Product key issue

[Barry Watzman]

I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed
catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore
CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop.

BUT .....

The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the
COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first
3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And
while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product
key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was
originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of
Windows).

Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying
all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters?
(that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as
"I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful
information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known
characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or
even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters
guessed) to see if it's valid.

I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker /
cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro
OEM on a Toshiba laptop.

[If someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can
E-Mail directly.]

Thanks,
Barry Watzman
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Malke]

I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed
catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore
CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop.

BUT .....

The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the
COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first
3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And
while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product
key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was
originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of
Windows).

Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying
all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters?
(that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as
"I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful
information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known
characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or
even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters
guessed) to see if it's valid.

I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker /
cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro
OEM on a Toshiba laptop.

[If someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can
E-Mail directly.]

There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call
Toshiba and they might be able to help you.


Malke

 

[Barry Watzman]

Well, I have found some additional information. The characters
A,E,I,L,N,O,S,U,Z,1 and 5 are not used in Microsoft product keys. So
there are only 15,625 possible combinations of the 3 missing product key
characters. And I did find a program that will test a Windows XP
product key for validity (note: a valid product key might still not
pass WGA validation). Unfortunately, the keys to be tested have to be
typed in, one at a time.

If this program was a bit smarter, it could churn through all 15,625
possibilities in no time at all. Unfortunately, I don't have source
code for it.

I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed
catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the
restore CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop.

BUT .....

The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of
the COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the
first 3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters.
And while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid
product key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular
laptop was originally bought outside the US, although it's an English
version of Windows).

Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than
trying all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing
characters? (that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10
numerals such as "I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that
alone would be useful information). Ideally, I'd like a program where
I put in the known characters and I get possible valid values for the
full product key. Or even a program where I can enter a whole product
key (3 characters guessed) to see if it's valid.

I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker
/ cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP
Pro OEM on a Toshiba laptop.

[If someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can
E-Mail directly.]

There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call
Toshiba and they might be able to help you.


Malke

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I suspect that the cost of the time you have already spent
on this issue exceeds the cost of a new CD. Time to bite
the bullet. At the same time you might suggest to the client
to improve his record keeping approach. He's got a lot
of money invested in his software, hence it would make
sense to keep a printed record of all his product keys.

Well, I have found some additional information. The characters
A,E,I,L,N,O,S,U,Z,1 and 5 are not used in Microsoft product keys. So
there are only 15,625 possible combinations of the 3 missing product key
characters. And I did find a program that will test a Windows XP product
key for validity (note: a valid product key might still not pass WGA
validation). Unfortunately, the keys to be tested have to be typed in,
one at a time.

If this program was a bit smarter, it could churn through all 15,625
possibilities in no time at all. Unfortunately, I don't have source code
for it.

I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed
catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore
CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop.

BUT .....

The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the
COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first
3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And
while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product
key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was
originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of
Windows).

Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying
all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters?
(that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as
"I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful
information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known
characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or
even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters
guessed) to see if it's valid.

I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker /
cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro
OEM on a Toshiba laptop.

[If someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can
E-Mail directly.]

There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call
Toshiba and they might be able to help you.


Malke

 

[Guest]

I am wondering if microsoft can help, if he gave them the numbers and letters
in the original COA not including the missing numbers/letters and the owners
name and information, they might be able to authorize a new cd key...
Does anyone else agree with this...

this is for inside the U.S.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

Outside the U.S.

http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx

 

[Guest]

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/home.to

 

[Malke]

I am wondering if microsoft can help, if he gave them the numbers and letters
in the original COA not including the missing numbers/letters and the owners
name and information, they might be able to authorize a new cd key...
Does anyone else agree with this...

this is for inside the U.S.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

Outside the U.S.

http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx

No, because Microsoft would rightly say that the license came from
Toshiba. Your link in your second post to Toshiba support is the way for
the OP to go.


Malke

 

[Barry Watzman]

Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from
Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an
upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine,
not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can
see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a
contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy
quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers.

I probably will call Microsoft, and see what they say.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from
Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an
upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine,
not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can
see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a
contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy
quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers.\

Most of us call those "generic" OEM copies. "Generic," in the sense
that they are not specifically Dell, Gateway, etc. The term "retail
OEM," as you say, is a contradiction, and is very confusing.

By the way, you say "a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an
upgrade," but let me point out that OEM copies can do clean
installations only, and *not* upgrades.

 

[Barry Watzman]

Ken, an OEM copy can be purchased as a type of upgrade. That's not the
same thing as an upgrade install. If a laptop comes from the maker with
XP Home, I can buy a "retail OEM" copy (what you call a "generic OEM"
copy), wipe the hard drive (totally), and install the OEM copy. The
computer has been, in a sense, upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro, although
it was not an upgrade installation. That is what happened in this case.
Granted, the wording can get confusing.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken, an OEM copy can be purchased as a type of upgrade. That's not the
same thing as an upgrade install. If a laptop comes from the maker with
XP Home, I can buy a "retail OEM" copy (what you call a "generic OEM"
copy), wipe the hard drive (totally), and install the OEM copy.

Yes, you can.

The
computer has been, in a sense, upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro, although
it was not an upgrade installation. That is what happened in this case.

OK, but you are using the word "upgrade" in a very unusual personal
way. That it is not the way most of us understand it.

Granted, the wording can get confusing.

If you want to call that "upgrading" from XP Home to Professional,
that's of course your privilege. But I caution you that that's not the
way most people will understand the term, and you run the risk of
being misunderstood, just as if you use the term "retail OEM" for what
others call "generic OEM."

You can say it's just semantics if you want, but to ignore
semantics--what words mean to others--is to be misunderstood.