A special product license key is used to activate the Windows operating system. The Windows product key used to activate the system differs depending on the operating system version (Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, etc.), OS edition (Home, Pro, etc.), distribution method (OEM, Retail etc).
To activate the Windows operating system, a product key is used, consisting of 25 characters in the form of numbers and uppercase (uppercase) English letters, divided into 5 groups of 5 characters: "XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX".
Laptops used to often have a Windows activation key glued on. At the moment, manufacturers of laptops with pre-installed operating systems sew a product key into the BIOS to automatically activate Windows.
In the event of a system reinstall, or for some other reason (for example, activation failed after a hardware failure), the user may need a Windows product key. How to find the Windows activation key?
You can find out the license key of the installed Windows by running a special VBS script, as well as using five programs: ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit, Speccy, AIDA64, SIW. All the listed programs are free, except for AIDA64 and SIW.
The script with the ".vbs" extension and portable free programs (ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit) can be downloaded from here. Download the rest of the programs to your computer from the official websites of manufacturers.
Using these methods, you can find out the key of Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10. After you have found out the Windows product key, the data obtained for subsequent use, in case of reinstalling the operating system, to activate the operating system.
How to find out the Windows key in ProduKey
The free ProduKey program from the well-known manufacturer NirSoft does not require installation on a computer. The application shows the keys to Windows OS, Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft Office.
Unzip the archive with the program, and then run the "Application" file from the folder. After launch, the ProduKey utility window will display the key to the installed operating system.
Select the entry with the Windows 10 key, or another operating system, and then select "Copy Product Key" from the context menu to copy the activation key to the clipboard.
We look at the license key in ShowKeyPlus
The free program ShowKeyPlus does not require installation on a computer. After launch, in the application window you will see information:
- Product Name - The operating system currently installed on the computer
- Product ID (Product code) - product code
- Installed Key - the key of the operating system currently installed on the computer
- OEM Key - a key embedded in the BIOS of a laptop of an initially installed operating system
To save the data, click on the "Save" button, and then the received information in a text file.
How to view the Windows key in Free PC Audit
The free program Free PC Audit will help you find out the key of the installed Windows. This program does not require installation on a computer. Run the utility file, after that the Free PC Audit program window will open, in which the system scan will begin.
After the scan is completed, in the "System" tab, opposite the "Windows product key" item, you will see the product key of the installed Windows operating system.
To copy the key, select the line with the license key, and then use the "Copy" context menu item, or use the "Ctrl" + "C" keys to copy the Windows product key from the utility window.
How to find out Windows 8 key using VBSCrit
Activation keys for the Windows operating system are stored on the hard drive in encrypted form. Executing the VBSCrit script will allow you to get the product key of the installed operating system in decrypted form. This script was developed for Windows 8 operating system, but this code also works fine in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 operating systems.
To perform the operation, double-click on the “WindowsKey.vbs” file. In the window that opens, you will see the Windows activation code. Next, click on the "OK" button.
The next window will display information about the operating system version, product ID, and product key number. Ignore the name of the entry "Windows 8 Key". The name of this OS will be displayed on any version of the Windows operating system.
Getting the Windows key in Speccy
The free Speccy program from the well-known company Piriform, the manufacturer of CCleaner and other software. From the official site you can download a portable (portable) version of Speccy. There is a paid version of the program with advanced features.
The program provides the user with detailed information about the hardware of the computer, and with the help of the application, you can find out the license key of the installed Windows.
Run the Speccy program, in the "Operating system" section, the version of the installed operating system, its serial number (activation key) will be displayed.
Find out the product key in AIDA64
AIDA64 is a powerful program for getting all sorts of information about computer software and hardware.
After launching the AIDA64 program, in the "Menu" tab, in the "Operating system" section, license information will be displayed, including the Windows product key.
Select the product key, select "Copy" in the context menu, then paste the key into Notepad, or another similar program to save.
Read the program overview.
Key information in SIW
SIW (System Information of Windows) is a program for obtaining information about the hardware state and software of a computer.
After launching SIW, enter the "Programs", "Licenses" section. This will display information about the product key that is used in the Windows operating system installed on the computer.
Wrong product key
When checking the keys in the ways listed above, the Windows product key may appear as follows: "BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB".
This means that your computer is activated with a corporate MAK or VLK key. Operating Windows does not save such keys, so programs do not see them.
Windows 10 uses a new system authentication method (not for all cases in Windows 10). The activation record is stored on the servers and is not displayed on the computer. After reinstallation, Windows will automatically activate for some time.
