Need to find Product Key

[Tonya]

I have a computer that was loaded with an OEM version of
Windows XP, after it was sold to our IS Consultant.
Unfortunately, when they loaded and activated Win XP Pro
on this machine they did not put the Windows Registry
sticker on the PC. We are now having problems and are
looking at possibly F Disking and running a fresh
installation. The problem that I am now facing is that I
do not have a Product Key for this computer. Does anyone
know how or if I can find it on the PC itselft? I found
the Product ID but can't find the Product Key. Any help
will be greatly appreciated. Please feel to contact me
directly at (e-mail address removed). Thanks!

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I have a computer that was loaded with an OEM version of
Windows XP, after it was sold to our IS Consultant.
Unfortunately, when they loaded and activated Win XP Pro
on this machine they did not put the Windows Registry
sticker on the PC. We are now having problems and are
looking at possibly F Disking and running a fresh
installation. The problem that I am now facing is that I
do not have a Product Key for this computer. Does anyone
know how or if I can find it on the PC itselft? I found
the Product ID but can't find the Product Key.

Product Key

You can find the Product key with any of these:

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/ViewKeyXP.exe

http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

 

[richard]

search newsgroup for other similar posts.
there is something called jellybean that will do this.

 

[me]

If I'm not mistaken, if you don't have the actual printed
key then you don't officially own it.
Of course if this doesn't bother you then you can always
find 'em by searching the 'net for 'em.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

No-one owns the XP CD that they have - they have a license to use it.

Tonya

Try the following program to elucidate your PK:

http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php

Will

 

[Ron Martell]

Thanks for the responses. However, it seems that you
really can not retrieve the original Product Key. I
tested the software links on PC's with known keys, i.e.
their tags were actually put in place and left in place
from when XP was installed, and the keys produced by
these products did not match the original key. So, I'm
probably not going to go that route.

Thanks again for the input!

That can happen on an OEM install where the OEM installs and activates
the Windows XP at the factory. In that case the stored product key
will be the one issued to the factory.

If the OEM version just uses the basic preinstall process and requires
activation after delivery then the product key is entered at that time
and it will be the correct value.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Alan]

Hi Tonya,

Even if you do use one of the software programs that have been mentioned --
Aida, Magic Jellybean, ViewKeyXP, etc. -- the Product Key that is displayed
will not be the Key that you need for re-activation, as you have an OEM
install.

Alan

 

[Sarah]

Alan, Is this really the case? Do you know why?. That
seems so strange to me.

 

[Courtney]

OEM versions of Windows are preactivated. If you reinstall the software
using the key that came with the computer, activation will happen
automatically (if it needs to in the first place). If you purchased the
computer from a retailer (Gateway, Dell, etc.) they can provide you with
your key if you can provide them with the serial number of the computer.
Otherwise, Aida32 will get it for you.

courtney....

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The Windows 25-character Product Key (required to perform the
installation) is stored on the CD packaging on a bright orange sticker
that says "Do not lose this number." If it was an OEM (factory
installed) license, it's stored on a label that the PC manufacturer
affixed to the exterior of the PC case, or on the bottom of a laptop.

To recover a lost Product Key:

If your system still runs, you should be able to use AIDA32
Enterprise from http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php or ViewKeyXP from
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm to find the Product Key.
(If you have a factory-installed OEM license, and haven't since
reinstalled the OS, the revealed Product Key is probably of the drive
image used at the factory and not _your_ specific Product Key;
therefore, it probably cannot be -- and definitely should not be --
used for a re-installation.)

If it was a retail license and you have proof of purchase:

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

If it was an OEM license, you should contact whomever sold you the
OS; although very few manufacturers/vendors keep records of the
Product Keys they've sold, it's worth a try before you have to buy a
new license.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Jim Adams]

Try here.

http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/000671.php

 

[Ron Martell]

OEM versions of Windows are preactivated. If you reinstall the software
using the key that came with the computer, activation will happen
automatically (if it needs to in the first place). If you purchased the
computer from a retailer (Gateway, Dell, etc.) they can provide you with
your key if you can provide them with the serial number of the computer.
Otherwise, Aida32 will get it for you.

Slight correction.

*Some* OEM versions do have the actual product key entered by the
purchaser when they first turn on the computer.

This is true of the generic OEM version sold in bulk by Microsoft to
the smaller OEMs and Assemblers, and which is the only OEM version
that I will use on computers that I sell because it includes a genuine
"full install" CD rather than a "system recovery disk".


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Alex Nichol]

Thanks for the responses. However, it seems that you
really can not retrieve the original Product Key. I
tested the software links on PC's with known keys, i.e.
their tags were actually put in place and left in place
from when XP was installed, and the keys produced by
these products did not match the original key.

Where a machine has been installed as part of a bulk batch by a
manufacturer, the key returned by those programs is the one that was
used in creating the image that was then copied to each machine. So it
is no use. But in that case the maker will have stuck a label on the
case before delivery. You sound as if you are dealing with a machine
that has had XP installed later, in that case the Key returned will be
the one to use