Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key

10.02.2020/ Comments off

If you’re planning on doing a reinstall of Windows but can’t find your product key, you’re in luck because it’s stored in the Windows Registry. It’s just not easy to find, and it’s impossible to read without some help. Luckily, we’re here to help.

Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key Generator
Windows Xp Serial Key
Windows Xp Serial Key Generator
Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key Code
Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key

If you upgraded to Windows 10 for free from an activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you should have a digital license instead of a product key. A Windows product key is a 25-character code used to activate Windows. However, software does tend to get installed without authorization, even in the most carefully managed shops, and so from time to time you may need to reset the Windows XP product key.

Microsoft Windows XP operating system is one of the best selling products. August 24, 2001, first released. A day we will share all product activation key valid serial XP Service Pack 3. The problem with different versions is the license key from one version typically wont work on another version. If you have a retail license key, it wont work on an OEM disk. To make things worse, lots of people lose their Windows XP CD. However, they usually have their license key attached to the side of their computers. Installing Win XP OEM when you've lost your Product Key by sirwriter November 1, 2005 1:50 AM PST It was a version of Windows XP Home that had been laying around for months with no home. ProduKey now tries to extract the key from DefaultProductKey Registry key if the product key cannot be found in the standard location of Windows 7 product key. Version 1.60 Added support for SQL Server 2008.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the product ID is stored in the registry but is in a binary format that can’t be read by humans unless you are some sort of Cylon. You aren’t, are you?

RELATED:Beginner Geek: How to Reinstall Windows on Your Computer

We’re not really sure why Microsoft went to great lengths to make it difficult to see the product keys for their software, especially since they are stored right in there in the registry and can be read by software, if not by humans. We can only assume that they don’t want anybody to re-use a key from an old computer.

The great thing is that you can even recover a key, even from a computer that won’t boot anymore. All you need is access to the disk drive from a working computer. Keep reading for more.

Three Places You Might Find the Key

RELATED:Where to Download Windows 10, 8.1, and 7 ISOs Legally

The key you need will be in one of three places:

Stored in software on your PC: When you (or your PC manufacturer) installs Windows, Windows stores its product key in the registry. You can extract this product key, and–often–enter it when reinstalling Windows on your PC. Crucially, you’ll need to grab it from your operating system before you begin reinstalling Windows or it could be deleted if you format your hard drive.
Printed on a sticker: Some PCs use a technology called “System Locked Pre-installation,” or SLP. If your PC uses this, the product key on your PC–the one stored in the registry, and the one key-viewer applications display–will be different from the actual key your PC needs. The actual key is on a certificate of authenticity (COA) sticker on your PC or its power supply. The one in the registry and key-viewer application is a red herring. This system was common for Windows 7 PCs.
Embedded in your PC’s UEFI firmware: Many newer PCs that come with Windows 8 or 10 use a new method. The key for the version of Windows the PC comes with is stored in the computer’s UEFI firmware or BIOS. You don’t even need to know it–assuming you’re installing the same edition of Windows the PC came with, it should automatically activate and work without you needing to enter a key. It’ll all happen automatically.

Be sure to use the same version and edition of Windows the computer came with. In other words, if it came with Windows 7 Home Premium, you can’t install Windows 7 Professional.

If the Key Is Stored in Your PC’s Hardware

Let’s start with the simplest situation. On newer Windows 8 and 10 computers, the key isn’t stored in software where it can be wiped, or on a sticker where it could be smudged off or removed. No one can glance at your computer’s sticker to steal its product key. Instead, the key is stored in the computer’s UEFI firmware or BIOS by the manufacturer.

You don’t have to do anything special if you have this. You should just be able to reinstall the same edition of Windows the PC came with and it should just work without even asking you for a key. (Still, it may be best to find the product key using one of the below methods and write it down before reinstalling Windows–just in case.)

If you want to find the UEFI-embedded key and write it down, you can do so quite simply. Just open the Start menu, type “powershell”, and run the Powershell application that comes up.

Then, enter the following command and press Enter:

You should be rewarded with your embedded license key. Write it down and store it in a safe place.

Read the Key From the Certificate of Authenticity Sticker

If you have a Windows 7-era PC, there’s a good chance the PC’s key is a single key the manufacturer uses for all their PCs. Thanks to “System Locked Pre-installation,” you’re not allowed to use that key to install Windows. If you try, you’ll get error messages about the key being invalid.

To check, you’ll need to look for a certificate of authenticity sticker on your computer. The COA sticker verifies that the computer came with an authentic copy of Windows, and that sticker has a product key printed on it. You’ll need that product key to reinstall Windows–and, if the manufacturer used System Locked Pre-installation, that key is different from the one your PC came with in software.

Examine your computer to find the key. On a laptop, it may be on the bottom of the laptop. If your laptop has a removable battery, it may be under the battery. If there’s some sort of compartment you can open, it might be in there. It may even be stuck to the laptop’s charger brick. If it’s a desktop, look on the side of the desktop’s case. If it’s not there, check the top, back, bottom, and anywhere else it might be.

If the key has rubbed off of the sticker, there’s not much you can do. You can try contacting your computer’s manufacturer and explaining what happened, but we can’t guarantee they’ll help. Microsoft would always be happy to sell you another key, though!

Use NirSoft’s ProduKey to Recover Product Keys (Even if You Can’t Boot the PC)

The easiest way to get access to your product key is with a third-party utility, and there’s nobody better at those than NirSoft. Their utilities are always crapware-free, and are always really useful. The only issue with this particular utility is that some antivirus will detect it as a false positive, because some malware might try to steal your product key.