The retention of the license is subject to changes in the hardware configuration of the computer. If the motherboard is replaced, Microsoft's activation servers will revoke the license for that computer. Windows will prompt you to purchase a new product key.
Article Conclusions
If necessary, the user can find out the license code of the Windows operating system by running a VBS script, or using specialized programs: ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit, Speccy, AIDA64, SIW.
Computer owners often face a situation where they need to find out the activation key for their operating system. And in most cases, this is quite simple to do: a sticker is placed on a desktop computer or laptop, on which it is indicated. But what if this sticker is rubbed off or even peeled off? The answer is simple - "pull out" the license key from the operating system itself.
View key on Windows 7
, then first of all turn your attention to programs for a complete computer diagnostics. With their help, the easiest way to find out the activation key. One of these programs is the notorious AIDA 64. In order to view the activation code in it, you need to go to the "Operating system" tab. There will be a "License Information" section where the product key will be written.
Another way to view the Windows activation key is to use the KeyFinder utility. It allows you to find the keys to almost all installed software products and from the operating system itself. You will only need to install, run it and select from the proposed list the software whose activation code you want to know.
In general, there are still a lot of programs that allow you to find out the Windows 7 activation key. With minimal programming knowledge, you can do without them altogether by writing and running a script that works with PowerShell or VBScript.
Entering an activation key in Windows 7
Many users are afraid to reinstall the operating system because they do not know where to enter the windows 7 key and when to do it. But in fact, there is nothing complicated in this process. With a clean installation of windows, the activation key must be entered at the system setup stage. After creating an account, you will be presented with a screen prompting you to enter a 25-character product key. Then, after entering it, the system will require you to go through the activation procedure.
You must activate an already installed operating system within 30 days after installation. You can do this through the properties of "My Computer". In the basic information window, at the bottom is the column " Windows Activation".
There you need to click on the item "Change product key" and enter the windows 7 license code you know. After that, the system will automatically start activating the key via the Internet.
Windows 7 key extraction script
The point is that the key is stored in the Windows registry, but in an encrypted binary format. This key cannot be used.
You can easily create a simple VBScript that will read the values from the registry and then translate it into the format you need to reinstall.
Copy and paste the following text into notepad:
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"))
Function ConvertToKey(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Cur = 0
x=14
Do
Cur = Cur * 256
Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255
Cur = Cur Mod 24
x=x-1
Loop While x >= 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i<>-1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End if
Loop While i >= 0
ConvertToKey = KeyOutput
end function
When saving the file, give it the vbs extension:
Now run the resulting file by double-clicking the mouse:
The script will show a window containing your key.
Many cannot do this and do not understand where this very code went when it suddenly became in demand. The sticker on the computer was worn out from time to time, and they forgot to write it down. What to do?
Product key (license key) is 25 characters that are entered when purchasing a product from Microsoft or other software. This is what makes our Windows 10 or some other completely legal, and not pirated, like most OSes used in Russia. Therefore, it is especially important not to lose it. But Microsoft, for inexplicable reasons, made it so that it cannot be found on a computer. Therefore, when requested, many do not know how to find out the key of the installed Windows 10, 8, 7.
There are many cases where people lose their product license key. In addition, there are situations when we do not even recognize him. For example, when buying a new computer and then upgrading to an older OS: from the eighth Windows to Windows 10.
There is a fairly easy method that is recommended by many, plus it does not require you to install any utilities on your computer. But it is suitable only for those who are looking for how to find out the product key of an installed Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.
To do this, you need to run a special script:
- Create a new text document (Notepad)
- Paste the text of the script:
[[[Script text in attachment]]] – insert by quoting
- Click "Save As".
- We set any file name, but at the end we write “.vbs”.
- Select the file type "All Files", click "Save".
Now, when you click on the file, a window will open where you will see the Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key. It is worth noting that sometimes this method can work for a Windows 10 product.
In addition to this script, there are several more that serve the same purpose. But it will take longer to mess around with them: use the command line, various other utility utilities on the computer. While the result is the same. Therefore, we present only one for you.
For those for whom this method did not work, read the article further.
Methods using third-party programs
Apparently, many have asked the question of finding the key, so on the Internet you can now find quite a lot of different utilities that offer to display the codes of many programs, including operating systems. As a rule, they are all free and weigh from a few kilobytes to several megabytes, but they do their job quite well. The following are some examples of utilities that can be used for this purpose.
ProduKey window
With this program, you can find lost license codes for Windows 10 or any other Windows, as well as for a number of paid software.
