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Q. Can’t Find A Lost Windows Product Key?
A. In order to install or reinstall
Microsoft Windows you must have access to a Product Key for that version of
the operating system. The product key can typically be found on a yellow sticker
on the CD case of the installation
CD, or on a small Microsoft sticker on the outside of the PC's case (if the
OS came preinstalled on the machine). If you no longer have access to the
product key then you will effectively "lose" a Windows license if you ever have
to reinstall the
operating system.
Possible 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.
•
Belarc Advisor: This
free utility builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware.
Whichever method you use, make sure you
write down the product key and put it in a safe place for future reference.
Let me know if you need anything else.
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