Retreiving Windows 7 key.

[arkaywee]

Hi all ,

thanks for such a wonderful forum.
I have a question, please help.


I was using a customized PC with Windows 7 installed on it. Now switched to apple and planning to use desktop parallels.

My PC is not working anymore, dead, but hard drive can be accessed as an external drive. all the files can be seen as they are.

I have lost my installation CD/DVD and the keys and the purchase details (almost 3 years ago)., but the copy is a genuine one and is owned by me.


Can i get my key from the hard drive using it as an external drive.
No PCs at home only apples now....


please help.

 

[davehc]

It surprises me that you lost/bought the keys 3 years ago. It was retailed less than two years ago?

 

[arkaywee]

No, i have got the windows CD about 3 years ago, and cannot find the original CD now or the purchase details

 

[arkaywee]

is there any way to retrieve windows key from the hard drive using it as an external drive

 

[clifford_cooley]

It surprises me that you lost the keys 3 years ago. It was retailed less than two years ago?

Thanks dave here is a link and quote to backup your statement.

Windows 7, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Windows 7 is the latest release of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.

There is no way you have had a Windows 7 key and DVD for three years.

If you don't believe what we say then what is the point in us saying anything.

 

[clifford_cooley]

To answer your question, the only way I know of for sure is from within the OS itself.

There maybe way's to do this through the use of BootCD's but I've not used them in some time and don't remember all the possibilities.

Edit:
Here are two links - Hiren's BootCD or Ultimate BootCD

 

[arkaywee]

When I mentioned my disc 3 years.... I was not pin pointing.... It was roughly of that age.

 

[arkaywee]

.also... I was not sure of the buy. Make.version etc... All I knew was win 7 32 bit, bought instore....
I do believe you... And is trying to understand how to get the key from the hard drive.
When I use the drive on a mac as external drive.. It shows al the files as same.... But dont know where to find the key.

 

[clifford_cooley]

When I use the drive on a mac as external drive.. It shows al the files as same.... But dont know where to find the key.

The key is going to be hidden from plain sight for a reason.

There is software available to view these keys but whether or not this software will run on a Mac is beyond me.

 

[TrainableMan]

If you can attach the harddrive to a computer and boot to it you can run a product called SIW and it will show the windows product key under Software ... Licenses.

I don't know exactly how you would do it from a mac; I assume W7 runs as a virtual environment under the mac so it might be as simple as plugging it in and starting it up.

 

[Nibiru2012]

When I mentioned my disc 3 years.... I was not pin pointing.... It was roughly of that age.

"roughly" is quite an understatement if you ask me! LOL!

About two years ago would be a "roughly" statement, since Windows 7 RTM came out in late July of '09 and disc purchases were available in Oct of '09.

Do as TM suggests and find a working PC and plug your hard drive in as a boot drive and then use the S.I.W. software to get your key information.

Good Luck!

 

[catilley1092]

I don't know if this would be of any help or not, but there's an app called "Paragon Go Virtual". It makes the install on the hard drive a virtual one, that can be used on most any computer. That's right, you can take your computer with you wherever you go.

There are scenario's that include running it on a Mac.

This is a free product, however it must be registered, which usually takes no longer than 15 minutes to get a free license key. Mabye after getting that going, the OP can obtain the keys by using SIW or a similar software.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/go-virtual/

Check it out.

Cat

 

[cybercore]

I have lost my installation CD/DVD and the keys and the purchase details (almost 3 years ago)., but the copy is a genuine one and is owned by me. Can i get my key from the hard drive using it as an external drive.

If you can boot your OS, you can retrieve its key with http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

 

[clifford_cooley]

I take it those old keys are no longer being used.

 

[cybercore]

I take it those old keys are no longer being used.

Lol, the picture comes from Nirsoft official site so millions of users have seen it anyway.

 

[catilley1092]

Thanks for posting this site, cybercore.

There's a ton of good software there, freely available for everyone.

Cat

 

[Nibiru2012]

Basically, the same can be done with S.I.W. as TM mentioned previously. However the drive must be able to be bootable or none of these solutions will work.

 

[catilley1092]

If the OP takes the HDD, and uses a tool as I mentioned above, it will allow it to run in virtual mode, allowing access to the key. This can be done with any Windows OS. The purpose of Paragon Go Virtual is to allow one to carry their PC with them, and use it at work, or wherever. I doubt it copies everything, but enough to make it usable.

I'm not sure if the drive would boot in a conventional manner, on a different computer. I've tried this myself, a couple of different times, and it momentarily booted, then I got a BSOD.

Cat

 

[clifford_cooley]

If the OP takes the HDD, and uses a tool as I mentioned above, it will allow it to run in virtual mode, allowing access to the key. This can be done with any Windows OS.

Cat if the OS doesn't boot, there would not be much hope in placing the OS in a virtual machine.

 

[yodap]

I don't know if this would be of any help or not, but there's an app called "Paragon Go Virtual". It makes the install on the hard drive a virtual one, that can be used on most any computer. That's right, you can take your computer with you wherever you go.

There are scenario's that include running it on a Mac.

This is a free product, however it must be registered, which usually takes no longer than 15 minutes to get a free license key. Mabye after getting that going, the OP can obtain the keys by using SIW or a similar software.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/go-virtual/

Check it out.

Cat

Cat have you tried this software? The online documentation is almost non-existent. I'm interested!