The Korea Fair Trade Commission found Microsoft to be abusing its monopoly position.
In 2005, again Microsoft found itself on the wrong side of the law. Users can still access the other standard versions of Windows. The Windows N version is just an option that must be available in the EU as required by the law. However, Windows N is not the only Windows version that Microsoft offers in the European Union. Similarly, on Windows 10, Microsoft doesn’t include Windows Media Player, Movies & TV, Groove Music, Skype, or Voice Recorder.Ĭomputer manufacturers and consumers can choose the Windows N version without Windows Media Player and then install their preferred multimedia applications. This special edition Windows includes all features of Windows Operating System, except they don’t include Windows Media Player and other multimedia playback features preinstalled.įor example, Windows 7 will lack Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center. This ruling is why Microsoft distributes a special Windows 10 “N” edition for Microsoft Windows in Europe. The EU thereafter fined Microsoft then required Microsoft to offer a Windows version without Windows Media Player. In 2004 there was a ruling for anti-competitive practices by the European Commission after they found out that Microsoft had massively violated European antitrust law, and was abusing its market monopoly to hurt competing audio and video applications. Here are the different features of Windows 10 N and KN editions:
Your system will be “not activated” after the upgrade is finished and you’ll need to provide the right product key.In this article, you’ll learn what are the Windows 10 N and KN Editions, why they’re named like that, and if you need them. You can use this similar method to perform any unsupported upgrade or downgrade (for example, switch from Windows 11 Pro to Windows 11 Home).Ĭhange EditionID and ProductName to what they should be on the OS that you want to move to, and then launch the setup using that install media. Note that the EditionID and ProductName registry entries will revert to their old values after a short period of time, so be sure to run the setup right away after you make the changes.
(With this registry change it should allow you to keep “all apps and files”.) Run setup.exe from Windows 11 install media and perform an in-place upgrade. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersionĬhange “ProductName” to “Windows 11 Professional“ Click on Yes in the UAC window when you are prompted to continue. Type Regedit in the Search box, and then right-click the Regedit app from the Best match and select Run as administrator.
How to Switch from Windows 11 Pro N to Windows 11 Pro