Windows XP Product KeyNote: Even though this tutorial refers to Windows XP, this product also works for the Windows Vista Product Key. If you ever need to reinstall Windows XP you're going to need to know your Windows XP product key. The Product Key is the 25 character code that came with your computer or with your copy of Windows XP. Most often you can find it on the outside your computer case on a sticker. Or, it may be with the paperwork that came with your PC or your copy of XP. If you've looked everywhere and cannot find your Windows XP Product Key, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is it can be found in your system's registry. The bad news is, it is encrypted so that you can't read it. "Well, that's just great!", you say. Not to worry, it can still be recovered. What you need to do is choose one of the free product key finder programs that support Windows XP, like Keyfinder.
On your desktop, you'll see the folder with a zipper on it showing that it is a zipfile. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed to reduce the file size. The files need to be "extracted" before you can use them. Right-click on the folder and select "Extract All.." from the resulting menu. At the "Opening Keyfinder" window shown below, select "Save File" and click OK.
This will bring up the "Extraction Wizard" shown below.
Click Next to start the wizard. The "Destination" window will appear asking you to choose a location for the extracted files. Browse to the Desktop if it isn't already selected and click Next.
The "Extraction complete" window will now be visible. Click Finish to continue.
The next window will show the Keyfinder folder residing on the Desktop. Double-click on the folder to open it. Click RUN at the Security Warning window.
Inside the Keyfinder folder you'll see the Keyfinder.exe executable file. If you wish you can right-click on the executable file and send it to the Desktop as a shortcut. When you are ready, double-click on the keyfinder executable file to run Keyfinder. In less than a second you'll see the results window shown below. In the left pane will be a list of applications from your PC that have keycodes attached to them. By selecting an application on the left, the resulting keycode will be shown in the right pane. Just select "Microsoft Windows XP" to see your XP keycode. It should be in this format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with letters and numbers replacing the X's shown here.
Now you know how to find your Windows XP Product Key as well as your Windows Vista Product Key! Return From Windows XP Product Key to the Tutorials Page
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