Installation help

Before you start: a five-minute pre-flight

1. Back up. Anything irreplaceable goes to OneDrive, an external drive or your cloud of choice. Windows reinstalls erase the system partition.
2. Check hardware. Run Microsoft's PC Health Check for Windows 11. For Office, any PC made in the last decade qualifies.
3. Confirm edition. The product page and your order email list the exact edition. Installing Home when you bought Pro causes 0xC004C003 at activation.
4. Have the key ready. Copy it out of the order email; never re-type 25 characters by hand.
5. Plug in. Laptops need to be on AC power during a Windows install — battery interruptions corrupt the system partition.

Windows 11 — clean install

1. Go to microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 and download the Installation Assistant or the ISO.
2. For a fresh install, write the ISO to USB with Rufus (8 GB+ stick). In Rufus, pick "Standard Windows installation" and tick "Remove requirement for 4 GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0" if your machine fails the hardware check.
3. Boot from USB (F12 / F10 / Esc varies by manufacturer). Choose "Custom: Install Windows only".
4. Delete every partition on the target disk, then click Next — Windows creates the partitions it needs.
5. Skip the product key prompt with "I don't have a product key".
6. If asked about a Microsoft account on a Pro install, you can pick "Sign-in options → Domain join instead" for a local account.
7. Once on the desktop, open Settings → System → Activation → Change product key, paste your key, click Activate.

Windows 11 — in-place upgrade from Windows 10

1. Run the Installation Assistant inside Windows 10 — it keeps files, apps and settings.
2. If the assistant blocks on TPM 2.0, enable PTT (Intel) or fTPM (AMD) in BIOS; both implement TPM 2.0 in firmware on most chipsets from 2017+.
3. After upgrade, paste your Windows 11 key via Settings → Activation. Your Windows 10 digital licence is not consumed — it remains valid for a future re-downgrade.

Office 2024 / 2021 Pro Plus

1. Uninstall any existing Office trial via Settings → Apps.
2. Download the Office Deployment Tool from Microsoft Download Center.
3. Use the configuration file we email with your order (it pins to the Perpetual channel).
4. Run setup.exe /configure config.xml from an elevated CMD in the ODT folder.
5. Open Word → File → Account → Activate, paste your key.

Minimal ODT config — Word + Excel + Outlook only

<Configuration>
  <Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="PerpetualVL2024">
    <Product ID="ProPlus2024Volume" PIDKEY="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Access" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneNote" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Teams" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Groove" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Bing" />
    </Product>
  </Add>
  <Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
</Configuration>

Replace PIDKEY with your retail key (it's the 25-character string from the order email). Channel becomes PerpetualVL2021 for Office 2021.

Microsoft 365 (Family / Personal / Business)

1. Sign in at account.microsoft.com (or admin.microsoft.com for Business).
2. Open Services & subscriptions → Redeem a code → paste the key.
3. Click "Install" on the dashboard; the Click-to-Run installer downloads the latest channel build.
4. Share Family seats from family.microsoft.com → Add member.

Windows Server 2025 / 2022

1. Download the evaluation ISO from Microsoft Evaluation Center.
2. Install and choose your edition (Standard / Datacenter / Essentials).
3. Open elevated PowerShell, run dism /online /set-edition:<edition> /productkey:<your-key> /accepteula to convert from evaluation.
4. Reboot. Confirm activation via slmgr /xpr.

SQL Server 2025 / 2022

Download from microsoft.com/sql-server, run setup, select the edition matching your key, paste the product key on the Product Key screen. For unattended deployments use setup.exe /Q /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=SQLEngine /PID=<key>.

Visual Studio 2025 / 2022

Download the bootstrapper from visualstudio.microsoft.com, install, then Help → Register Product → Unlock with a Product Key. Per-workload installs cut disk usage from ~50 GB (full) to ~12 GB (e.g. ASP.NET + Node.js).

Project & Visio (perpetual)

1. Uninstall any C2R Microsoft 365 Project/Visio trials first — perpetual and C2R cannot coexist.
2. Run ODT with the Project- or Visio-specific config from your order email.
3. Activate from File → Account inside the app.

Hardware & OS compatibility quick reference

Common install errors

Still stuck?

Try our activation troubleshooting guide or email support@licensevault.net with a screenshot of the error and your order number — replies are typically under 2 hours.

Frequently asked

Where do I download Windows 11 or Office 2024?

Always from Microsoft directly: Windows 11 from microsoft.com/software-download/windows11, Office 2024 from microsoft.com/microsoft-365/get-office. Never download installers from third parties — even from us.

Do I need to uninstall the trial first?

Yes — uninstall any pre-installed trial of Office before activating a perpetual Office 2021/2024 key, or activation will fail with error 0x80072F8F.

Can I install on a new PC?

Yes for retail keys (one transfer per replacement device). OEM keys are tied to the first motherboard. If unsure, the product page lists the license type.

What are the Windows 11 hardware requirements?

1 GHz dual-core 64-bit CPU on Microsoft's CPU list, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot capable UEFI firmware, DirectX 12 graphics. Run PC Health Check to confirm. Most PCs from 2018 onwards qualify.

How do I avoid the Microsoft account prompt during Windows 11 setup?

On the network screen press Shift+F10, run 'oobe\BypassNRO', the PC reboots and the next pass exposes a 'I don't have internet' option which unlocks the local-account path. (Removed in some 24H2 builds — install offline by unplugging the ethernet/disabling Wi-Fi.)

Can I dual-boot Windows 11 with Linux?

Yes. Install Windows first, shrink its partition from Disk Management, then install your Linux distro into the free space. Grub will pick up Windows automatically.

How big is the Office 2024 installer?

About 4 GB downloaded, ~7 GB on disk after install. ODT streams only the components in your config.xml — you can ship Word + Excel + Outlook only and save 2 GB.

Does Microsoft 365 Family work outside the country of purchase?

Yes. The 6 seats can be used worldwide; only the billing address must match the original storefront country. Travelling abroad does not interrupt the subscription.