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  #1  
Old July 13th 19, 06:30 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?


Ads
  #2  
Old July 13th 19, 07:05 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Paul in Houston TX[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 999
Default Windows Product Key

Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?


Have you tried a Key Finder?
https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...t-key-finders/

  #3  
Old July 13th 19, 07:39 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/2019 11:05 AM, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?


Have you tried a Key Finder?
https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...t-key-finders/


Thanks, but I haven't tried any of them because they seem to imply that
they do the find in the HD of a functioning Windows system. I need a key
finder that will find the product key in a removed Windows 7 HD that is
attached to my Win10 as a USB drive.
  #4  
Old July 13th 19, 07:52 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
The Man in the High Castle
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 53
Default Windows Product Key

Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?



The laptop doesn't have a sticker with the product code? If not, you're
SOL without the HD.
  #5  
Old July 13th 19, 08:16 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default Windows Product Key

"Cameo" wrote

| My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
| kicked the dust.

You might be able to plug in that disk to a working computer,
then use something like UBCD or other bootable repair disk that
provides a Registry reader. Then you just have to figure out
the Registry setting.

BUT, if you have an OEM laptop Win7 is probably not licensed
for anything but the machine it came on. That would mean that
you probably won't be able to use that key in a VM. When the
laptop dies, Windows goes with it.

This is the massive scam of product activation. No one
complains because it's nearly invisible, but down the road when
you want to install Windows on a different machine it turns out
you don't own a license to the OS you paid for. Microsoft claims
that the motherboard owns the license! They claim to have
contracted with a piece of plastic. You were just the sucker
whose money was paid.


  #6  
Old July 13th 19, 08:35 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/2019 11:52 AM, The Man in the High Castle wrote:
Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it
to run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner,
that can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7
Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in
Win10 within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works
for 30 days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB
drive with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?



The laptop doesn't have a sticker with the product code? If not, you're
SOL without the HD.


That laptop does have the sticker, of course, but for the originally
installed Windows Vista Premium. I upgraded the OS several times, first
with basic Windows 7 Home Edition, then with Home Premium updater DVD
set. Last time I updated it to the Pro version online, so I could use
the XP virtual machine on it, too. By now I only have the Home Premium
Updater DVD set and its Product Key is not accepted. The registration
wants the original Pro product key, for which I never had a DVD set
because of the online upgrade.

  #7  
Old July 13th 19, 08:40 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/2019 12:16 PM, Mayayana wrote:
"Cameo" wrote

| My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
| kicked the dust.

You might be able to plug in that disk to a working computer,
then use something like UBCD or other bootable repair disk that
provides a Registry reader. Then you just have to figure out
the Registry setting.

BUT, if you have an OEM laptop Win7 is probably not licensed
for anything but the machine it came on. That would mean that
you probably won't be able to use that key in a VM. When the
laptop dies, Windows goes with it.

This is the massive scam of product activation. No one
complains because it's nearly invisible, but down the road when
you want to install Windows on a different machine it turns out
you don't own a license to the OS you paid for. Microsoft claims
that the motherboard owns the license! They claim to have
contracted with a piece of plastic. You were just the sucker
whose money was paid.


I can see their point though. They don't want some junked old PCs being
used to extract valid product keys and used for some new PCs. On the
other hand, they should make it easier for legit license owners to
transfer the registration to a new installation, as is my case here.




  #8  
Old July 13th 19, 09:26 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Big Al[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,588
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/19 3:40 PM, Cameo wrote:
On 7/13/2019 12:16 PM, Mayayana wrote:
"Cameo" wrote

| My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
| kicked the dust.

Â*Â* You might be able to plug in that disk to a working computer,
then use something like UBCD or other bootable repair disk that
provides a Registry reader. Then you just have to figure out
the Registry setting.

Â*Â* BUT, if you have an OEM laptop Win7 is probably not licensed
for anything but the machine it came on. That would mean that
you probably won't be able to use that key in a VM. When the
laptop dies, Windows goes with it.

Â*Â* This is the massive scam of product activation. No one
complains because it's nearly invisible, but down the road when
you want to install Windows on a different machine it turns out
you don't own a license to the OS you paid for. Microsoft claims
that the motherboard owns the license! They claim to have
contracted with a piece of plastic. You were just the sucker
whose money was paid.


I can see their point though. They don't want some junked old PCs being
used to extract valid product keys and used for some new PCs. On the
other hand, they should make it easier for legit license owners to
transfer the registration to a new installation, as is my case here.


