[Tip] Activate Hidden Secret “Retail Demo Mode” in Windows 10
UPDATE: The password of RetailAdmin account is trs10.
Today in this topic we are going to reveal a hidden secret feature found in Windows 10 operating system. You can also call it an Easter egg as it can be activated only after following a certain predefined pattern.
The feature which we are talking about is called “Retail Demo” mode in Windows 10 and can be activated and enabled using following steps:
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WARNING: Once you activate Retail Demo mode, your user account will be deleted automatically and you’ll not be able to turn off the Retail Demo mode. So make sure to read the “Important things to remember” given later in this topic before activating Retail Demo mode.
1. Open Settings app from Start Menu. Alternatively, you can press WIN+I keys together to open Settings directly.
2. Now click on “Update and security” item present in Settings app.
3. Now click on “Activation” link present in left-side pane.
PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:activation” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.
4. Now the tricky part! You need to click on the Windows heading 5 times quickly and it’ll reveal the secret Retail Demo mode.
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Windows will show you following message:
Change to retail demo
You’re about to turn on the retail demo experience, which is only meant for retail use.
The PC must be connected to the Internet. And switching to retail demo mode will erase all personal content and restore the PC to factory settings.
[Change] [Cancel]
If you want to go further and want to turn on the retail demo mode, click on Change button otherwise click on Cancel button.
5. Clicking on the Change button will launch a new window which will ask you for the Retail Access Code (RAC), Retailer SKU or Item number and Retail store ID:
All these things are optional. Actually this information can be provided to Microsoft to download the latest demo content and apps to show on devices.
Leave the fields empty and click on Next button and then click on Finish button.
6. That’s it. It’ll restart your computer and will activate Retail Demo mode at startup.
Upon restart, you’ll notice that a new user account “Darrin DeYoung” has been created and logged in automatically.
7. Your computer will again restart after a few minutes and then you’ll be able to use Windows 10 in Retail Demo mode.
UPDATE: The secret “Retail Demo” experience mode can also be activated during Windows 10 installation time. When the OOBE (Out-Of-Box Experience) screen appears and shows “Hi! there“, click on the text 5 times. This then doesn’t require the retail store to create a user account. Thanks to our reader RetailAdmin for sharing it.
RELATED:
[Tip] How to Deactivate/Remove “Retail Demo Mode” in Windows 10
[Tip] How to Prevent/Restrict “Retail Demo Mode” in Windows 10
Some Important Things to Remember About Retail Demo Mode:
1. Retail Demo mode as the name suggests has been created for retail stores to advertise and show off Windows devices. It doesn’t do anything special. It just restricts many things such as Command Prompt, Registry Editor, some Display settings, some Control Panel items, etc.
2. Retail Demo mode warns users that personal content will be removed and PC will be restored to factory settings but when we activated Retail Demo mode in our PC, it only removed the existing user account and its folder. It didn’t delete any extra file or program which we installed or copied in Windows drive. For testing purposes, we copied some text files in C: drive, Program Files folder, Windows folder, Documents folder before activating the Retail Demo mode and all files remained intact after the demo mode activation. We also installed a few 3rd party software before turning on the Retail Demo mode and all software programs were kept in Retail Demo mode.
3. There are chances that this secret mode will be disabled or completely removed from future builds of Windows 10. It might also be possible that Microsoft changes the method to activate this secret mode in future builds.
4. Retail Demo mode contains 2 user accounts: Darrin DeYoung and RetailAdmin. The user account “Darrin DeYoung” is very restricted and works like a local user account. If you want to change some advanced settings which require Administrative privileges, you’ll need to enter the password of RetailAdmin account which is unknown.
UPDATE: The password of RetailAdmin account is trs10. Thanks to our reader RetailAdmin for sharing it.
Some Interesting Information Related to Retail Demo Mode:
Although Retail Demo mode is a hidden secret feature of Windows 10 but you can find many references to this secret mode in Windows 10. Some of them are as following:
1. If you run Disk Cleanup on C: drive where Windows 10 is installed, you’ll find a reference to “RetailDemo Offline Content” in the given list of files to delete:
2. If you search for Retail Demo in Registry Editor, you’ll find many instances of Retail Demo mode in Registry such as:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{ac793c1d-eb2f-4ffd-b1ec-7af1aaaf3325}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1e46246f-b2ad-4a86-9e08-d0f9e01ee05d}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ms-retaildemo-launchstart
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\RetailDemo
Many Registry keys contains GUIDs and CLSIDs of various things related to Retail Demo mode.
3. If you look into C:\Windows\System32 folder, you’ll find a DLL file “RDXTaskFactory.dll” which is directly responsible for the Retail Demo mode.
4. Just search for RetailDemo in Windows Explorer (This PC) search box and you’ll find many interesting files and folders related to Retail Demo mode. You’ll also find a few HTML files and javascript files related to opening and setting up this secret Retail Demo mode.
5. If you open following folders, you’ll find many interesting stuffs related to Retail Demo mode such as graphic images, screensavers, WMV video file, PDF files, etc:
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\RetailDemo\
- C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_xx\RetailDemo\
Check out following exclusive video showing the secret Retail Demo mode of Windows 10 live in action:
So this secret Retail Demo mode might be a fun thing to try but do not try it on your primary computer. The best way to try it would be installing Windows 10 virtually in a virtualization software such as Virtual Box or using built-in Hyper-V feature and then activate Retail Demo mode.
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Thanks for sharing the article! About the Retail Demo being heavily restricted and requires clean reinstall, my tip and advice to settle that is to make sure you only test this secret mode on VM. Because nobody likes losing their precious beloved files.