All you need to do is download the utility from the official website, unzip it, and run it. Next, you will see your Windows key.
In addition, ProduKey also shows the productkeys of the following software:
- Microsoft office
- Exchange Server
- SQL Server
Another utility with a rather telling name, which also allows you to find out the product key of Windows 10 or any other Windows.
To do this, we just need to download it (the program is free) and run it. In the window that opens, all the necessary information will immediately appear.
A good program, which is one of the options when looking for ways to find out the Windows 7 or XP key. It displays the product numbers of the OS itself and the "Office". It's pretty easy to use. It is distributed for free, so just download and then run. You will immediately see the required character sets.
In addition to these utilities, there are still an unlimited number, but, in fact, in order to find out your productkey of the installed Windows XP, 7, 8 or 10, one of the above is enough.
Last 5 characters
Finally, you can see that you can view the last five characters of the product number without tricky manipulations. It is enough just to call the command line (Win + R), and then drive the following into it: "slmgr.vbs / dlv". Then a window will appear with several lines, one of which will contain the last part of the Windows 10 license code or some other.
Now you can easily restore your Productkey if it was suddenly lost.
Most commercial software comes with special protection against unauthorized copying and installation. And while manufacturers use different methods to accomplish this task, almost all of them prompt the user to enter a product key or serial number - at least that's the case with Microsoft Windows and Office.
A string consisting of letters and numbers is an individual identifier that proves the legality of your copy. This data is required to authorize the installation of the software, as well as to receive support, so it can be important to know where the key is located and how to get it.
Below are a few simple ways to help you find your serial number for Windows and Office.
Find product key
Try to remember how you acquired the Microsoft software, as this determines where to find your product key.
If you bought a copy of Microsoft Windows or Office on disk, then, first of all, you should examine its box. Retail Microsoft product keys are usually located on a brightly colored sticker on the inside of the CD/DVD cover or on the back. The key consists of 25 characters, usually divided into 5 groups of 5 characters.
If your computer came with Microsoft Windows pre-installed, the product key is usually printed on a colored sticker pasted directly onto the PC case. For Microsoft Office, the serial number sticker should be on the installation disc that came with your computer. If you can't find it anywhere from the listed places, then you need to contact Microsoft to request a replacement for the lost key.
You can usually find the Microsoft Windows serial number on a sticker affixed to your PC case.
Windows 10
With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft introduced a new operating system authentication method called digital sign-in, but it doesn't work on all Windows 10 PCs.
In fact, you definitely have a digital license if you upgraded the OS on your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC for free. You also get a digital entitlement if you paid for an upgrade to Windows 10 in the Windows Store, or if you installed a fresh copy of the OS and then paid for it in the same Windows Store.
However, if you received Windows 10 either as part of a new PC, or purchased a Windows 10 installation DVD from a store, or purchased a digital copy of Windows 10 from another online store, but not from the Windows Store, then you will have a traditional product key. , not digital resolution.
What is digital resolution
If your PC has a digital license, Microsoft locks in your right to run Windows 10 on its servers. The positive side is that you simply do not have a product key to lose. And if you need to reinstall the system, for example from a USB drive, you don't even have to activate your PC. Instead, after reinstalling Windows, activation will take place in the background for several hours (or, in extreme cases, several days).
But keep in mind that your digital resolution is based on system configuration. If you change too many components at once and then try to reinstall Windows 10, you may run into a problem.
From the point of view of the new control system, it would be better, for example, to first replace the HDD or SSD, then reinstall Windows 10, and update other components after activation. Otherwise, you may have to call the Microsoft hotline for automatic activation. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.
However, major upgrades, such as motherboard replacements, will definitely require a call to Microsoft.
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Extracting a key from Microsoft Windows or Office
If you cannot find your product key, but the program is already installed, you can use special programs, in particular Magical Jelly Bean Key Finder. This utility will quickly find the key for Windows (as well as keys for many other installed programs) and display it on the screen.
1. Download Magical Jelly Bean and follow the instructions to install the software on your computer.
2. Run the program. You can find it in the start menu - start typing keyfinder and click.
3. The program will scan installed software and find the product keys of supported programs, including various versions of Windows and Office.
4. When the scan is completed, you will see a window with a panel on the left side, which will list any installed versions of Windows and Office.
5. Click on your version of Microsoft Windows and you will receive a key and other installation information. The serial number itself will be located in the 'CD Key' section on the right side of the window. Record this information in case you need it in the future. Make sure that you rewrite all the characters correctly, otherwise the key simply won't work. And ignore the 'Product ID' section - we don't need it.
