How to find out cd key for windows xp

Hence, XP users are guaranteed that their key, though physically lost, is preserved in a secured place. From this point of view, the procedure to find out your lost product key looks astonishingly simple; and so it is! This process testifies the user-friendly approach of Windows XP. The product key to install Windows has been located without incurring any sort of problems and more importantly, without using any software. This freeware is one which enables you to view, retrieve, or change product keys of all versions of Windows, MS Office and.

NET applications. It retrieves and decodes the encoded product keys stored in the registry and displays them to the user. Being compatible with Vista and MS Office , also magnifies the utility of this software. Click to view more details on Win Key Finder. No installation is needed to work upon it. Just double-click on the downloaded file and get going. Regardless of the method you choose, make sure to backup important data before changing a product ID, since an unexpected problem could render the machine unbootable and necessitate a complete reinstallation of Windows.

The following instructions involve editing your system registry. Using the Windows Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that require the reinstallation of your operating system and possible loss of data.

TechRepublic does not support problems that arise from editing your registry. Use the Registry Editor and the following directions at your own risk. Change at least one character of this value to either a number from 0 to 9 or to a letter from A to F, then click OK and close the Registry Editor.

This renders the current product key invalid and deactivates Windows. Now, it's time to reactivate Windows using your new product key. Click Start Run and enter the command:.

In many cases, this command will look like:. When Windows reboots, your next step will depend on which Windows XP version you are using. If you have XP Home or Professional, you'll be prompted to reactivate your copy of Windows through the normal activation process. When the wizard loads this time, you should see a message indicating that your copy of Windows has already been activated. Although the registry editing process is effective, it can be tedious and impractical if you need to change the product key on more than a few machines.

Copy the appropriate script's code into a text file and save it as either ChangeVLKey The scripts can act in conjunction with a valid product key as part of a login script to change the product ID on multiple machines.

You can also execute the script from the command line to change the key on a single computer. For example, if you wanted to change the product key on an XP machine without SP1 and had already saved the script to root directory on the C: drive, you would click Start Run and enter the following command:.

The script should take only a few seconds to run and won't prompt you for further action unless there's a problem, such as an invalid product key. As with the registry editing method, you can verify that Windows is now using a valid product key by running the command:. The Product Activation Wizard will load and should tell you that your copy of Windows has already been activated.

Changing the product key that you used to install Windows with might be necessary if you find out that your current product key is While it's probably less common these days, many people still use product key generators or other illegal tools to get product keys that work to install Windows only to find out later, when they try to activate Windows, that their original plan isn't going to work out.

Posted by: Sean at April 10, PM. Windows CDs are NOT individual products with their own product key, which is why the certified label is included with them. Hi Leo, does this mean that i can use any windows xp install disk to install the software as long as i have a genuine product key? I have a laptop with the Windows XP Home Edition product key on a sticker on the underside of the computer. Will this key work to validate a windows installation, regardless of the source of the disk?

Thank you in advance for your assistance Shane. PS, if you need more specifics such as the laptop make and such to answer this i will oblidge. Just to bring all of you peolpe up to speed. NO you can not find the CD on any copy of Windows. It just does not excist. TXT, it is simply a file created to allow the cd to be installed to a batch, as in the exact same computers, for a large company that has purchased the systems and computers. It is only reg to those systems and company.

It will not work on any computer. The only issue I do have is, even with unattend and putting in the CD key that does come on the computer will not work, even with the proper version of XP. The key is for pro and the key will not work with the copy I have. I end up running through the online verification every time to authorize it. Leo, Thanks for clarification on some topics. TXT file.

TXT is to allow you to do an unattended installation i. This streamlines and automates installation. TXT is a sample. The installer needs to modify this file and include their unique information, including the product key. It can be used to set up multiple computers, but is used with a Uniqueness Database File UDF , which contains settings unique for each computer, such as machine name.

Just follow these simple steps. Explore the CD and navigate to the i folder. You will find your Windows XP Product key there. Sorry Leo, you are so, so, wrong. Hope you will feel the same!! You are describing a totally different file on the disk! SIF file, a totally different place on the disk , is good. PrivateWalker is absolutly correct, I checked both places. Just referring to PrivateWalker comments, I thank you for the comment, I have been looking everywhere for this information well done.

I think that you should know, your article is totaly incorrect! This is a very time consuming thing to do! This information I know to be true! So please in the future if you do not know the answer for people then do not post something that is wrong! So made recovery disk from my buddy but can only load to were you enter keys please Help Ty Barry. It was fantastic!

Both methods should work but my key worked too.! The shop did the last reinstall — could they have used a different Genuine Advantage kit disc? You can severely damage your computer in here, so please be careful not to mess with anything unless told to do so.

Highlight CurrentVersion. This will show you a whole bunch of keys in the right pane of the editor. I have blacked out the ones that will give out valuable information. The above box has the key in it but it is embedded and only part of this is the key.