Recover Lost Windows Product Key

Filed in: Tips n Tricks — July 3rd, 2004

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Problem:
I lost my windows product key!!!

Solution:

There are several methods you can use to uncover a lost product key for a version of Windows that you currently have installed.

For older versions of Windows you can extract the product key from the Windows Registry. Click Start | Run and then type regedit and click OK.

For Windows 95 and Windows 98, browse to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProductID

For Windows NT 4.0, browse to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProductID

Alternatively, there are also some free scripts and freeware software programs that can help you:

  • Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder: This is probably the best tool for this task. In addition to finding and identifying product keys for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, it can also uncover product keys for installed versions of Microsoft Office.
  • Windows Key Finders: This is actually a group of tools that can be used for unearthing product keys for different versions of Windows.

Whichever method you use, make sure you write down the product key and put it in a safe place for future reference.

[ Source: techrepublic.com ]

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  • Mike
    You can also download RockXP (google it). It'll also recover some system passwords and other stored passwords like OE & Hotmails if you've saved these passwords.
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