6. Click on the section with your version of Microsoft Office to get the product key and other installation information. In the case of Office, everything happens exactly the same - your key will be in the 'CD Key' section on the right side of the window. Make sure that you rewrite all the characters correctly, otherwise the key simply won't work. You can also use the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder to extract the keys of any software that is installed on your PC.
It is not necessary to know the license code that was used to activate the operating system in Windows 10. OS activation, in most cases, is done automatically. Despite this, for some reason, many users want to figure out how to find out the Windows 10 product key. An urgent task is for users who are lucky enough to purchase a new device based on the "tens".
The proposed article is a guide that provides information collected from the vastness of the global network, which will help you find out the license key used to activate Windows 10.
The instructions consider all options for achieving the goal: both by means of tools integrated into the operating system (extended command line - PowerShell, a ready-made VBScrit script created to decrypt registry files in order to extract the key with which Windows 10 was activated), and with the help of utilities from third-party developers (the ProduKey utility, developed by the creator of several dozen tiny information applications). There will also be mention of such things as:
- the reason why seemingly similar applications display different data;
- a way to visualize the OEM key in UEFI (applicable only to the originally installed Windows 10).
Users who have acquired Windows 10 by upgrading from a licensed "seven" or "eight" do not need to know the licensed operating system - it is activated on its own at the first start, if there is an Internet connection, or immediately after a connection to the global information network. In the case of a clean installation of the OS from bootable media, at the stage of entering the license code, you should click "I do not have a product key", which Microsoft writes about in the text block.
Activation is automatically and permanently tied to the user's computer based on a unique identifier based on the hardware configuration of the hardware and tied to a Microsoft account. The mandatory password entry form is only for people who decide to purchase the Retail edition of the operating system. Owners of licensed versions of the "seven" and "eight" should refer to the key that was used to activate these editions of Windows.
Let's start with a solution to the problem without resorting to downloading third-party software. It consists in using a tool integrated into the Windows 10 environment called PowerShell. There is no special command to extract the activation code from the registry files in encrypted form, but one of the enthusiasts wrote a script that runs in the Vbasic environment to solve this problem.
1. Download the finished script.
2. Using the search string, call PowerShell with administrator privileges.
In the text field of the extended command line, execute "Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned".
We confirm the launch of the command by clicking on the "Y" and "Enter" buttons.
Import the downloaded file by executing the line "Import-Module prodect_key.ps1".
prodect_key.ps1 - here before the file name we write the full path to it.
Call the "Get-WindowsKey" command to export the key with its subsequent visualization, if you are not prompted to save the key in a text file.
The required information will appear in the last line of the command line.
Viewing keys in the ShowKeyPlus application window
The utility is remarkable in that it displays the key of the operating system currently used on the PC, separately shows the UEFI key, and can extract license information from any previous version of Windows, even if its files are located in the Windows.old folder. The program functions without installation into the system, it is downloaded from the resource at: github.com/Superfly-Inc/ShowKeyPlus/releases.
Using ShowKeyPlus is a pleasure: we run the executable file and get all the necessary information.
- Installed Key - license key for running Windows 10.
- OEM Key - Shows the pre-installed Windows key, if there was one, or a message that the OEM key is not present.
This information can be exported to one of the supported text formats for archival purposes. This is done using the Save button.
Here lies the secret of the fact that different programs display different information about the Windows 10 key: some read it from the registry (the key of the currently functioning operating system, while others export it from UEFI.
ProduKey app
Producekey is a program similar to the previous one, whose sole task is to export and display the Product Key of the current Windows. You can download it at www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html. The utility works without installation, you can run it directly from the archive. After launch, the window shows the product ID, its key and name. The program is applicable not only to operating systems from Microsoft, but also to office suites and other software products of the same corporation.
Extract the OEM code from UEFI
Regardless of which OS currently controls the operation of your computer, if Windows 10 was installed on the device at the time of purchase, the OEM key for it was sewn into the UEFI of the laptop or motherboard. To extract it, you need to call the command line and run the line: "wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey".
In the case when such a code is not present in UEFI, an empty string will appear on the screen, and if it is present, the OEM character sequence may differ from the activation key used in the current Windows 10. The OEM key can also be used to return the originally installed version of the operating system.
To solve the problem, there are several more common (for example, Speccy) and no fewer specialized programs, but the considered methods are enough for any user.
