opposite of windows keygen

paradisiac

paradisiac

paradisiac

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is there a program that does the opposite to a keygen for windows licenses?
basically, got a laptop here that wont load into windows. it has the license key for XP on it, but it doesnt say which version.
i know its not home because when you use the cd to do a windows repair it cannot find a version of home to repair. so i have narrowed it down therefore to professional or mce.
is there an app that if i put the product key in it will tell me which version of windows the key is for?
 
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I'm sure Magic Jelly Bean does this.

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

When I run it, it tells me that I am using Windows 7 Ultimate

Edit - Apologies for not reading the thread properly

Found this whilst doing a search from here http://www.computing.net/answers/windows-xp/determine-xp-version-from-dos/131809.html:

Get into Dos.

type c:\windows\system32\prodspec.ini

This will result in something like this, And yes you have to type the word "type"


;
;Note to user: DO NOT ALTER OR DELETE THIS FILE.
;
[SMS Inventory Identification]
Version=1.0

[Product Specification]
Product=Windows XP Professional

Version=5.0
Localization=English
ServicePackNumber=0
BitVersion=40
[Version]
DriverVer=07/01/2001,5.1.2600.0
Click to expand...
 
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paradisiac said:
is there a program that does the opposite to a keygen for windows licenses?
basically, got a laptop here that wont load into windows. it has the license key for XP on it, but it doesnt say which version.
i know its not home because when you use the cd to do a windows repair it cannot find a version of home to repair. so i have narrowed it down therefore to professional or mce.
is there an app that if i put the product key in it will tell me which version of windows the key is for?
Click to expand...

yes i understand that but if you read, i cannot get into windows, so neither magic jellybean or the cmd prompt is an option. the only thing i have to go on is the key itself.
obvs if i could get into windows then all i have to do is right click computer and select properties and that will tell me, but i cant get into windows.
 
iDroid84 said:
Chances are it's going to be an OEM edition. If it doesn't accept the key on installation then just get the Retail Version / Volume Licence Edition. Not hard.
Click to expand...

of which, MCE or PRO!!!! why is it not hard?
i didnt think i made my post too complicated, i know its not home, but media centre and pro are both based on pro, so therefore it could be either, i dont wanna do a windows repair with a pro upgrade if its MCE likewise i dont want to do a MCE upgrade if its pro.
sorry if it makes no sense but i thought it was pretty clear.
 
paradisiac said:
yes i understand that but if you read...
Click to expand...
There's no need for that. They're just trying to help.

To answer your question, no.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811224 said:
A product key is not a product ID (PID) number. A PID is created after a product is successfully installed. PIDs are used by Microsoft Customer Service to help identify the product when customers call in for support.
Click to expand...
 
Raist said:
There's no need for that. They're just trying to help.

To answer your question, no.
Click to expand...

im sorry, but it seemed a bit pointless offering help with apps that will only work in windows, when i clearly said i cannot get into windows. dont mean to be harsh.

thanks for that. so just going to have to gamble on one or the other.
 
paradisiac said:
im sorry, but it seemed a bit pointless offering help with apps that will only work in windows, when i clearly said i cannot get into windows. dont mean to be harsh.

thanks for that. so just going to have to gamble on one or the other.
Click to expand...

You can use a recovery console on the XP disc [any should work] and you can use a CMD prompt from there.
 
What kind of laptop is it? Chances are you can just find out what it was commonly sold with from a quick Google.
I take it the key is still on the bottom?
Doesn't sound a difficult task really, either try and repair the Windows install or get an OEM Pro disk and give it a try.
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
What kind of laptop is it? Chances are you can just find out what it was commonly sold with from a quick Google.
I take it the key is still on the bottom?
Doesn't sound a difficult task really, either try and repair the Windows install or get an OEM Pro disk and give it a try.
Click to expand...

its a second user license, the laptop was shipped with win98.
yes the key is on the bottom, but the part that says which version it is has faded.
try a windows repair with which version though, pro or mce as they are both different even though both based around the pro system, if i use the wrong version to repair with then chances are it will make things worse.
 
I doubt anyone would buy MCE as a second license, it was quite rare. However you could always boot into a live linux cd and then browse the C: drive for clues on what it is. MCE will of course have the media centre application and pro wont.
 
This should work (though I dont have an xp machine handy to test it on) if you are comfortable removing the hard disk from the laptop and hooking it up to a working pc.



1)Copy the following file to your desktop - d:\windows\system32\config\software (where d:\ is the drive latter of the laptop hard disk) - its a hidden file so you will have to select "show hidden files" from explorers tools/folders options/view menu.

2)Download loadhive from http://www.dagondesign.com/files/loadhive.exe

3)Start loadhive.exe and point it to the software registry file we just copied off the laptop drive. (Do not close the runhive prog until finished as it temporarily loads the file into your registry and removes it on closing the prog.)

4)Start regedit and browse to hkey_local_machine\software_00\microsoft\windows NT\currentversion\ - look under the keys labeled EditionID or ProductName - one of those should show what version of XP is installed on the laptop drive.



Hope that helps - Ive used the above process often for retrieving the license keys from non booting xp hard disks (though another step is involved in decrypting the license key.)
 
paradisiac said:
yes i understand that but if you read, i cannot get into windows, so neither magic jellybean or the cmd prompt is an option. the only thing i have to go on is the key itself.
Click to expand...

If you had bothered to follow the link to the magical jelly bean, you'd have discovered that you don't need to boot into the version of windows you're interested in in order to use it. A similar approach to lucifer-mnm's works just fine.

Or perhaps you followed the link but didn't bother reading most of the page.

As an amusing twist, the licence key that windows was originally installed with wont be the same as the one printed on the base of the laptop. And you'll probably need an OEM disk rather than a retail one in order to install using either the sticker key or the stock one.
 
start, run

eula.txt

press enter, scroll to the bottom of the file and google the code that it returns
 
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