Lost product code

[flowers]

Had xp installed and inadverdantly pushed wrong button and I think it
reformatted........Anyhow on reboot asked for product code which has been
lost along with the disc.........So at present have computer that I cannot
use as needs product code...............Is there some way to find this number
or recover my installation or will I have to buy another licence if I still
can.
cannot really afford to buy complete new software.
Can u help?????

 

[R. McCarty]

Pushing a 'physical' button wouldn't reformat your drive. When the
PC rebooted was it running the Windows XP installation ? Try to
boot the PC using Safe Mode - Last Known working configuration.
To do this you repeatedly Press F8 from a cold start of the computer.
When the Safe Mode menu appears move the highlight until it is on
"Last Known..." and press Enter.

 

[Alister]

Had xp installed and inadverdantly pushed wrong button and I think it
reformatted........Anyhow on reboot asked for product code which has been
lost along with the disc.........So at present have computer that I cannot
use as needs product code...............Is there some way to find this number
or recover my installation or will I have to buy another licence if I still
can.

If it's a legal install then you should have a label on the outside of
the PC with the product code on it.

cannot really afford to buy complete new software.
Can u help?????

Otherwise, no.

Alister.

 

[Richard in AZ]

| Had xp installed and inadverdantly pushed wrong button and I think it
| reformatted........Anyhow on reboot asked for product code which has been
| lost along with the disc.........So at present have computer that I cannot
| use as needs product code...............Is there some way to find this number
| or recover my installation or will I have to buy another licence if I still
| can.
| cannot really afford to buy complete new software.
| Can u help?????

The computer will not reformat without the CD unless it is one of the vendors that uses a restore
partition.
In that case, it does not ask for a Product Code.
Vendors that pre-install Windows put a sticker on the case that has the Product Code
If you have a custom made PC then the Product Code was on the CD jacket. And if you did reformat
the computer, it is too late to get the code off the computer.
Now you will have to buy an new code (cost the same as buying new software.)
Lesson learned. Keep your CDs and your Product Codes safely stored.

But if you are just looking for a free Product Code through this group, tough sh-t.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Had xp installed and inadverdantly pushed wrong button and I think it
reformatted........Anyhow on reboot asked for product code which has been
lost along with the disc.........So at present have computer that I cannot
use as needs product code...............Is there some way to find this
number
or recover my installation or will I have to buy another licence if I
still
can.
cannot really afford to buy complete new software.
Can u help?????

It is not clear from your description if you can still boot into some
Windows mode. If you can then one of the key finders from here may retrieve
your product key for you:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/productkeysactivation/tp/topkeyfinder.htm
After resolving this issue, consider how much money you spent in purchasing
your licences, then create a comprehensive list of all of them and keep a
paper copy in a safe place.

 

[flowers]

thank you but somehow it has reformatted or something as will not load until
product code entered so cannot get into safe mode as xp is not loaded or at
least accessable. how it got there I have no idea as someone else buggered it
up and now disc is missing if there ever was one as I cannot find the box of
stuff that came with the comp. so the problem is can I some how get arroung
the product code or at least recover it somehow.

 

[Alister]

| Had xp installed and inadverdantly pushed wrong button and I think it
| reformatted........Anyhow on reboot asked for product code which has been
| lost along with the disc.........So at present have computer that I cannot
| use as needs product code...............Is there some way to find this number
| or recover my installation or will I have to buy another licence if I still
| can.
| cannot really afford to buy complete new software.
| Can u help?????

The computer will not reformat without the CD unless it is one of the vendors that uses a restore
partition.
In that case, it does not ask for a Product Code.
Vendors that pre-install Windows put a sticker on the case that has the Product Code
If you have a custom made PC then the Product Code was on the CD jacket. And if you did reformat
the computer, it is too late to get the code off the computer.
Now you will have to buy an new code (cost the same as buying new software.)
Lesson learned. Keep your CDs and your Product Codes safely stored.

But if you are just looking for a free Product Code through this group, tough sh-t.

Must look out for the "Please uninstall and de-activate my operating
system" Button, I don't think I've ever noticed it. Is it in Control Panel?

Alister.

 

[Randem]

Looks like you have been hit by a trojan attempting to steal your product
code. Take th edrive out of your system then use an external USB drive or
place your drive into another computer as a slave drive to de-virus it.

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
Disk Read Error Press Ctl+Alt+Del to Restart
http://www.randem.com/discus/messages/9402/9406.html?1236319938

 

[flowers]

thank you alister that solved the problem

If it's a legal install then you should have a label on the outside of
the PC with the product code on it.


Otherwise, no.

Alister.

 

[flowers]

thanks for that peg's, was a newby, one of the rug rats, using old lappy of
mine and I had forgoten that code sticker, I do usually keep a meticulous
record of these codes but this one was not on list.......is now

 

[HeyBub]

thank you alister that solved the problem

No it didn't. Finding a product code only masked a symptom.

A vigorous and diligent examination for malware is now appropriate.