Many users perform a clean install or reinstall of Windows 10 once in a year to fix issues and restore the lost speed.
To help users easily download ISO images of Windows 10, an official tool called Media Creation Tool is available ever since the release of Windows 10, and the ISO image file that you download using Media Creation Tool now includes the latest Windows 10 feature update as well.
While the procedure to download Windows 10 ISO using the Media Creation tool is straight-forward, many users who have used the Media Creation Tool have been complaining that there is no option to download the Windows 10 Pro edition.
That is, the screen where you are asked to select the edition of Windows 10 that you want to download doesn’t list the Windows 10 Pro edition. The list shows only Windows 10 and Windows 10 N editions, and there is no mention of Windows 10 Pro.
Well, the fact is that the Windows 10 ISO that you download using Media Creation Tool includes both the Home as well as Pro editions, meaning Microsoft is no longer offering separate ISOs for Home and Pro editions.
When you create a bootable USB of Windows 10 using the ISO and attempt to install Windows 10 from it, the setup of Windows 10 automatically checks your BIOS/UEFI for embedded product key (if available), and installs the right version based on its findings. And when you are installing Windows 10 on a new PC or a PC without the embedded product key, it displays the prompt asking you to select the edition of Windows 10 that you would like to install.
In simple words, for instance, if you had previously activated Windows 10 Home edition on a computer, when you run the setup of Windows 10, it automatically installs the Home edition without allowing you to select the edition of Windows 10.
If you want see the edition selection screen while installing Windows 10 on a PC which includes the product key in the BIOS, you need to edit the ISO file to include ei.cfg file or add ei.cfg file the bootable USB.
Follow the directions in Method 1 to add ei.cfg file to the bootable USB and follow Method 2 to include the ei.cfg file in the bootable ISO of Windows 10.
Method 1 of 2
Add ei.cfg to bootable USB to see the edition selection screen
Step 1: Create the bootable USB of Windows 10, either using Rufus, Media Creation Tool, or any other software. To create the same using Command Prompt, please refer to our how to install Windows 10 from the USB guide.
Step 2: Once the bootable USB of Windows 10 is ready, open This PC, double-click on the USB drive icon to open up the same.
Step 3: Open up Sources folder, download ei.cfg ZIP file by clicking here, extract the ZIP file to get ei.cfg file, and place it in the Sources folder.
NOTE: You can open the downloaded ei.cfg file with Notepad to see what it includes. The following is a picture of the same.
That’s all. You can now boot from the USB drive to see the edition selection screen, as shown below.
Method 2 of 2
Add ei.cfg file to bootable Windows 10 ISO
If you plan to reinstall or perform a clean install of Windows 10 from an ISO image file instead of a bootable USB/DVD, you can do so by following step-by-step instructions given below.
Step 1: We need to extract the contents of the ISO file to the newly created Install Files using 7-Zip (free), WinRAR, or any other tool. We are using the free 7-Zip in this guide.
Step 2: Navigate to the folder containing Windows 10 ISO image, right-click on it, click 7-Zip, click Extract files, select a location with at least 5 GB of disk space. When you extract the file, 7-Zip will create a new folder and will name it after your ISO file name.
7-Zip might take a couple of minutes to complete the extraction job. Once done, proceed to the next step.
Step 3: Download ei.cfg ZIP file by clicking here, extract the ZIP file to get ei.cfg file, open up the Windows 10 folder containing extracted ISO file contents, open up the Sources folder, and then place the ei.cfg file under Sources folder as shown in the picture below.
Step 4: Next, to create a bootable ISO image of Windows 10 containing this newly added ei.cfg file, please follow the instructions in our how to create bootable 10 ISO of Windows from files/folders guide for step-by-step instructions.
NOTE: Some paid programs like UltraISO and MagicISO allow you to edit the bootable ISO without having to extract it. If you feel that this method is tiresome, simply download the ei.cfg file from the link mentioned above and place it in the Sources folder of the ISO file using one of these paid applications. Our how-to add files to bootable Windows ISO image guide might also you.
