Windows installation on the drive: if setup finds Windows already installed, it selects the same edition.
3. A product key in the firmware: most PCs sold with Windows since 2012 store a key in the firmware (the ACPI MSDM table). Setup reads it and installs that edition without asking.
4. A key you type: if none of the above apply, setup asks for a product key and installs the matching edition.
5. No key: if you choose I don't have a product key, setup shows a list of editions and lets you pick.

The firmware rule is the one that surprises people. It is meant to be helpful: reinstalling Windows on a laptop that came with Home should give you Home, activated, without hunting for a key. But it also means you never see the edition list on most branded PCs.

If you remember only one thing from this list, make it the order: existing Windows first, firmware key second, your choice last. Most surprises come from forgetting that the first two exist.

Why setup was designed this way

Before 2012, every Windows PC had a product key on a sticker, and reinstalling meant typing a 25-character code that had often worn off. Storing the key in firmware and letting setup pick the edition automatically removed that step for millions of people, and digital licenses later did the same for upgrades. The cost is that setup quietly makes a decision that used to be visible. For the typical owner reinstalling their own laptop, that is exactly the right decision; it only becomes confusing when a PC carries a second license, as refurbished and upgraded PCs often do.

Check which edition your firmware key is for

To see what edition the key in your PC's firmware belongs to, open PowerShell as administrator and run:

(Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService).OA3xOriginalProductKeyDescription

The result names the edition, for example a description containing "Core" for Home or "Professional" for Pro. If it returns nothing, the PC has no firmware key, which is common on self-built PCs and some refurbished machines. In that case setup will ask for a key or let you choose.

Microsoft uses internal names that differ from the marketing ones. "Core" means Home, "CoreSingleLanguage" means Home Single Language, "Professional" means Pro, and "ProfessionalWorkstation" means Pro for Workstations. Knowing these helps when reading activation messages or command output.

You will also meet these names in the output of DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition, run in Command Prompt as administrator, which reports the installed edition's internal name, and DISM /Online /Get-TargetEditions, which lists the editions this installation can be upgraded to with a key.

Write the result down along with any separate key you hold before you reinstall; it takes ten seconds and removes all guesswork about which edition setup will choose.

How to choose an edition during setup

If your PC has no firmware key and no existing Windows on the drive, choosing is simple:

1. Boot from the USB drive and start setup.
2. On the product key screen, select I don't have a product key.
3. Pick the edition from the list, such as Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro.
4. Continue setup as normal.
5. After setup, activate with a key for that edition in Settings > System > Activation, or let a digital license activate it automatically.

Choose the edition you have a license for. If you are reinstalling a PC that was previously activated with a digital license, choose the same edition it had, and it activates on its own once online.

The setup screens, in order

Windows 11 setup from current media walks through a short series of screens. First you choose the language, time and currency format, and keyboard. Next comes a choice between installing Windows and repairing your PC, along with the link to the previous version of setup. Setup then asks for a product key, unless the firmware supplies one, and offers I don't have a product key. If no key is given, the edition list appears. After the license terms, you choose where to install, which is the drive screen described below. Setup then copies files and restarts a few times before the out-of-box setup asks for your region, network and account.

The edition decision happens only in the product key and edition screens. If they are skipped, setup has already chosen for you from the firmware or existing Windows.

No license yet? Which edition to pick

If you are building a PC or installing without a license and plan to buy one, pick the edition you will buy. For most people that is Home; Pro is worth it only for features such as Remote Desktop hosting, BitLocker controls, Hyper-V or joining a work domain. Our guide to Windows 11 editions compares them in detail. If you are unsure, Home is the safer choice: upgrading to Pro later takes minutes without reinstalling, while going back from Pro to Home means starting over.

The drive screen and why it affects the edition

During a clean install, setup shows the drives and partitions on the PC. If you choose to install into a partition that already contains Windows, setup moves the old installation into a Windows.old folder and follows the existing-Windows rule, installing the same edition. If you delete the partitions on the system drive first and install into the empty space, setup creates fresh partitions and no existing Windows is found, so only the firmware key or your choice decides the edition.

Deleting partitions erases everything on them, so only do it after backing up. Leave other drives and data partitions untouched; select only the partitions on the drive Windows was on, usually Drive 0.

