Lost Windows 7 key after forced Win10 upgrade

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Interesting question from KP: First of all, thanks for your Web site, it is my go-to site for all the latest Microsoft update shenanigans. My 80 year
[See the full post at: Lost Windows 7 key after forced Win10 upgrade]

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Have you tried Magic Jelly Bean?. I don’t know if it gives the same info as Belarc.

https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

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You may be stuffed. If the PC was upgraded using an Enterprise Volume Licensing key it won’t be available or legal to use it.
I suppose you could ask the supplier where the PC came from in the hope you could ask their IT department just to clear up what was used.
If there is no upgrade license sticker on it the above looks likely.

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Use ShowKeyPlus to find what keys for what versions are installed…

http://showkeyplus.findmysoft.com/

Then, see the comments here from a recent thread…

https://www.askwoody.com/2017/how-would-you-install-win7-from-scratch/#comment-115287

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Sounds like the PC when upgraded from XP to Win7 used a company activation key (enterprise or select agreement key). Since the key was not retrieved before the Win10 forced upgrade, it got lost; apparently Win10 deleted the key during the return back to Win7. Bummer indeed!

Just one more example of why so much distrust is building against Microsoft.

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If he did a clean install of W10, the W7 key is gone. The W7 key is not stored in the BIOS. A rollback to W7 would not have taken hours, so I assume he did a clean install.

Hopefully he has a backup of the previous system. If not you are out of luck.

The key for W7 is in the following registry key…

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEHARDWAREACPIRSDT

It contains the OEM marker version in order to match the correct certificate.

The OEM manufacturer has software that can lift the product key.

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Here is a scary thought. When 2020 comes around and Win7 is no longer supported. What happens if you want to reinstall a Windows 7 machine? Would you be able to activate it since activation phones home to Microsoft to check the key? Example you want to keep your HTPC on Windows 7 that only does OTA (over the air) recording and no internet streaming.

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Good question!

If XP is any model, though, there won’t be any problem.

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Thanks!

Is the Original Poster then stuck with phone activation?

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MS Licenced PC Refurbishers/Recyclers, typically in the UK based, sell good legal keys cheaply on Ebay all the time. I have used them several times for both Win7 HP and Pro machine with no problems at all.

Have a gander at this Ghacks article on the subject:

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/09/03/getting-a-windows-product-key-on-the-cheap/

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I don’t know about others, but Toshiba OEM installs do not get the phone activation option…

The activation options were…

Buy a Product Key.

Enter a different Product Key.

Call Toshiba (Did that…no help).

Further research led me to the solution posted above.

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Depends…

If it’s an OEM install, it’s tied to the specific machine.

OEM’s activate automatically on clean install, they don’t go through MS.

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The risk is that if you do not have a legitimate Product Key (COA, OEM) you risk having it fail the license check when it automatically runs.

You’re back to where you started, and out the cash you spent.

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In the past Ive had problems with Win7 keys.

[Removed reference to pirate keys. -Woody]

How many times do I need to pay for a key in the same PC?
I haven’t tried to upgrade that Laptop to Win10 but Ive read that the result is a genuine Win 10 key?

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It’s been a while since installing XP now, if I remember correctly it did not need an internet connection to use the key? Windows 7 keys need the connection (or phone, but will they still activate after the support runs out). Just thinking out loud!

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Whenever I buy a used PC, I try to get one from an “MS certified refurbisher”. They put a refurbisher COA sticker with the license key on the machine, and that’s how you know you have a legit windows installation. When I finish the initial OOBE configuration, I immediately make an image of the disk; sometimes I even clone it onto a spare disk, “just in case”.

When your dad bought the machine, he may have gotten a CD to start the process of retrieving and installing anew using a recovery partition on the hard disk. Otherwise, check out the hard disk partitions on the HD; it may have a recovery partition and an easy way to access it when you start up the machine.

Maybe go back to the supplier and see if he can do anything?

Otherwise, if it was a pirated or VLK install, you’re out of (legal) luck.

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A lot of sellers have sold prodcut keys without licenses. Many times these have been product keys associated with an MSDN account.

When I’ve needed something, I’ve picked up the software, with license and key, though it can get tough to differentiate the fake from the genuine, especially on ebay.

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I think you’re right – but it’s been a long while for me, too.

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Well, I have a good one for all of you.

I have done a clean install of win 7 HP SP1 after changing to a larger HDD. I have the original Product Key on the sticker on the bottom of the lap top, I also show a DIFFERENT one in the system file, and a third one shown by Show Key Plus.

My question is “Which one, if any, is the correct one?”

Dave

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Write them all down, but use the one on the sticker.

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@ jmwoods ……. For Win 8/8.1/10, an OEM clean install will be re-activated automatically bc the Product Keys or digital licenses r embedded in the motherboard(= less risk of piracy = M$ allow auto-activation).

