Fixing ‘Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms’ error during Windows 10 Installation
Well, I got this error during my Windows 10 installation on an Acer laptop using a bootable USB created using Rufus from the Windows 10 all-in-one ISO. The error message simply told me to check the installation media:
Surprisingly, the solution to this problem is pretty simple. Just create a file name ei.cfg with the following content:
[Channel] OEM
After that, place it in the sources folder of the installation media. If you are installing from a DVD, you may need to use an ISO editor tool such as WinISO to modify the original ISO image and reburn the DVD. If there exists an ei.cfg file in the same folder, you may choose to overwrite the file, which will allow you to select the edition to install (Home, Pro, Enterprise) during setup. If you wish to keep the original ei.cfg file, at least change the Channel value from Retail to OEM as the issue is caused by attempting to install the Enterprise edition of Windows 10 from retail DVDs.
Thanks a lot, it worked![:)]( "Smile")
Can you write exactly how can I make the folder and it’s contents I’m little confused,Thanks
Hello. Yes so basically open up a text document and Type :
[Channel]
OEM
Then click on File > Save As > Change file type to all type and save it as ei.cfg.![:)]( "Smile")
Hi .. I did a you said but its not working yet
Hi Harsha,
What is the error message you get?
It did work, but when I choose Windows 8.1 Pro it still gives me the error, but when I chose Windows 8 it worked fine. But still, is there a solution for that?
well, not for me. I did it and it simply didn’t work.
This is because your motherboard is licensed for windows 8 rather than 8.1. Install windows 8, do all of windows updates, then upgrade to windows 8.1 in the Microsoft store. After u upgrade to 8.1 u will have more updates. Finding updates with windows servers may take a few hours to a few days
Amazing! Thanks so much for this been driving me mad all day. All i could find were solutions for virtual machines. I just wanted to use my new ssd! Don’t know why this worked, but it did.
weird windows bug of some kind.
I Hv created this file and I am using a DVD disc what should I do then..can any1 please elaborate step by step..it’s really help me alot..cuz it this prblm really sucks
Really does it work means just created that file and cut that and paste in that sources folder that’s it..?or anything else have 2 do. Please tell me
Can anybody give me some snaps of all process..it will help me..
Hi, if you’re installing from DVD you’ll need to make an ISO copy of the DVD using apps such as ImgBurn or WinISO. After that, edit the ISO to include the ei.cfg file and either burn it to a new DVD or set up a bootable USB with the new ISO and retry the installation. Let me know if this helps. Good luck.
Works. Thank you
Hey so I really got excited when I found this post. It looks like it would solve the issue.
I’m unfortunately still faced with the same problem.
So I created a text file with the above content, saved it as a EI.cfg file in the USB drive I have the win 10 media on within ‘source’ folder. I then try to install again with it and get the same error
I have an old win 7 lap top, with enough HW. Is it being w7 the reason why?
Hi,
I do not think it has to do with the laptop. I successfully installed Windows 10 on many old machines (desktops/laptops) just fine. The most likely reason is a corrupted installation source, which, among other things, can be due to a wrong ei.cfg file. If fixing ei.cfg doesn’t work, you will have to try with a different Windows 10 setup source.
I created a text file with the above content, saved it as a EI.cfg file in the root directory instead of the Source directory of my bootable USB drive that I have the win 10 media on. It worked anyway. Thanks for taking the time to write this tutorial; it saved me a lot of time.
Worked like a bom, sweet dude
What if I don’t want to install Win10 with an OEM license?
My VL image worked on many machines when I just burned it to disk, now I used Rufus to make a flash drive bootable and told it to extract the files from the .iso image, and this error occurs.
What went wrong there? Did Rufus overlook some hidden file?
Was it some meta data in the .iso file?
Anybody?
What am I saying, the laptop didn’t recognize the Rufus one as bootable; I meant _RMPrepUSB_ instead of Rufus.
Used Bootmgr on NTFS and copied the files from the VL .iso image I have.
My original EI.CFG said:
[EditionID]
Professional
[Channel]
Volume
[VL]
1
I first tried just changing the Channel to OEM, removing the VL property, then also removinf the EditionID, until it only contained the Channel as OEM, as described.
So far, no luck.
Black Platypus, if your laptop was purchased recently, it’s possible that the laptop only boots from UEFI by default. If you can’t find an option to set it to boot from MBR, use Rufus 3.3 and prepare a GPT/UEFI bootable USB, which should work. By default, Rufus prepares a BIOS/MBR bootable USB, which will not show up as bootable on computers that only support UEFI booting.
Wow! Worked perfectly! I installed Windows 10 x64. Thanks!
Thanks for this …..TutsManiaFUN…Windows Tips