Retrieve a lost CD-Key from the registry
28 February 2003 by Snakefoot | Comment » | Trackback OffThe CD-key entered during installation is stored in the registry (and cannot be found on the install CD).
One can extract the CD-key of an existing installation, though in the later versions
of Windows the CD key has become encrypted. But KeyFinder can decrypt it and recover it no matter what.
In WinNT4 one can find it as pure text:
In WinNT4 one can find it as pure text:
In Win2k/WinXP the key is located here but is encrypted:[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows NT \CurrentVersion]
ProductID=
Note if the ProductId has the format "12345-nnn-nnnnnnn-12345" then "nnn-nnnnnnn" is the CD-Key.
If the Win2k/WinXP was installed unattended then the cd-key might be found here:[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows NT \CurrentVersion]
DigitalProductId=
Related Change WinXP CD Key using WPA%SystemRoot%\System32\$WINNT$.INF
Tags:
Category:
Updated: 23 September 2007
Comment by Bhootnath - 9 October 2007 @ 16:35 Reply
I need a tool which is able to change the serial key on the installed win2003 server.