For Win 7, an OEM clean install can only be re-activated manually by entering the Product Key that is on the COA sticker attached to the cptr bc it is stored in the hard-drive.
……. New OEM Win 7 cptrs that were sold came pre-activated at factory with a common OEM-SLP Volume License keys, which r different from the individualized COA-sticker Product Key for clean re-installs. The OEM-SLP key cannot be used for re-activation after a clean install.

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I think you need to have some extra files in the right place to activate automatically.

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“For Win 7, an OEM clean install can only be re-activated manually by entering the Product Key that is on the COA sticker attached to the cptr bc it is stored in the hard-drive”

Not correct…

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Expand the section “Beware of Product Keys Sold Separately”…

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/howtotell/shop.aspx

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+1

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The issue occurs if there is no COA sticker with the Product Key.

On laptops, it is sometimes found inside the battery compartment.

I refreshed a Toshiba laptop last week that had that exact issue…purchased as a Windows 8.1 system with a downgrade to Windows 7. No COA anywhere…

The laptop shipped with Windows 7 installed, and recovery disks for Windows 8.1

I was able to activate it by extracting the cert key file embedded in a backup copy of tokens.dat, and re-inserting it into the installed tokens.dat.

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https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/windows-7-build-7601-copy-not-genuine-after-failed/871c8660-9100-4740-abb9-111f5ab6245a

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Woody,

That’s what I thought. Keep track of them ALL, just in case.

Thanks,

Dave

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As others have stated, looks like the PC was activated with a company VLK to Enterprise which is what would have prompted the full install like that. More than likely that key, or activating from that key, is not going to happen again.

Instead of trying to track down a new key for that PC, I’d suggest getting a new PC. If it’s got an XP OEM sticker on it, then it’s a classic DDR2 power hog. Getting him any $300 desktop from the newer processor lines will probably save him half of the cost on electricity. Heck, finding an older-model HP Pavilion Mini or something comperable will probably save the rest in a year.

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Likely true. And if he’s going for a new PC, I sincerely hope he’s considering getting a Chromebook. Not the best solution for everyone, but when it fits the requirements it’s one whole HECK of a lot easier to maintain.

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that and the follow-on

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows_10-windows_install/how-to-fix-windows-7-or-windows-81-reporting-not/48aad7b7-fdf3-490f-95d6-ea47d2c9bb82

Doesn’t look very optimistic, does it?

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In some cases, NirSofers’ ProduKey can get the key even where Belarc and others have failed.

Otherwise, Phone Activation may help. But with some brands, or if this was an Enterprise Volume License, a new key would have to be bought, if one is still obtainable.

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That’s Nir Sofer. His site is Nirsoft.

And if Antivirus flags ProduKey as malicious, hit the Ignore or Exception button.

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Nirsoft ProduKey automates that process.

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You could try to get the original factory restore disks from HP. This will do a clean install of XP on your dad’s machine. Then upgrade to 7 (clean install upgrade).

Once he is up and running with 7, be sure to do regular backups, so that you can recover in case something happens in the future.

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Either a low-end new PC, or if he really wants Windows 7, there are used PCs out there. Most are legit in licensing terms.

New or refurbished Windows 7 PCs may still be available. Some vendors including Dell Outlet, Newegg and even Best Buy online have a few leftovers.

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Walmart.com has refurbished Windows 7 computers for just over $100. I saw one listed with 4 GB of RAM and a 750 GB hard drive for $136.03!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-Refurbished-Silver-760-Desktop-PC-with-Intel-Core-2-Duo-Processor-4GB-Memory-750GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Professional-Monitor-Not-Included/40660523

The trick is to buy the ones which are “sold and shipped” by Walmart.com, not by someone else. If they are “sold and shipped” by Walmart.com, and there is a problem with them, you can return them to your local Walmart for a refund.

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After all these years, the fact that this discussion still leaves room for speculation, confusion and doubt regarding activation is directly attributable to Microsoft’s failure. It’s like they’ve been winging it since windows ’95.

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+1

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ProduKey will only find keys on your system.

ShowKeyPlus does as well, with the added feature that you can take any 5 x 5 key and find out what product it is attached to.

The problem was not finding the key, but activating with the key that was found.

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And it will not find the tokens file which is essential in OEM activation.

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The cert key file was located and extracted from a backup copy of tokens.dat using SLIC_ToolKit_V3.2 on my OEM systems.

It was then re-inserted into the current tokens.dat file using the following command (using your specific folder and file name details)…

C:Windowssystem32>slmgr.vbs -ilc C:{Folder where cert key file was saved}{Cert key file name}.xrm-ms

After that, the OEM systems were activated.

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