Can i find the product key i used in my previous installation of Win Vista ?

P

pixok

Member
Hello
I have Hp Notebook laptop, my recovery partition can't boot and the sticker where is stored the product key for Vista Home Premium is partialy damaged and i can't read 7 characters, i already used this key for my previous installation of Windows Vista , i used to read the sticker every time i wanted to format my laptop and i didn't predict this will happen to me someday (sticker damaged).
Now i tried to identify those 7 characters but all my attempts failed, it's nutty to try 27^7 different keys manually unless to try this with a program.
So my last hope is to find informations stocked somewhere by windows to extract the old keys used before my current Windows Vista!

PS: I already activated Vista with WGA to be able to download from Microsof, will this helps me to find this losted key ?

Do you have any idea how to sort this out ? thank you in advance !
 

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My Computer

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    Dell XPS420
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    6 gig
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    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
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Hi Richc
In their site they say it shows the current prodcut key, i don't know if it can recover the old key after i did a format of the H.Disk.
 

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Unfortunately, you are right. I see so many of these things that I give what usually works. I cant speak for the other members, but if your formatted, I have no idea what should be done.
 

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
2 things you can do are
Call HP and ask for OEM discs
or after install call MS and ask for
new code.

Jimmy
 

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    2-500 gigabyte hard drive Western digtal
thank you for your answers!
Will MS give me the new code free of charge because my sticker is unreadable ?
otherwise i will keep looking for solutions, should i test all these 7 unreadable characters? may be it works! but need lot of time :rolleyes:
 

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pixok said:
thank you for your answers!
Will MS give me the new code free of charge because my sticker is unreadable ?
otherwise i will keep looking for solutions, should i test all these 7 unreadable characters? may be it works! but need lot of time :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It would not hurt to try MS, but I have doubts. Put yourself in their place. "I cant read my number, give me a new one" The OEM DVD would need a key, too, which must be paid for. In addition, if your OS came with the computer, MS washes their hands and says, its between you and your computer Manufacturer.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I doubt it is possible to extract a serial number from an already reinstalled copy of Vista. More than likely most of (if not all of) the sectors on which the files where stored are gone and have been replaced by the new install. Also unlikely is M$ caring about your situation. They wouldn't even help me with an activation issue on an upgrade copy for which I have a valid serial number (sore subject) however you can try. You will probably end up having to buy Windows 7 or you can go with Linux for free. Until then you can legally go without activating Vista for 120 days using the technique listed here: Extend the Windows Vista Activation Period Up To 120 Days Using SLMGR.VBS The downside is that you get a nagging prompt and you can't download any updates that require WGA to download manually.I don't know how this applies to installing these updates through Windows update.
 

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    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
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    8 gb
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    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
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    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
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    1 TB x2
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    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
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    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
richc46 said:
It would not hurt to try MS, but I have doubts. Put yourself in their place. "I cant read my number, give me a new one" The OEM DVD would need a key, too, which must be paid for. In addition, if your OS came with the computer, MS washes their hands and says, its between you and your computer Manufacturer.
Click to expand...

townsbg said:
I doubt it is possible to extract a serial number from an already reinstalled copy of Vista. More than likely most of (if not all of) the sectors on which the files where stored are gone and have been replaced by the new install. Also unlikely is M$ caring about your situation. They wouldn't even help me with an activation issue on an upgrade copy for which I have a valid serial number (sore subject) however you can try. You will probably end up having to buy Windows 7 or you can go with Linux for free. Until then you can legally go without activating Vista for 120 days using the technique listed here: Extend the Windows Vista Activation Period Up To 120 Days Using SLMGR.VBS The downside is that you get a nagging prompt and you can't download any updates that require WGA to download manually.I don't know how this applies to installing these updates through Windows update.
Click to expand...
If they answers me they will tell me to buy a new code, in the M$ site they don't give a solution to replace the key if something happens to the recovery partition or to the sticker.
I extended succesfully the activation period, thank you for this information ! i realy need to activate vista because some HP drivers works only in my laptop if i have win Vista, i can't install Windows7 or a linux OS!
 

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What drivers? Are they OS drivers or drivers for other devices such as a printer?

I have found that many Vista drivers work on 7 and if there are Vista drivers more than likely there are Windows 7 drivers. If you have linux it will have it's on drivers.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1 Industry Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion Elite HPE-250f
    CPU
    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
    Memory
    8 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 &1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
  • Operating System
    Windows 2012 R2 Data center/Linux Mint
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Poweredge T140
    CPU
    i3 9100 3.6GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T
    Memory
    8GB 2666MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB & 360 GB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
Hi,

From information provided on the net, Windows OEM activation & validation makes reference to "Master COA keys". The knowledge of this key information is "Restricted" but out there!

Google
 

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP-Pavilion m9280.uk-a
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    2.30 gigahertz AMD Phenom 9600 Quad-Core
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    ASUSTek Computer INC. NARRA3 3.02
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    3582 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory (4 Gig)
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    ASUS NVIDIA Geforce GTS450
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    Realtek High Definition 7.1 Audio (HP drivers)
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    HP w2408 24.0" (Dual monitor)
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    3*500 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity Plus 2x USB (160Gig each) external HDD BluRay & DVD Weiters HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H20L SCSI CdRom (Bluray RW) Device AlViDrv BDDVDROM SCSI CdRom (Blueray) Device TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653N SCSI CdRom
    Internet Speed
    40 Meg
townsbg said:
What drivers? Are they OS drivers or drivers for other devices such as a printer?

I have found that many Vista drivers work on 7 and if there are Vista drivers more than likely there are Windows 7 drivers. If you have linux it will have it's on drivers.
Click to expand...
My dvd drive doesn't work properly unless i istall vista by the HP recovery partition or by installing the driver Intel Chipset Installation Utility for ICH9 for Microsoft Windows Vista by HP but this doesn't work all time due to some problems i can't determine. there are some other drivers HP says they won't work in my laptop model if i install windows7, drivers like the 3D drive Guard and some others hardware related.
 

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