I disagree with your other hand. As Mayayana said, MS sold it to the
motherboard / manufacturer and for a really cheap price so it can't be
moved around and used on other equipment. That's the cost saver to both
parties and you get the short end of the stick in the kind of condition.



  #9  
Old July 13th 19, 10:34 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default Windows Product Key

"Cameo" wrote

|
| I can see their point though. They don't want some junked old PCs being
| used to extract valid product keys and used for some new PCs. On the
| other hand, they should make it easier for legit license owners to
| transfer the registration to a new installation, as is my case here.
|
Someone paid for the license on that old PC. Just
as it's legal to buy and sell books, or give them away,
it's legal to buy or sell or give away a Windows license.
At least in theory. Microsoft themselves are claiming
a Windows license is the same kind as a book -- copyrighted
intellectual property. As long as only one copy is in use
it should be legal. That was established in court back
in 1909, when Macy's tried and failed to ban the selling of
used books.
MS claim that they charged less for OEM, so it can'be a
limited, illegal license. But what they charged is not your
problem. They do that to maintain their monopoly.

The Pro license actually is transferrable. But Microsoft
have made immense profits by not providing a disk and
making re-install esoteric. Nearly everyone just throws
away their computer when something goes wrong.
The then buy another computer, and yet another Windows
license. Even with Pro, most people don't know they can
transfer it and few know enough to prepare for that.

Microsoft was trying to deal with the problem of people
passing around Windows disks, but that was never really
a problem. Few people build their own computers. Instead,
product activation was really a way for them to make a lot of
money they don't deserve and get a lot more business for
their hardware partners. It helped to define a computer as
a disposable, 1-piece item.

Back in 2000, when MS were preparing this scam, they actually
started threatening "white box" makers -- shops that built PCs
to order -- claiming that it was a cause of piracy to build a computer
without an OS. In the process they actually avoided acknowledging
that they themselves were selling Pro disks that were legal to install
serially on white box PCs. They were also selling enterprise licenses
for corporations that installed Windows on white box PCs:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/1...ipped_without/

This also connects with Bill Gates telling Buffett that he should
invest in Microsoft, because every computer sold yields a
Windows tax. No matter what it's used for, a Windows license
is part of the cost.

Interestingly, there really is no such thing as a PC. It's
just an assembly. I've built my own for years. My town says
I can't throw away a computer. But I can throw away the
case, the power supply, the wires, the hard disks. I'm not
sure about the motherboard. That contains lead. But I can
certainly throw away the computer as parts.
The absurdity of Microsoft's claims was especially evident
when they came out with literature for WinME upgrade disks,
which were $10 for awhile. The package explained that it
was licensed "to you and the motherboard". They were trying to
tie a license to both the buyer and a piece of plastic! Of course,
it would be untenable to claim they had a contract with an
inanimate piece of plastic, so they had to pretend you were
included. But actually, "you" had nothing to do with it in
their legal definition.

Microsoft have a lot more lawyers and Congressmen
than the rest of us, so they can get away with this. But they
wouldn't have got away with it if people had been paying
attention in the first place. That was the beginning of
locking you out of your own property, which has now
culminated in win10 being presented as a "service". So
now you pay for a license AND will eventually pay rent,
if you don't already. (I'd call it rent that they're collecting
marketing data and showing ads.)


  #10  
Old July 14th 19, 12:24 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Lucifer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 226
Default Windows Product Key

On Sat, 13 Jul 2019 11:39:40 -0700, Cameo
wrote:

On 13/7/2019 11:05 AM, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?


Have you tried a Key Finder?
https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...t-key-finders/


Thanks, but I haven't tried any of them because they seem to imply that
they do the find in the HD of a functioning Windows system. I need a key
finder that will find the product key in a removed Windows 7 HD that is
attached to my Win10 as a USB drive.


Boot your working PC from your Windows 7 HD then use the key finder.
  #11  
Old July 14th 19, 03:24 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/2019 4:24 PM, Lucifer wrote:
On Sat, 13 Jul 2019 11:39:40 -0700, Cameo
wrote:

On 13/7/2019 11:05 AM, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?

Have you tried a Key Finder?
https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...t-key-finders/


Thanks, but I haven't tried any of them because they seem to imply that
they do the find in the HD of a functioning Windows system. I need a key
finder that will find the product key in a removed Windows 7 HD that is
attached to my Win10 as a USB drive.


Boot your working PC from your Windows 7 HD then use the key finder.


