Windows 8.1 Key Finder

  • If you can boot into Windows, you can find the key using the command prompt, Windows PowerShell, or a free app called ProduKey. If the PC won't boot, you may find the key on a sticker somewhere on the hardware, the DVD packaging (if you purchased Windows separately), or in your email (if you purchased Windows online through Microsoft).
  • The computer came pre-loaded with Windows 8.1 PRO. I would like to record the License Key but am unable to locate it. It is not on the machine itself, the shipping box, or with any printed material included with the purchase.

The OEM license model has changed since Windows 8. If you buy a Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 pre-installed computer, you will no longer see a sticker on the back or top of the machine with 5×5 product key printed on it. There is only an official Windows 8.1 / 10 logo sticker instead. For some types of license keys under Windows 7/8/2008, the product key is not stored in the Registry, and thus 'Product key was not found' message will be displayed. If you bought your computer with installed operating system, you may find the Windows product key appeared in ProduKey utility is different from the product key on your Windows CD. Then, before Windows 8, those laptops that shipped with Windows 7, had the product key on the certification of activation on the underside of the machine itself. With Windows 8, the license key is built-in as a part of the BIOS/UEFI, and the operating system pulls that from the chip during first install and subsequent reinstallations. During your installation or re-installation of Windows 8, you must have this serial key to complete the installation. Where Is Windows 8 or 8.1 Product Key Located? Usually, your Windows 8 product key will be bundled with the email you got after buying Windows 8 for download, or if you bought it in a box from a store with a disc, it’ll be bundled with the packaging.

Want to find Windows product key or recover forgotten Windows 10 password? Learn how to recover Windows product key from an external or unbootable drive.

Need to reload the operating system but you’ve lost the product key for Microsoft Office 2016 installed on your computer? Is it possible to retrieve Windows 10 product key off of my old computer’s external hard drive?

Even, if your computer is broken or unbootable, you can try to recover your Windows product key and reinstall the OS.

To find your Windows product key, it is recommended to use Password Recovery Bundle which is a must-have password recovery tool that could bypass Windows password, retrieve forgotten passwords to your database, email accounts or protected Office/PDF documents, find lost product keys for any Windows PC, and much more.

In this Windows product key recovery tutorial, we’ll show you how to use Password Recovery Bundle to recover Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP product key from an external or unbootable drive. Here we go.

Do you know? How to Reset Forgotten Windows 10 Password with Bootable USB

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How to Recover Windows 10 Product Key from External Drive

In order to view the product keys stored on a broken computer, you can unplug the hard drive and then connect it to a working computer as an external drive. Afterward, follow the steps below to recover Windows product key:

Windows

Step (1): First of all, open up the Password Recovery Bundle. Click on Start Recovery button and you’ll get a list of options to recover various passwords, along with two additional options to recover product key:

Product Key – This lets you retrieve product keys from your current Windows installation.

Product Key (Advanced) – This can recover product keys from unbootable Windows installation on an external hard drive.

Obviously, here we have to choose the “Product Key (Advanced)” option in order to recover Windows product key from external hard drive.

Step (2): When you see the following dialog box, browse to choose the SOFTWARE registry file stored in the external hard drive. By default, the SOFTWARE file is located in the directory /Windows/System32/Config.

Step (3): Once you’ve clicked the OK button, the Windows product key finder software will load the selected registry file and then immediately show product keys for Windows, Microsoft Office, SQL Server, Adobe and many other programs you’ve ever installed.

Ease data recovery 8.8 serial key. This is how you can easily find Windows product key from external hard drive. The retrieving method will be the same for all the Microsoft Windows operating systems.

You might also like: How to Create a Password Reset Disk for Windows 10 / 8 / 7

How to Recover Windows 10 Product Key from Unbootable Drive

How can I find Windows product key on a crashed or unbootable computer? If you’re unable to connect its drive to a working PC, the only solution is to boot your crashed computer from a bootable media (CD, USB, etc.) and run a product key finder utility from there.

Thankfully, Password Recovery Bundle allows you to create a bootable CD or USB drive, so you can easily extract lost product keys from unbootable drive. Here’s how to do so:

Step (1): When you launch Password Recovery Bundle, click on Windows Password button and choose “Create Password Reset Bootable Disk” from the drop-down menu that appears.

Step (2): By default, the built-in ISO image is filled in automatically. You just need to choose a target media (CD or a USB) and then click on the Start Burn to make a bootable media.

Step (3): When the bootable media is ready, connect it to your unbootable computer. Turn on the machine and quickly press a dedicated key (F12, F2, DEL, F8, Esc, etc.) to bring up the boot options menu. Choose the bootable media you created and press Enter.

Step (4): When successfully booting off the CD or USB drive, you’ll reach the PCUnlocker screen. Just skip the Windows password reset feature and proceed to click the Options button at the bottom, then click “Find Product Key” option.

Step (5): Now you’ll see a new window popping up with your Windows product key, as well as license keys of other programs extracted from your unbootable drive. Finally, you can click the Save button to export the product keys to a text file and then save it to your USB drive.

Thus, you can see how simple is to recover Windows 10 product key or the product key for other software from an unbootable hard drive.

