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W2K Product Key missing

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8 replies

by nobby57

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After minor flood and moving a lot of stuff around, have W2K disk with missing Product Key. Any knowledge out there as to how to recover such a lost key, or to obtain a new one from Microsoft? If the disk belonged to an installation, I guess it could be recovered from the registry, but this disk has not been installed on a computer.

Thanks, Reid

8 replies

by w2ktechman

The product key is not hard coded in the OS disk, the OS just looks for a correct string of characters. Best bet would be to call M$

by nobby57

Thanks -- did not try calling (might have been better) but the website is a nightmare!

by jschein

do a search on the web for KEYFINDER or KEYFINDER.EXE

If you can get into your OS, this tiny progam will tell you your #.

by nobby57

Thanks to all -- unfortunately the OS is not installed on a computer, but I appreciate all the suggestions for recovering the key on an existing installation. Learned, while attempting to contact Microsoft on their website, how thoroughly they have managed to isolate themselves from their users while making most information available; too bad that to contact them by email you have to have the product key! Catch-22. Anyway, mad attempts to turn the place upside down have at last yielded the missing booklet & key. So we are back in business! Once again, thanks to all and I am glad I didn't have to try to deal with Microsoft any further, assuming that that was even possible -- if only their software were as impregnable!

Thanks again,

Reid

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