Determining Windows XP Home key

[stockhausen]

I have been asked to sort out a Windows XP Home system that will not boot.
It is not a hardware problem, it is definitely a Windows problem, it runs UBUNTU fine.
The user doesn't know the 25 character key and I want to reinstall Windows.
I have made a backup image of the system partition so as to be able to recover the "Documents".
Is there any way I can identify the 25 character key without booting Windows?

TVM

 

[Philtor]

ProduKey should do it.

 

[bledd]

Use this

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/downloads/keyfinder.zip

Connect the hard drive as slave / or boot a live Windows session
Extract the zip file and run the keyfinder.exe
Click 'Tools, Load Hive' it will ask for the 'Windows' directory, ie D:\Windows.

Point it at it and voilà

 

[stockhausen]

Thanks - KeyFinder from MagicJellyBean worked a treat.

Thanks for that guys, KeyFinder from MagicJellyBean worked a treat. I had found it using Google but didn't realise that it would work on a hard drive mounted as a slave - it does; perfectly.

What's more, it also gave the the CD-Key for the installed Office 2003

System now rebuilt for what will hopefully be a wiser and more careful user - thanks again.

 

[bledd]

Good stuff, I think I'll save a copy of that program incase it ever goes down, dead handy tool.