Overdrive413 Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 How do I pull the product key from my Microsoft Windows CD?I got the Windows XP Professional-orginal CD, in sort of a messy condition thrown away state.. the user seems to be somewhat furious abt the operating system i guessnow I have this gleaming original version CD but no keys... eventhough I know its fruitless, yet I tried tracing the owner but failed at the first step itself...I dialled M$.. they refused bluntly now i am clueless ..anyone with any idea what to do with the cd .. the mere sight of a orginal version Windows XP Professional CD and me in a helpless condition is kinda sick....can anyone help me ??suggstions are most welcome....I have heard that we can pull up the Product Key from the CD, hence this question...Thanks in advance for your help guys....
Guy Smiley Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 My understanding is that the disk contains no product key, that comes on a seperate sticker with the cd. all the cd's are identical - would cost too much for microsoft to embed unique number into each cd ? cheaper just to have duplicate cd's and seperate stickers.If you can get access to the original computer (that the computer came with) there is a programme called jellybean which will tell you the product code - but even if you get the code you will end up having to 'activate' the install, which if it is an already used disk will be a problem. if you're lucky the disk will be old enough that its activation key settings are no longer stored on the Microsoft dbas ? possibly.
Overdrive413 Posted February 25, 2007 Author Posted February 25, 2007 Thanks for the help... Lemme chk if this works out.....
Sonic Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 I don't know if it's your case but, Windows XP Pro media can be bought without license-key, it's just the media to use with key for enterprises (volume license key).The media is about 10€ if I remember, but if you buy that CD you can't do anything without a license key.
rajesh.kumar Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 if u can find i386\winnt.sif file with only the product key in it, in case it was delivered with the computer.
irishbear Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 My understanding is that the disk contains no product key, that comes on a seperate sticker with the cd. all the cd's are identical - would cost too much for microsoft to embed unique number into each cd ? cheaper just to have duplicate cd's and seperate stickers.If you can get access to the original computer (that the computer came with) there is a programme called jellybean which will tell you the product code - but even if you get the code you will end up having to 'activate' the install, which if it is an already used disk will be a problem. if you're lucky the disk will be old enough that its activation key settings are no longer stored on the Microsoft dbas ? possibly.But you can't install his XP disk with another "LEGITIMATE" product key, so the installation is checking if the key matches the CD being used! Therefore it has to have something to check against.
IcemanND Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 The keys are tied to certain types of installations. VLK, retail, upgrade, etc. each key is uniquely encoded to work with just the type of installation media it cam with. No key is on the cd unless an answer file was added.
rogerebert Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Find Xp Manager online nice tool for many tweeks plus you can not only get the keys, but you can backup your activation file. It does the same thing for office too.Some people don't like the registry tools since they are eager to trash files. search for these two words on google and you will find a website with this and other goodies.softex meganet
cluberti Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 CDs contain no keys, just the code to decode keys and determine if they are valid for the media type. If it's OEM media (from HP/Dell/IBM/etc), you _might_ get lucky with finding an install key in the \i386\winnt.sif file, but that key is legally (at least in most countries) tied to the hardware it was purchased with, and reuse of the key will only work on the same vendor's hardware (and in some cases, BIOS).Otherwise, you'll need to acquire a valid Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) that belongs to that CD to use it. The reason Microsoft refused you a key is likely because of one of two things - one, the CD is OEM and the vendor provides the keys to go with the media bulk they purchased, not Microsoft; or two, you couldn't provide a valid COA to go along with the media, and as such, Microsoft will not provide you a key (the COA is what shows you purchased Windows, not the media itself).
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