Lost my serial number - what now?

[Mat]

I've not had to re-install WindowsXP yet, but lately I
thought I might need to. When I looked for my serial
number, just in case, I couldn't find it anywhere. Since
XP can't be installed onto a computer without getting an
internet approval that everything is legit, I'm thinking
my serial number must exist somewhere on a Microsoft
server somewhere. How do I find out what my serial number
is? Where do I go and what should I do?

 

[Norm]

You sure won't find it anywhere but on your pc. Try this program aida32:
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32

 

[Alex Nichol]

I've not had to re-install WindowsXP yet, but lately I
thought I might need to. When I looked for my serial
number, just in case, I couldn't find it anywhere. Since
XP can't be installed onto a computer without getting an
internet approval that everything is legit, I'm thinking
my serial number must exist somewhere on a Microsoft
server somewhere.

It doesn't, but you can recover it from your registry if you do it in
advance. get the free Aida 32, enterprise edition from
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
which is an excellent general System Info tool, and its Software -
Licenses page will tell you the one used for Windows and ones for
several other items.

Note that if the machine came with XP installed, this will probably give
a key used in producing an original image, then cloned to all machines
they make. So it is not the one for a reinstall. But then the key will
be on a label on the case of the machine