What Does Windows Product Key Imply & Why Do I Need It?
Written by Avinash Mittal
Your product key is often stored in the BIOS, and this makes it entirely feasible if you ever want to reinstall or upgrade Windows – no sticker could get damaged. Also, there are no small labels to lose. Still, there are times when you may need your product key and like if you want to transfer a Windows Home or Pro license to another machine.
These days when you buy a Windows 10 Home or Pro from the Microsoft Store or another online retailer, it will include a digital copy of your product key. However, if your computer is relatively new and came with Windows preinstalled, you might be wondering what myWindows Product Keyis. There is likely no sticker on the machine, and the computer manufacturer probably did not include one in the box.
A Windows product key or license is a 25 digit code. It is majorly used to activate your Windows installation. Earlier, all you had to do to find your Windows product key was looking for a sticker somewhere on the machine. Usually, you can find the sticker on a desktop PC's side or stuck to the laptop's bottom.
FIND PRODUCT KEY USING WINDOWS REGISTRY METHOD
If you want to know the steps for How to Find Windows Product Key, then try using this method of Windows Registry. This will help you find your Windows Product key in just a few minutes. You need to follow the below-mentioned steps:
- First, you need to open a Notepad by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop. Now, click on New and then select Text Document from the menu.
- Now, copy-paste the following command in the notepad:
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"))
Function ConvertToKey(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Cur = 0
x = 14
Do
Cur = Cur * 256
Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255
Cur = Cur Mod 24
x = x -1
Loop While x >= 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i <> -1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End If
Loop While i >= 0
ConvertToKey = KeyOutput
End Function
- Next, you need to click the 'File Tab' and select Save As. In the File Explorer, you need to set the Save As Type dropdown to All Files. Then name your file and save it. Use anything, but it has to be saved as a .vbs file.
- Once you have entered a name, you need to save the file. Your Windows 10 product key will now be visible any time by opening a new file.
For how to find the windows product key, you can refer to the methods given above. Using the steps, you will be able to find your product key without any hassle.
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Article author
About the Author
Avinash Mittal is a digital marketing professional with over 4+ years of experience. Presently, he is vigorously rendering and polishing off his versatile skills in the field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Facebook Ads, Content Scrapping and content marketing.
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