That would not work because the two laptops need different hardware drivers.

  #12  
Old July 14th 19, 03:32 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Cameo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Windows Product Key

On 7/13/2019 1:26 PM, Big Al wrote:
On 7/13/19 3:40 PM, Cameo wrote:
On 7/13/2019 12:16 PM, Mayayana wrote:
"Cameo" wrote

| My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
| kicked the dust.

** You might be able to plug in that disk to a working computer,
then use something like UBCD or other bootable repair disk that
provides a Registry reader. Then you just have to figure out
the Registry setting.

** BUT, if you have an OEM laptop Win7 is probably not licensed
for anything but the machine it came on. That would mean that
you probably won't be able to use that key in a VM. When the
laptop dies, Windows goes with it.

** This is the massive scam of product activation. No one
complains because it's nearly invisible, but down the road when
you want to install Windows on a different machine it turns out
you don't own a license to the OS you paid for. Microsoft claims
that the motherboard owns the license! They claim to have
contracted with a piece of plastic. You were just the sucker
whose money was paid.


I can see their point though. They don't want some junked old PCs
being used to extract valid product keys and used for some new PCs. On
the other hand, they should make it easier for legit license owners to
transfer the registration to a new installation, as is my case here.


I disagree with your other hand.* As Mayayana said, MS sold it to the
motherboard / manufacturer and for a really cheap price so it can't be
moved around and used on other equipment.* That's the cost saver to both
parties and you get the short end of the stick in the kind of condition.


I was just trying to guess MS' thinking, but I agree with your point.

  #13  
Old July 15th 19, 02:40 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default Windows Product Key

"Cameo" wrote

|
| Oh, c'mon Paul! You think everybody on this news group is a programming
| geek?

It might not have been clear what was code there, but it's actually
very simple. Just paste the following into Notepad, save as a file
with extension .vbs, and run it:

'-- begin code --------------------------
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
registryLocation = "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"

MsgBox ConvertHumanReadable(WshShell.RegRead(registryLoca tion))

Function ConvertHumanReadable(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Current = 0
x = 14
Do
Current = Current * 256
Current = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Current
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Current \ 24) And 255
Current = Current Mod 24
x = x -1
Loop While x = 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Current + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i -1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End If
Loop While i = 0
ConvertHumanReadable = KeyOutput
End Function



  #14  
Old July 15th 19, 10:36 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
John[_98_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Windows Product Key

On 13/07/2019 18:30, Cameo wrote:
My good old HP laptop that I had Windows 7 running on, has finally
kicked the dust. I also have a newer Lenovo IdeaPad laptop that runs
Windows 10. I needed the Win 7 installation to run my home automation
software (ActiveHome Pro) on because the vendor have not upgraded it to
run on Win10. I also have an old Umax Astra 2200 flat bad scanner, that
can only run on Windows XP, which I virtual machined in the Win7 Pro.

So I decided to install these Win XP and Win7 operating systems in Win10
within the Oracle VM Virtual Box. Unfortunately that only works for 30
days without valid Windows Product Keys from Microsoft. Also
unfortunately, over the years I tossed out the original XP CDs and I
only could find an updater CD set for my Win7 whose Product Key is not
acceptable by my virtual installation. So here I am now without valid
Product Keys even though they must be embedded somewhere in the hard
drive of my old Win7 which I removed from and can access as a USB drive
with an adapter.

Can anybody suggest an easy, and hopefully free way to extract those
product keys from the Win7 HD or Microsoft Support?



Hi, Cameo

Try this.......
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

--
Best Regards
John

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

  #15  
Old July 15th 19, 01:42 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default Windows Product Key

"Paul" wrote

| Using the Kaspersky registry program (or any other
| offline reg editor you happen to know how to operate),
| you can use that to find the Windows NT DigitalProductID field.
| Starting at byte 52 decimal. Since there are 0x00's on either
| side of the 15 bytes, it stands out pretty good.
|
| You put that value into the getkey2.vbs and run it
| and it converts the 15 bytes back into a key you can use.
|
You do realize none of that is necessary?
The script alone finds the value in the Registry and
extracts the key. No one needs a Registry program.
It's just confusing the issue.

Weird stuff, though. I don't see why Microsoft feel
they need to hide the key. It's printed on the sticker
that's on all OEM computers. People need it to reinstall.
Yet Microsoft have gone from storing it in plain text
directly in the Registry to encoding it and storing it
with the Product ID, which is really just a SKU code.


 




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