Thanks for the article. I’ve just tested it and I can confirm that it works on my 10147 build VM installation. So it’ll probably be the case for any build above that.
Nice Retail Demo, Thanks for sharing it VG
Dear VG
Calling this an easter egg is a bit overrated.
IMHO you should not try this at all, just a waist of time.
As I reported in earlier comments i have now installed the evaluation copy build 10240
I don’t think it’s really necessary to try this out.
My win10Home is fully finetuned now and I want to keep it that way
I have a dual OS; untill I upgrade my other OS (win 8.1.2); I still have over a year to do that, I can test and evaluate win 10 even further.
Nevertheless keep on going.
I will and do recommand your site to friends as often as needed.
Yours with love
Peter Alexander London
Good for you Peter, but you are not everybody else. Many may want to play with every internal setting of a new OS and this is just one of the many hidden ones. Furthermore you are apparently not familiar with the correct meaning of the term “Easter Egg,” as this hidden retail mode is exactly that – A hidden, unadvertised feature. The guide was interesting, and it very clearly states it should not be used on a primary PC, so naturally if your Win10 install is fine tuned you wouldn’t want to erase its data.
I enabled this on my VM of Windows 10, Insider build 10525, after taking a snapshot. It created 2 users, Owen May and RetailAdmin.
Instead of installing the new version of Windows 10 on my PC, a retailer accidentally installed the demo version of Windows 10, removing my user information and my files. They spent a whole day “running a retrieve” of my files and reported they were unsuccessful on the “first try”. They are presently trying and again which will take another day. What do you think about this?
“‘RetailAdmin account which is unknown.
You cannot simply use Windows Disk Cleanup to delete the Retail Demo Offline Content. It requires a password. The password of Retail Demo Admin account is trs10.
This can also be activated during OOBE by clicking Hi There 5 times. This then doesn’t require the retail store to create a user account.
I activated this nuisance accidentally and have been cursing Microsoft ever since. They do not have the courtesy to reply to a letter of complaint. I have had to struggle to get my PC working roughly as it used to, but it is not easy !!!
Thank you for your information. I am worried with this retail admin password. after today I will uninstall this window and use another.
Thank You!
Thank you for your information. I am worried with this retail admin password. after today I will uninstall this window and use another. I cannot get back my fails after the PC if sleep.
Thank You!
Is it possible to uninstall or permanent disable the “Retail Demo Mode” in Windows 10? So that nobody can accidentally turn this on or at least without first entering a password?
Otherwise, anyone with a few seconds of access can turn on this most unwanted Retail Demo Mode in Windows 10.
^^ Check the “Some Interesting Information Related to Retail Demo Mode” section given at the end. You can disable Retail Demo mode using those steps like renaming files, disk cleanup, etc.
@VG
Interesting, in that there is no official method of disabling a hidden feature that anyone can launch. Why is this a hidden feature in the first place? Why wasn’t this so called feature done right by putting an option to install this from the programs and features “turn windows features on or off” behavior?
Isn’t this like installing an ejecting seat where if you click on the window wipers 5 times in a row, the driver gets tossed out of the vehicle? It’s just c.zy to include such a feature without first labeling the option, danger, warning or requires a retail demo mode password, as the lady above had suggest.
I’m not sure it is a good practice for end users to delete registry items without knowing what will happen first. Deleting files isn’t the best choice either, as often there are dependencies associate with them too.
The next ransomware could include applying the retail demo mode, given the ease it offers. Just imagine an advertisement hack spread via mainstream sites, where a visit sends your PC into the retail demo mode! How many millions of individuals would be unable to restore back their personal data?
This Retail Demo Mode feature should had never been hidden or made a secret. It needs to be an option rather than installed by default for every Windows 10 PC in existence. Now we must ask ourselves what other hidden or secret features are built into Windows? Who will ever know given the proprietary technology? Even Microsoft might not know itself, as one of the many coders could had included their own design in the +70 million lines of code used.
So do we really want to run mission critical systems using a black box (A.K.A. Windows) with known hidden features that allow anyone to compromise their PC? 5 Clicks !!!!!
^^ I have posted a tutorial to prevent/restrict activation of Retail Demo Mode in Windows 10. Check following:
https://www.askvg.com/tip-how-to-preventrestrict-retail-demo-mode-in-windows-10/
=====Unfortunately, by default Microsoft has not provided any built-in way to disable or restrict Retail Demo mode in Windows 10 and anyone can turn on this mode.=====
So VG’s tutorial on how to prevent/restrict turning on the Retail Demo Mode in Windows 10 is very much appreciated. A BIG thanks!
Just curious, given; “It’ll show the dialog box asking for activating the mode but when you click on Change button, nothing will happen because Windows will be unable to find the required DLL file” so with that logic, what if an advisory (hacker) knew this too and decided to insert their own DLL file to run, granting full administration level to do whatever they needed?
Yes, the “RDXTaskFactory.dll” is NOT digitally signed by Microsoft, although it’s a system file. Does it make a lot of sense to run system files that are not digitally signed these days? Why wasn’t this file digitally signed?
As for “Nobody, will be able to activate/turn on Retail Demo mode in your Windows 10 computer without your permission” does that apply to anyone inserting the same file”RDXTaskFactory.dll” back or any DLL file using the SAME file name they would prefer to run instead? Does the operating system check the hash of the DLL file before running it?
SHA1: 7B0DE04CCBBFC0D030999084AAD7A128E7D0154B
How difficult would it be to insert a ransomware DLL file using the name RDXTaskFactory.dll? 5 Clicks and instead of running Retail Demo mode, you got Ransom Mode!