Find Your Windows Product Key the Easy Way. Looking to reinstall Windows on the same PC or move your copy of Windows from an older PC to a new one? Well, depending on what version of Windows you have installed, you may or may not need the product key. If you have Windows 7 or earlier, your system is activated by a single product key that is stored in the Windows registry. Using third- party software or a simple script, you can extract this key quite easily. You can then use this key to install Windows again on the same machine or use it to install Windows on another machine as long as you first deactivate the key on the original machine. If you have Windows 8. Otherwise, the product key is now stored in an encrypted format in the BIOS or UEFI firmware. This means a lot of Windows 8 machines bought from Dell, HP, etc. It’s good because you can reinstall Windows and not have to worry about any product key. It will simply activate automatically since the key is stored in the BIOS or firmware. It’s bad because it doesn’t allow you to use the key on another machine if something happens to the first one. Also, if you have to replace certain parts in your machine, it might cause Windows to deactivate. In this case where it’s the same PC, just with different parts, you can call Microsoft and they will activate it for you. With Windows 1. 0, everything changes again. Now there is no product key at all! ![]() ![]() Windows 1. 0 introduces something new called a digital entitlement. This entitlement is based on off your computer’s hardware and is stored with Microsoft. This is true for any OEM machines or PCs that were upgraded to Windows 1. Windows 7 or Windows 8. This means you can’t transfer your copy of Windows 1. It also means your original Windows 7 or 8 product key will disappear. If you buy a retail copy of Windows 1. PC. Now there is one exception to the above rules: if you upgraded Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 1. Windows 1. 0 to another computer until July 2. On this date, Windows 1. So you can technically install Windows 7 or 8 again on a different PC and then upgrade it to Windows 1. It’s definitely a lot of work, but possible. If you’re thinking about upgrading Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 1. Windows 7 or 8. Read my previous post on Windows 7, 8, and 1. Note that you can also use the methods below to show your product key on Windows 1. Find Windows Product Key – Produ. Key. The first method to get your product key on Windows 8 and earlier is by using a third- party program from Nirsoft called Produ. Key. It’s free and Nirsoft software is always clean, so you don’t have to worry about viruses or malware. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page to get to the download links. If you have 6. 4- bit Windows installed, download the x. Once you download it, unzip the files and run the Produ. Key application. It will instantly find all Microsoft applications installed on your system and give you the Product ID and Product Key. ![]() ![]() It’s a great program and you can just delete the program files once you are done. I also like using this program because I’ve ended up writing down the product keys for other products like Office that I hadn’t thought of looking up. Find Windows Product Key – Script. If you don’t want to download any software, you can simply create a script that will return the value of the product key. In order to create the script, you need to first open Notepad. Then, copy and paste in the following code: Set Wsh. ![]() Shell = Create. Object(. To save the file as a script, you need to add . All Files for the Save as type box. Click Save and now go to the folder where you saved the script. Double- click to run it and you should get a small window with your Windows product key. This script is short and doesn’t give you any other info about Windows. If you need to know what edition of Windows you have installed, just open the Control Panel and click on System. At the top, it’ll tell you the edition. Looking to reinstall Windows on the same PC or move your copy of Windows from an older PC to a new one? Well, depending on what version of Windows you have installed. There should really be another section for Windows 8.1 specifically, since in its own rights and the way that it operates, it's not just a simple update, but an. ![]() So those are two easy ways to get your product key for Windows. As mentioned earlier, Windows 1. 10 Software to Recover Product Key Licenses from Computer Recover Windows Login Password Online with LoginRecovery 4 Ways to Edit Registry Key Values Without Booting. From Productkeychanger: Product Key Changer is a simple software application that enables users to effortlessly view, change and alter their Microsoft Windows. If you lost or forgot where you had stored your Windows product key, I have a solution for you. Today we will see how a simple VBS script can be used to show us the. Need your Microsoft product id but can’t find your original documentation? We often need to know the product id but most of us never keep up with the original. Windows 7 or 8. If you’ve already upgraded your machine, you should be able to reinstall Windows 1. If you replace too many parts on your computer or your computer dies and you want to move it to another computer, you can either reinstall Windows 7 or 8 before July 2. Microsoft and hopefully they’ll allow you to activate Windows. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. ![]() ![]() ![]() How to Reveal Your Windows Product Key in All Current Versions of Windows. Here’s a situation to be avoided—for one reason or the other you have to reinstall the Windows operating system but you discover that you don’t know the product key. To avoid this predicament, retrieve the key now, print it out and put it somewhere safe. There are numerous programs that will retrieve the Windows product key but many will not work on 6. Some favorites like Belarc Advisor and System Information for Windows are very useful for providing all sorts of information but are overkill if all you want is the Windows key. Nir. Soft Produ. Key. Produkey from Nirsoft is a portable utility that requires no installation and can be run from a USB key. It works in all current versions of Windows including Windows 8. It does have the restriction that it does not work for Microsoft volume licenses in Windows 7 and 8 or certain OEM keys. There are both 3. It also provides the product key for Microsoft Office. The description and download are at this link. The download link is near the bottom of the page. Windows Product Key Viewer. For a quick and portable little program that works in 3. Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8, try Windows Product Key Viewer from RJL Software. It is free but it does put up a little flash screen for a second or two when you close the application. It only does one thing but it’s quick and easy to use. It has an option to print the key or save it to a text file. Requires administrator privileges in Windows Vista/7/8. Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder. Another little portable program to consider is Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder. This program has been around for years but it has been updated to handle Windows 8 and 6. It's another application that puts up a splash screen when you close it. Added later: This is another utility that the developer is now apparently bundling with other programs. Since this keyfinder is a portable program, no installer is needed. Instead of downloading from the developer's site, look for the ZIP file at locations like. Major. Geeks. Do not download the file labeled ! This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs a Windows blog called The PC Informant and also operates a computer education website. Click here for more items like this. Better still, get Tech Tips delivered via your RSS feeder or alternatively, have the RSS feed sent as email direct to your in- box.
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