Where To Find The Windows 7 Product Key

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

Soldato
Joined
25 Nov 2009
Posts
5,392
Evening chaps,

My dad's laptop has ground to a halt and he wants it wiping. I was gonna give it a dose of DBAN and then just reinstall windows 7, problem is that his laptop came with Vista and I upgraded it (all legit) to Win 7.

Will I be able to activate Win 7 using the product key on the sticker that was originally for Vista or is there a way of finding out what the product key is before wiping?

Alternatively... Any better suggestions?

TIA :)
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
problem is that his laptop came with Vista and I upgraded it (all legit) to Win 7.
Click to expand...

It was a student offer to upgrade for IIRC £30. All I have is the Vista Product Key stuck to his laptop. I was wondering if maybe the upgrade re-registered his Vista key to Win 7.

Appropriate tool... I'll have a Google. Guess the key is encrypted somewhere then :/
 
Surely unless your dad is a student he shouldn't be taking advantage of educational offers from Microsoft. Regardless the upgrade would have a key to activate it. It usually means it won't activate unless it has been used an upgrade ie the upgrade run from within Windows so you'll need to install Vista first.

BTW yes I do know about installing Win 7 and using an upgrade pack.

Andi.
 
That's by-the-by, I was a student so I took advantage of the educational offer... I don't recall them asking who it was for...

Anyway, a bigger issue... I downloaded a Product Key Reader from CNet... Now I have a virus. Set my homepage to 'Trovi' and keeps offering a free online backup. Kaspersky tried to block it but apparently failed :(
 
I hate when that happens :(

Try Spy bot search & destroy & Maleware Bytes to help remove the bits.

Also search through the add & remove programs for any suspicious programs.
 
I've done that RJC and shift+del. the folders I downloaded. Just completed a full scan with Kaspersky and it's shown no threats...

I've had this in the past with CNet. Never again! Guru3d seem OK though, think I'll try your suggestion of Maleware Bytes etc.

It showed me my product key though :D
 
Plus point then :p :eek:

Magic Jelly Bean is a good one to use (to get licence key)

You have to be so careful today when downloading, you need to check every bit of the install, I have been caught out several times.
 
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