Force the edition list with ei.cfg

On a PC with a firmware key, setup skips the edition list. To make it appear, add an ei.cfg file to the installation USB drive:

1. Open the USB drive in File Explorer and open its sources folder.
2. Open Notepad and type three lines: [Channel], then Retail, then a blank line.
3. Save it into the sources folder as ei.cfg, choosing All files as the file type so Notepad does not add .txt.
4. Boot from the USB drive. Setup now ignores the firmware key's edition and asks which edition to install.

The file can also name a specific edition with an [EditionID] section, but leaving it out is what makes setup show the full list. Some versions of setup handle ei.cfg differently; if the list still does not appear on Windows 11 24H2 or later media, select Previous version of Setup on setup's first screens, which follows the classic rules, or delete the existing partitions so setup finds no Windows to copy.

A related file, PID.txt, in the same folder can hold a product key, so setup installs that key's edition automatically. It is useful for technicians setting up several PCs with the same retail key, but it stores the key in plain text, so delete it afterwards.

One USB drive for many PCs

If you keep one installation USB drive for the whole family or a small office, remember that ei.cfg changes setup's behavior on every PC you use the drive on. With it present, setup asks for the edition every time, and someone may pick Pro on a Home-licensed laptop and end up unactivated. Either remove ei.cfg after the install you needed it for, or keep two clearly labeled drives: a standard one that lets each PC reinstall its own licensed edition automatically, and one with ei.cfg for the rare cases where you must choose.

The standard drive is the right choice nine times out of ten, because the firmware key nearly always matches the license the PC owner has.

Wrong edition installed? Fix it without reinstalling

If setup installed Home and you have a Pro license, there is no need to reinstall. Open Settings > System > Activation, select Change product key, and enter your Pro key. Windows upgrades itself to Pro in place, keeping files and apps, and activates. That is exactly what Jake did for Ethan's sister.

If you bought the Pro upgrade from the Microsoft Store before reinstalling, sign in with the same Microsoft account; the digital license for Pro is tied to the PC's hardware and reactivates. If Windows still shows Home, use the activation troubleshooter on the same page and choose I changed hardware on this device recently, even if you did not, to see the licenses linked to your account. Our guide to linking your license to a Microsoft account covers this.

Going the other way, from Pro to Home, does need a reinstall: there is no in-place downgrade. Use ei.cfg or a PC with no firmware key, choose Home, and activate with the Home license.

Refurbished PCs and two licenses

Ethan's sister's situation is common with refurbished PCs. The original manufacturer sold the PC with a Home license in its firmware. A refurbisher then upgraded it to Pro with a separate license, often supplied on a printed card or a certificate sticker, and installed Pro. When she wiped the drive, setup found the firmware's Home key and installed Home. Both licenses were valid; setup simply had no way of knowing about the second one.

1. Find the refurbisher's key, on a card, sticker or the invoice.
2. Let setup install whatever it chooses, usually Home.
3. Open Settings > System > Activation > Change product key.
4. Enter the Pro key; Windows switches to Pro and activates.
5. Link the license to your Microsoft account so the next reinstall picks up Pro automatically.

If the refurbisher did not give you a key and the PC came with Pro installed, ask them for it before wiping the drive; without it, the reinstall will come back as the firmware edition.

Generic keys: choosing an edition by key

Microsoft publishes generic installation keys that tell setup which edition to install without activating it. During setup, typing the generic key for Pro, VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T, installs Pro; the generic key for Home, YTMG3-N6DKC-DKB77-7M9GH-8HVX7, installs Home. Windows then runs unactivated until a real license applies, either a digital license already tied to the PC or a key you enter afterwards.

Generic keys are a legitimate tool for selecting an edition, especially on PCs that already hold a digital license for that edition from a previous installation. They are not a way to get Windows for free: an installation using only a generic key never activates on its own.

Upgrading from Windows 10: your edition carries over

When you upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 in place, through Windows Update, the Installation Assistant or by running setup from the media inside Windows, your edition stays the same: Home becomes Home, Pro becomes Pro, Education becomes Education. Setup does not offer a choice in this case, because it is keeping your apps, files and license.

If you want a different edition as part of the move, upgrade first, check it activated, then change the edition from Settings with a key or the Store upgrade. Our guide to upgrading Windows 10 to Windows 11 covers the upgrade itself.