Conclusion

Keeping track of all your software product keys can be a pain, especially when your computer is unbootable or broken. Password Recovery Bundle makes it easy to recover Windows product key from an external or unbootable drive, without having to tear your hair. Try the software to get your product key before it’s too late!

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If you have a computer running Windows 7 or 8 and you would like to upgrade the OS version to 8.1, you will not have to use a product key. But if your Windows version is older than either 7 or 8, you will need to get a Windows 8.1 product key. When Windows 8 was launched, there were a lot of complaints from users worldwide and to address those complaints, Microsoft had to release an upgraded version of Windows 8 which is Windows 8.1.

When you download Windows 8.1, you can enjoy a free trial for 15 days, after which you will need to provide a Windows 8.1 product key so that you can continue to enjoy its full features. If you do not provide this product key, you will be prompted to enter the product key every time you turn on your computer. If you would like to use Windows 8.1 on your computer, continue reading this article to know all about Windows 8.1 installation and activation.

1. What Makes Windows 8.1 Unique?

Windows 8.1 was put out as an upgrade of Windows 8, and it fixes all of the errors, bugs and technical issues that users experienced with Windows 8. It also gives users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 to upgrade without using Windows 8.1 product key or Windows 8.1 installation key.

2. How to Find Windows 8.1 Product Key

If you have never seen a Windows 8.1 product key before, this is what it looks like

PRODUCT KEY: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

It contains 25 characters, and you can find them through the following methods:

  • If you bought a new PC and Windows 8.1 is pre-installed on it, you will find the Windows 8.1 product key printed on a sticker glued to the CPU.

  • If you bought your PC from a Microsoft -recognized dealer, the dealer should provide you with the Windows 8.1 product key.

  • If you bought a Windows 8.1 operating system CD/DVD, a card should come with it on which the Windows 8.1 installation key should be printed.

  • If you purchased your Windows digitally, the vendor would send you your Windows 8.1 product key via email.

3. Free Windows 8.1 Product Keys

If you are looking for a free Windows 8.1 product key, you will find the list below. You can copy one of them to activate your Windows 8.1.

4. How to Activate Windows 8.1: Two Ways

Activate Windows 8.1 Using a Phone

You can have your Windows 8.1 activated by using a phone because the OS itself is compatible with Android devices. Follow the steps below.

  • Click on 'Start' from your PC’s desktop screen.

  • Navigate to the Settings app.

  • Click on 'Activate Windows'.

  • Select 'Contact Customer Support'.

  • Select your location and click on 'Next'.

Note

The Windows 8.1 activation key for both desktop and mobile phone are the same, which means that you can use the same activation key for both the Windows on your desktop and the windows on your mobile device to activate them.

  • Put a call to one of the numbers on the page, and you can follow the voice prompt to complete the activation process.

Windows 8.1 Key Finder 64-bit Free

Activate Windows 8.1 via Internet Connection

You can activate your Windows 8.1 using an internet connection by following the procedures below.

Windows 8.1 Key Finder Free

  • Navigate to Settings on your PC.

  • Click on 'Activate Windows'.

  • /canon-imagerunner-1630-drivers-windows-7.html. Copy one of the product keys listed earlier in the article, paste it in the box and click on 'Next'.

  • Follow the instructions as they come up on your screen till your Windows get activated.

Bonus Tip: How to Recover Windows 8.1 Password

In the process of activating your Windows 8.1, if you forget your admin or user account password, you can use a third-party tool that has proven to be highly effective to recover Windows password. Passper WinSenior is a tested, trusted and reliable tool that is used to recover forgotten Window password in one click.

Windows 8.1 Key Finder Softonic

  • 100% recovery rate is guaranteed to recover your Windows password.

  • Recover or reset passwords of administrator and user-login accounts for your Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP.

  • Recover passwords for Windows 2008 Server, 2003 Server, and 2000 Server systems, etc.

  • Recover or reset Windows password without USB or disk.

Follow the steps below to recover Windows 8.1 password with Passper WinSenior.

Step 1. Download and install Passper WinSenior on another accessible computer. Insert an external flash drive or CD/DVD and tap on 'Create' to burn a bootable disk.

Step 2. After creating the bootable drive, connect it to the locked computer. On the next window, you will be asked to choose your Windows brand and get the key to put the Windows into boot menu.

Step 3. You will be taken to a password recovery interface where you have different options to remove your password, reset your password, delete your Windows account or create a new account. Click on 'Reset Windows Password' and then click 'Next'

Step 4. Choose the account you wish to unlock and then click 'Next'.

Windows 8.1 Key Finder Download

Step 5. Enter new the password you want to use then click on 'Reset'.

Step 6. The program will notify you that the password has been reset. Click on 'Reboot Computer' and eject the bootable disk. Finally, click on 'Reboot Now' and enter the new password when the computer restarts.

Conclusion

Windows 8.1 is an impressive upgrade from Windows 8 and the fact that it does not come with the bugs and problems that Windows 8 had made it even a better option. If you have Windows 8 on your computer and you are trying to find ways to install it, follow the procedures above and get a Windows 8.1 Product key to ensure a successful installation and activation. If you want to recover your Windows password, you should install Passper WinSenior to help you with password recovery so that you can get back to using your computer right after the upgrade.