Note: the NirSoft keyfinder won’t always work for OEM computers, depending on how they decided to activate the licenses. If your OEM installed your computer and used a single key for all their PCs, this won’t work. It also doesn’t work for Office 2013.

All you have to do is download ProduKey, unzip it, and then run it to immediately see all of your product keys. It’s as simple as that.

If you want to recover a key from a dead computer, you can hook up the hard drive to a working PC, and then run ProduKey and use File > Select Source to point to the external Windows directory. You can then grab the keys from that computer easily.

You can also use a Linux live CD to pull the Windows directory off the other computer and onto a thumb drive, or just grab the registry files if you prefer. If you need help, we’ve got a guide to pulling data off a dead computer.

Find the Windows Key Without Any Software (Advanced Users Only)

Assuming you can boot your computer without any problems, you can easily create a simple VBscript that will read the value out of the registry and then translate it into the format that you need for reinstalling. We’re not sure where this script came from, but reader raphoenix posted it on our forum a long time ago, so we’re sharing it here for you.

Copy and paste the following into a Notepad window:

You’ll need to use File -> Save As, change the “Save as type” to “All Files” and then name it productkey.vbs or something similar ending with the vbs extension. We’d recommend saving to the desktop for easy access.

Once you’ve saved it, you can just double-click and the popup window will show you your product key.

Pro tip: If you use CTRL+C when the popup window is active, it will copy the contents of the window to the clipboard, and then you can paste it into Notepad or somewhere else.

The product key system is complicated to understand because Microsoft doesn’t really want typical Windows users to reinstall Windows on their PCs. Instead, they’d rather you use your computer manufacturer’s recovery media. But the recovery media is full of the bloatware you don’t want on your PC–that’s why so many geeks often opt to reinstall Windows on their new PCs.

Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key Generator

Since Microsoft changes how they encode and store product keys from each version of Windows to the next, there are preferred programs and methods depending on which version of Windows you have.

Find your version of Windows below, follow the linked how-to guide, and you'll have your valid Windows product key in no time. See What Version of Windows Do I Have? if you're not sure which to pick.

If something about using product keys in Windows is still confusing for you, or you're not sure if you even need to find your product key to install Windows again, see my Windows Product Keys FAQ for help.

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Windows 8 & 8.1

If you've lost your Windows 8 product key but it's still installed or at least still on some sort of a working computer, it's pretty easy to decode with the right software.

See How to Find Your Windows 8 or 8.1 Product Key for an easy to follow tutorial.

While a lot of key finder programs advertise that they can find and decode your Windows 8 product key, I've found that many of them simply do not do it correctly, producing a completely inaccurate Windows 8 product key.

I've tested Belarc Advisor, the free program I suggest in my tutorial, and know that it will give you the correct Windows 8 key for your installation.

This procedure works equally well for any edition of either Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, plus Windows 8.1 Update.

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Windows 7

Looking for your Windows 7 product key? Like with most other product keys, it's still around if Windows 7 is still installed, but is encrypted.

See How to Find Your Windows 7 Product Key for easy instructions.

Most key finder programs work great with Windows 7, but I prefer LicenseCrawler for several reasons.

The how-to guide I linked to above for Windows 7 keys works great with any edition of Windows 7, including Ultimate, Professional, Home PremiumDirect mp3 joiner 4.0 serial key or patch. , and more.

Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are also equally supported. This goes for most versions of Windows and the key finders that support them, Windows 7 or otherwise.

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Windows Vista

As unpopular as Windows Vista was, most product key finder tools support the operating system.

Like other recent versions of Windows, you'll have to use one of these programs to find Vista's product key because it's encrypted:

LicneseCrawler works great for Vista as well as Windows 7 (above), but just about all the programs in my key finder tools list will work just fine.

You might find a key finder or two that skipped Vista support, but it's not common.

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Windows XP

Windows XP was the first consumer-focused operating system to encrypt product keys and, in general, to take the product key process very seriously.

So, unlike with older versions of Windows (a few sections below), Windows XP forces you to use those special product key finding software tools if you want to dig up your lost XP key.

See my How to Find Your Windows XP Product Key for a complete tutorial on this process.

There are a few programs I've grown to prefer when looking for product keys on my customer's computers, most of these tools fully support any edition of Windows XP. This really isn't that surprising knowing that XP was the version of Windows that prompted these tools into development.

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Windows Server 2012, 2008, 2003, etc.

Considering how costly they are, it's no surprise that Microsoft has always required a product key for their Windows Server line of products, like Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003.

Not all product key finder programs support Microsoft's server-class operating systems, so there are fewer of these programs you can rely on.

Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key

See How to Find Windows Server Product Keys for detailed help.

This tutorial works for any of Microsoft's business-class operating systems, including the Windows Server versions already mentioned, plus Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.

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Windows 98, 95, & ME

Windows Xp Serial Key

Unlike in all newer versions of Windows, the product keys used to install Windows 98, Windows 95, and Windows ME are not encrypted in the Windows Registry.

This makes finding them really, really easy.. so long as you know exactly where to look.

Windows Xp Serial Key Generator

See How to Find Lost Product Keys for Windows 98, 95, & ME for detailed help.

Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key Code

You'll need to open and use Registry Editor to do this, but don't worry, you won't be making any changes to the registry or doing anything dangerous.

Where Does It Show Windows Xp Serial Key

While you may have a good reason for installing or reinstalling a very old version of Windows like Windows 98, etc., please know that these operating systems have serious security flaws and should not be connected to the internet.