Running setup from inside Windows: what you can keep

If you run setup.exe from the installation media while Windows is running, setup offers three choices: Keep personal files and apps, Keep personal files only, or Nothing. Keeping apps is only possible when the media matches your installed Windows in edition, language and architecture. If you have Home in English and run media in another language, or try to move from Pro to Home this way, setup offers only the options that do not keep apps.

This in-place reinstall is also a powerful repair: it replaces every Windows system file while keeping your files and apps, fixing many problems that Reset this PC and System File Checker cannot. Because it keeps the same edition, it never changes your license.

Will it activate? Edition and license must match

Activation succeeds only when the installed edition matches a license for that PC. Common situations:

• Same edition as before, same PC: activates automatically with the digital license once online.
• Same edition, firmware key: activates automatically.
• Pro installed on a Home-licensed PC: not activated. Enter a Pro key or buy the upgrade, or reinstall Home.
• Home installed on a Pro-licensed PC: enter the Pro key or let the digital license apply; Windows switches to Pro.
• New motherboard: may need the activation troubleshooter and a linked Microsoft account.
• N edition installed with a regular license: licenses are edition-specific, including N; install the matching version.

If activation fails with an error code, our list of activation error codes and fixes explains each one. The most common, 0xC004F034 and similar, usually mean the key and edition do not match.

For businesses, activation of reinstalled PCs follows the organization's licensing: volume keys, subscription activation or digital licenses from the manufacturer, depending on how the PC was bought.

Running Windows unactivated

If you install an edition without a matching license, Windows still installs and runs, but it shows a watermark asking you to activate, and personalization settings such as wallpaper, colors and themes are locked. You still receive security updates. Running unactivated is not a long-term arrangement under Microsoft's license terms; it is a grace state while you sort out a key.

The fix is always the same: enter a valid key for the installed edition, buy the edition from Settings > System > Activation, or reinstall the edition you do have a license for. Many people end up unactivated after choosing Pro during setup on a Home-licensed laptop; switching to the right edition is usually quicker than buying Pro if you do not need its features.

Home Single Language and regional editions

Some PCs, often sold in price-sensitive markets, come with Windows 11 Home Single Language. It is Home locked to one display language: you cannot add another display language in Settings. Its firmware key installs that edition automatically from the standard media.

If you need more languages, the Store may offer an upgrade to full Home or to Pro on those PCs; once upgraded, the language restriction disappears. Installing regular Home instead with ei.cfg leaves Windows unactivated, because the license is for Single Language. N editions, sold in Europe without built-in media apps, follow the same rule: install the edition named on your license.

Self-built PCs and virtual machines

Self-built PCs have no firmware key, so setup always offers the edition list or accepts whatever key you enter. Buy a retail key for the edition you want, choose that edition during setup, and enter the key during or after installation. A retail license can later move to a new build when you retire the old one.

Virtual machines also have no firmware key unless the host passes one through, which most do not. Choose the edition in setup and activate with a separate license for each virtual machine; your PC's own license does not cover Windows running inside a virtual machine on it. For short-lived test machines, Windows Sandbox or Microsoft's evaluation downloads for developers are better options than installing an unlicensed copy.

Two copies of Windows on one PC

Some people install a second copy of Windows on another partition or drive, for testing or to separate work and play. Each installation is a separate copy under Microsoft's license terms and should have its own license, although a digital license may activate both on the same hardware in practice. Setup's rules apply to each install separately: with a firmware key, both copies default to the firmware edition unless you use ei.cfg or a key. For testing, Windows Sandbox or a virtual machine is usually simpler and safer than dual booting.

When dual booting, give each installation a clear name in the boot menu with bcdedit or System Configuration, so you always know which edition you are starting.

Moving to a new drive: install or clone?

When replacing a drive, you can clone the old drive to the new one with the drive maker's tool, which keeps everything including the edition and activation, or do a clean install on the new drive. A clone is faster and changes nothing about Windows. A clean install gives a fresh start; setup reads the firmware key or your digital license and installs and activates the same edition, as long as the motherboard is the same. Only a motherboard change affects activation, not a new drive.

For a clean install on a new drive, remove or disconnect the old drive during setup if you can, so setup does not find the old Windows and so you cannot select the wrong disk by mistake.

