retrieve current install key

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I was given a freebie laptop with Windows 8.1.

It's a Lenovo Ultrabook with an Intel i5 and only 4GB RAM.

It does have a restore "partition".

I was able to get it to "usable" (it only has a 1.5 GHz CPU) mainly by axing Trend Micro and remnants of McAfee.

This is my FOURTH "freebie" all an account of previous owners disatisfied with "speed" and all on account of anti-virus programs slowing them down!

 

My question is this - the sticker on the bottom with the MS Key is worn and faded and unreadable.

Are there any software programs to retrieve my MS Key so I could reinstall without using the restore "partition"?

[billmcct]

Try License Crawler, it will find ALL keys in the system. Your key should be embedded in the BIOS.

http://www.klinzmann.name/licensecrawler_download.htm

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, billmcct said:

Try License Crawler

Awesome!  Thanks, that worked!

[NotHereToPlayGames]

This freebie laptop has close to two hundred Metro App "kiddie games".  This tutorial was a godsend - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7g_8S3GngA

[UCyborg]

4 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

It's a Lenovo Ultrabook with an Intel i5 and only 4GB RAM.

Ha, the one I'm writing from now has only 2 GB of RAM minus 256 MB taken for video RAM.

The other machine I have has 4 GB. Work laptop has 12 GB, but that doesn't count since it belongs to the company.

On-topic, there's also Product Key Scanner by Nir Sofer.

Edited February 19, 2023 by UCyborg

[NotHereToPlayGames]

59 minutes ago, UCyborg said:

there's also Product Key Scanner by Nir Sofer.

Excellent, will try that one also.  Checks-and-Balance.  Both "should" give me the same exact MS Key and that will be a nice "warm fuzzy" before doing a full install.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, UCyborg said:

there's also Product Key Scanner by Nir Sofer.

This one is definitely faster.

Pulled more keys also (11 in total, but 5 were identical but stored in diffent places, 2 more were identical in different places, another 2 were identical in different places), but I cancelled License Crawler after a couple of minutes (at which point it had only found the one key).

This one also revealed which was the BIOS key.

I suspect License Crawler would have found them all also, if I were patient enough to wait for the whole scan.

[mina7601]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:35 PM, UCyborg said:

Product Key Scanner by Nir Sofer.

Thank you very much man, I was looking for an updated version of ProduKey, and this one suited me better. The good thing about this utility is that it doesn't get false positives by antiviruses, unlike ProduKey, which, in fact, gets false positives. Again, thank you!

[Tripredacus]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:10 AM, billmcct said:

Try License Crawler, it will find ALL keys in the system. Your key should be embedded in the BIOS.

http://www.klinzmann.name/licensecrawler_download.htm

This is false. A system with a COA with a product key on it should not have a product key in the BIOS.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I cannot read the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop.  But I do know that the NirSoft scanner indicates one product key FIVE times.  One was clearly indicated as BIOS and the other four were indicated as Registry.

No clue beyond that because the last two computers that I purchased did not come with an install disk so I "refused" to buy the computer and that prompted the retailer to provide an actual install disk at no extra charge.

[D.Draker]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:52 AM, NotHereToPlayGames said:

It does have a restore "partition".

Why does it have quotes, it's a real HDD partition .

[D.Draker]

10 hours ago, Tripredacus said:

This is false. A system with a COA with a product key on it should not have a product key in the BIOS.

Weird...

I know it may have changed now, but with Vista, I don't enter any serials at all. I have a DVD that came with my Siemens PC (it has a sticker on it).

So when I need to install a fresh system, I just remove all partitions, including the restore partition, reformat the HDD and install from the DVD, it doesn't 

ask me to enter anything ... 

[NotHereToPlayGames]

15 minutes ago, D.Draker said:

Why does it have quotes, it's a real HDD partition .

Because I'm *not* a fan of restore "partitions".  I prefer one partition per OS (in the case of multi-boot setups) and axe restore "partitions" because I have no use for them.

[D.Draker]

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Because I'm *not* a fan of restore "partitions".  I prefer one partition per OS (in the case of multi-boot setups) and axe restore "partitions" because I have no use for them.

I agree with you, I'm not a fan either ! I have a DVD (read above). But ! By placing the quotes, you (intentionally or not) distorted the meaning , the technical aspect.

Once again, it's a real partition ! I have it too on my Siemens PC.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

14 minutes ago, D.Draker said:

But ! By placing the quotes, you (intentionally or not) distorted the meaning , the technical aspect.

That is "your" interpretation.  MY use of "quotes" in WRITTEN form is akin to "air quotes" in verbal form.  Pretty common here in the Midwest even if not common in your part of the world.  Definitely not worth "arguing" over!

 

air quotes, noun, a pair of quotation marks gestured by a speaker's fingers in the air, to indicate that what is being said is ironic or mocking, or is not a turn of phrase the speaker would typically employ.