[Eleclman]

I Have already uninstalled windows from my PC and now I can't find my product key . Is there a program like Keyfinder that will give me the product key from a uninstalled cd.THANKS!
Message was edited by: coastie65 - MOVED THREAD TO IT"S OWN DISCUSSION AND EDITED HEADER

[coastie65]

Hi, The product key should be on a sticker on the back of the computer if it is a desk top and on the bottom if it is a lap top. (COA) coastie65

[rgreen4]

There are several misunderstandings about the COA. One is that it is on the CD, it is not. There is a routine in the install program that verifies that the COA you enter is legitimate. When you activate the copy, the exact COA you enter is checked against a database to see if it has already been activated.
The second misunderstanding is that the number you see on the System Info screen is the actual COA, actually it is a conversion done in the program to "decode" the code you enter. If you find your COA either on the installation disc or on the machine, you will note that it is 25 characters (mostly letters) while the displayed COA on the screen is 20 characters, mostly numbers.

[coastie65]

Hey rg, That sounded like something written by a Chinese Tech writer, perfectly confusing. :D coastie

[rgreen4]

Yeh, I got twisted up abit there. I have edited it, see if it reads better.

[coastie65]

Hey rg, :D Better. I think what he is asking, is that he has apparantly wiped the Hdd and was concerned about the reinstallation of the OS. He can just reinstall the thing and use the the COA for the sticker on the machine in the set up process IF it is the same OS that he is reinstalling. coastie

[rgreen4]

That's true, but I got from his initial question that he did not know where the COA was recorded and was thinking that like some software, you can display the number you enter.

[DeeLibra]

www.keyfinder.2.0.5.

Try this I was able to use it please let me know ok

tks

dee

[BAMT]

The numbers on the sticker that the OEM attaches is not a valid Windows key. The only way I see possible is if you just reformated the drive, not wiped, then restored the contents (or atleast most of them), and then using a bootable disk to extract the key. Or maybe just buy a new license...

[rgreen4]

BAMT - the COA number on the Windows sticker on a PC is a legitimate one. However, one has to make sure that if re-installing windows from a CD other than the original install CD/DVD that the one used matches the version and level of the original.

For example, lets us Windows XP. We are all familiar with the three versions (two major) Home, Professional and Media Center. If the PC came with XP Home and you want to use the sticker COA, then you need an XP Home OEM install disc, you cannot use an upgrade or full install disc. Since Home and Pro all came in three versions, there are 7 different sales options (Media Center only came as an OEM install).

Then you throw in SP1, SP2, SP2b, SP2c and SP3 and you have up to 30 different varieties of COA sequences for Home and Pro. I know that XP MC came as 2002 and 2005 varieties, I assume that 2002 is SP1 and 2005 is SP2, but I don't know if they ever used an SP2b or SP2c COA sequence. (I am not sure there was a SP2a as I have not seen reference to it).

Thus if you are working with a 2004 era PC with XP Home, and you reach up and pull down the XP Home OEM install disc that was purchased in early 2008 (SP2c) it will not recognize the COA from the machine. But if you happened to use a 2004 disc, it would. This is why it is so important to keep the disc that came with the machine, even though all install discs (of a series) are the same. Unfortunately, neither the sticker nor the CD indicates what series of SP it has.

I have an uninstalled copy of XP Pro with SP2c (per label on envelope), the CD says XP Pro SP2, version 2002, and the COA label says XP Pro OEM.

It is complex because the longevity of XP with SP2 was so long. Service Pack 2 came out in 2004, Service Pack 3 came out in 2008 after 4 years. It was only about 1 year for SP1 to come out in 2002 and then 2 years before SP2 came out.

[coastie65]

I have used a Windows install disk in lieu of the factory supplied disk in the past. It did alright when I used the COA on the sticker rather than the one with the disk. I couldn't get updates when I used the one on the sticker with the disk for some reason ( it is an OEM disk). Most likely, a previous registration issue. coastie

[Knifeblade]

Almost makes ya want to run to Linux :D

[coastie65]

Knifeblade said:

Almost makes ya want to run to Linux :D

!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1! !http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

[rgreen4]

Yeh, right. Let me us when you do. :^0 That's when Tam's eyes will turn green.

[Knifeblade]

:^0 Probably right, ayep!!! I'm dabbling a bit with Ubuntu, still on a learning curve, LOL.