Manufacturer recovery images

Many PC makers offer their own recovery media or a recovery partition. These restore the PC to its factory state with the edition it shipped with, including the maker's drivers and preinstalled apps. They never offer an edition choice. If the PC originally came with S mode, a factory restore may bring S mode back. Use the maker's recovery when you want the PC exactly as bought, and Microsoft's media when you want a clean Windows without extras, or a different edition.

Recovery partitions are often deleted during clean installs to save space; if you think you may want the factory image later, make a recovery USB drive with the maker's tool first.

Reset this PC vs installation media

For most people, the easiest reinstall is Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC. It always keeps your current edition, avoids USB drives entirely, and can download a fresh copy of Windows with Cloud download. Our comparison of cloud download and local reinstall explains which to choose.

Installation media is the better choice when Windows will not start, when you want to repartition or replace a drive, when you want a completely clean install without any manufacturer apps, or when you deliberately want a different edition. Our guide to reinstalling Windows walks through all three methods.

A simple rule of thumb: if Windows starts and you only want a fresh copy of the same edition, use Reset this PC. If Windows does not start, or you need to change the drive, the partitions or the edition, use installation media. Either way, your license comes back with you as long as the edition matches.

Make the installation USB drive

1. Get a USB drive of 8 GB or more; everything on it will be erased.
2. Download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's Windows 11 download page.
3. Run it, accept the license terms, and choose the language and edition; the edition here is simply "Windows 11", which contains all consumer editions.
4. Choose USB flash drive, select your drive, and let it download and write Windows.
5. If you need ei.cfg, add it to the sources folder when the tool finishes.
6. Boot the target PC from the USB drive using its boot menu key, often F12, F11, Esc or F8.

The download is around 5 to 7 GB and takes a while on slower connections. Keep the drive afterwards; it is also a recovery tool if Windows ever fails to start.

When downloading the ISO directly, Microsoft's download page shows SHA-256 hash values for each language. Running Get-FileHash in PowerShell on the downloaded file and comparing the result confirms the download is complete and genuine, which is worth doing on slow or unreliable connections.

Language choice on the media

The Media Creation Tool and ISO download both ask for a language. The language you pick becomes the installed display language, and it matters more than people expect: an in-place upgrade or repair that keeps apps needs media in the same language as the installed Windows. On PCs with Home Single Language, install media in the language that edition shipped with. English comes in two versions, English (United States) and English International; the second uses British spelling in menus and different default regional settings, so pick the one matching your current setup.

You can add display languages later on every edition except Home Single Language, so the media language is not a permanent choice for most people.

Switching between N and regular editions

An N edition license, sold in Europe, activates only N editions, and a regular license only regular editions. If a PC has Home N and you want regular Home, you need a regular Home license and a clean install; changing the key alone does not cross between them. In practice, adding the free Media Feature Pack to an N edition gives the same media features, so there is rarely a reason to switch.

Check the edition line in Settings before buying any key: "Windows 11 Home N" needs an N key, and a regular key will be rejected with an error that the key does not match.

Before reinstalling: BitLocker and backups

Many Windows 11 PCs have device encryption or BitLocker turned on automatically. A clean install erases the drive, so the encryption itself is not a problem, but you must back up your files first, because they cannot be recovered from an encrypted drive once it is wiped. If you plan to keep a second partition or drive, make sure you have its recovery key; our guide to finding your BitLocker recovery key shows where it is stored.

Also note the edition and activation state in Settings > System > About and Activation before starting, so you know what to expect afterwards.

PC will not boot from the USB drive?

• Use the boot menu rather than changing the boot order permanently; the key is usually F12, F11, F10, Esc or F8 right after power-on.
• Look for the UEFI entry: a USB drive may appear twice; choose the one marked UEFI.
• Keep Secure Boot on: official Microsoft media boots with Secure Boot enabled, and Windows 11 expects it.
• Try another USB port, preferably one directly on the PC rather than a hub.
• Remake the drive if it was created with a third-party tool in an older mode.
• Fast Startup can skip the boot menu on some PCs; restart rather than shut down, or hold Shift while choosing Restart and pick Use a device.

Checklist before a clean install

1. Note your current edition and activation state in Settings.
2. Check the firmware key's edition with the PowerShell command above.
3. Find any separate product key, such as a printed card from a refurbisher.
4. Make sure your license is linked to your Microsoft account.
5. Back up all personal files to OneDrive or an external drive.
6. Save browser bookmarks and note installed apps.
7. Download the PC maker's drivers for network and storage, in case Windows does not include them.
8. Create the USB drive, and add ei.cfg only if you need a different edition.

With these done, the edition question is settled before you start, and the install itself becomes routine.

What changed since 2016

When this page was first written in 2016, the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool had just simplified its choices. Early versions asked you to pick Home or Pro when creating the media; from version 1511 onwards, the choice became a single "Windows 10" option, and setup chose the edition from your key. People who picked the wrong option in the older tool sometimes installed an edition their key could not activate, which is what the original page explained.

Windows 11 kept the single-download approach and added more editions to it. The rules setup follows have barely changed in ten years, which is why the ei.cfg trick from the Windows 8 era still works today.

What about Windows 10 media?

Windows 10 installation media follows the same rules: existing Windows, firmware key, then your choice, with ei.cfg working the same way. Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, and only PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates still receive security fixes. If you are reinstalling an older PC, check whether it can run Windows 11 first; installing Windows 10 fresh today only makes sense for PCs that cannot, and only with ESU or a plan to replace the PC.

The Windows 10 media was also the source of this page's original question, so the rules here have now held for three generations of Windows setup.

For IT: choosing editions at scale

Organizations rarely choose editions during setup. They install Pro from standard or volume media and step it up to Enterprise through subscription activation when a licensed user signs in, or deploy Enterprise images with configuration tools. Windows Autopilot can take a PC straight from the manufacturer's Pro installation to a managed state without reinstalling at all. For bulk installs, unattended answer files specify the edition and key, replacing ei.cfg and PID.txt.

When an IT team hands a PC to an employee to keep, they usually reset it, and the firmware key brings back the edition it shipped with, often Pro. Any Enterprise features vanish because the subscription that stepped it up no longer applies, which is expected rather than a fault.

Common problems and fixes

• No edition choice shown: the PC has a firmware key or existing Windows. Use ei.cfg or delete existing partitions.
• ei.cfg ignored: check the file name is ei.cfg, not ei.cfg.txt, and that it is in the sources folder. On newer setup, use Previous version of Setup.
• "The product key entered does not match any of the Windows images available": the key is for an edition not on the media, such as Enterprise. Use the right media.
• Not activated after reinstall: wrong edition, or no internet yet. Connect and check Activation.
• Installed Home on a Pro PC: change the product key in Settings.
• Setup says the PC cannot run Windows 11: a requirement check failed; see our guide to the Windows 11 requirement checks.

First checks after installing

1. Open Settings > System > About and confirm the edition is the one you wanted.
2. Open Activation and confirm it says Active; connect to the internet if it does not yet.
3. Run Windows Update until no more updates are offered, including optional driver updates.
4. Install the PC maker's support app or drivers for anything still missing in Device Manager.
5. If device encryption or BitLocker turned on, make sure the recovery key is saved to your Microsoft account.
6. Restore your files from backup and reinstall your apps.

Doing these in order catches edition and activation problems before you spend an hour reinstalling apps on the wrong edition.

Myths about installation media and editions

• "I downloaded the Home version." There is no Home-only download; the media holds all consumer editions.
• "Choosing Pro in setup gives me Pro." It installs Pro, but it will not activate without a Pro license.
• "A clean install removes my license." Digital licenses and firmware keys survive reinstalls.
• "I need my product key to reinstall." On most PCs, setup reads it from the firmware or uses the digital license.
• "ei.cfg is a hack." It is a documented setup configuration file.

Most edition mix-ups trace back to one of these beliefs, so it is worth sharing this list with anyone about to reinstall a family PC.

Windows installation editions: frequently asked questions

Ethan's sister's desktop has been running activated Pro ever since, and the printed Pro key now lives in her password manager rather than in a drawer. What looked like a broken installer was setup doing exactly what it was designed to do. Once you know the order it follows, existing Windows, then firmware key, then your choice, the edition it installs stops being a surprise.

Revision note. Written October 2, 2026, rewriting our 2016 Media Creation Tool edition note into a complete guide to how Windows setup chooses an edition and how to choose your own. May every reinstall come back exactly as you expected.