game_over Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I am in the process of fixing a laptop which needs formatting. The guy can't find his product key and it's not on a sticker on the laptop. Is there any way I can find it within Windows before formatting? It is a legit version of W8 that came with the laptop. I have tried a couple of apps that claim to find it but they aren't working. I also found some registry entries by searching on Google but that wasn't much of a success either. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiver Veteran Posted May 13, 2015 Veteran Share Posted May 13, 2015 I've used Magic Jelly Bean in the past, was a long time ago so not sure how good it is these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted May 13, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted May 13, 2015 Depending on which OEM made the laptop the key could be embedded in the UEFI/BIOS. Installing Windows from the DVD that came with the laptop should automagically activate Windows. As always more specific details would be helpful to confirm this theory. Which laptop is it, and from which brand? T3X4S 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Som Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Been using Advanced Tokens Manager for windows 8 & 8.1, always works for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
game_over Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 I've used Magic Jelly Bean in the past, was a long time ago so not sure how good it is these days. I'll try it thanks Depending on which OEM made the laptop the key could be embedded in the UEFI/BIOS. Installing Windows from the DVD that came with the laptop should automagically activate Windows. As always more specific details would be helpful to confirm this theory. Which laptop is it, and from which brand? It's an Acer laptop, I don't have it with me at the moment but he doesn't have any recovery media and it doesn't look like it has a recovery partition. It has a windows 8 logo sticker on the bottom but thats it, no key :-/ Been using Advanced Tokens Manager for windows 8 & 8.1, always works for me Thanks will try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3X4S Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I'll second that if its new, and came with win8.1 - if its using the secureboot and/or UEFI - the key is in there. Otherwise, the old utilities for pulling serials are available all over various sites. Should be easy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AStaUK Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 As has been said all newer laptops that come with Win8/8.1 installed will have the key embedded in to the UEFI/BIOS. I use R/W Everything to extract it; http://rweverything.com/download/. No install required, once the program is running go to ACPI>MSDM tab and you will see the key displayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I've used Magic Jelly Bean in the past, was a long time ago so not sure how good it is these days. Been using Advanced Tokens Manager for windows 8 & 8.1, always works for me As has been said all newer laptops that come with Win8/8.1 installed will have the key embedded in to the UEFI/BIOS. I use R/W Everything to extract it; http://rweverything.com/download/. No install required, once the program is running go to ACPI>MSDM tab and you will see the key displayed. To you 3 I quoted, is that even legal? I mean, it seems a bit sketchy, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Som Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 of course its legal, sometimes you need the licence key, it might have been lost. Also I find the UEFI embedded licence doesn't always show when doing a clean install of windows on a replacement hardrive To you 3 I quoted, is that even legal? I mean, it seems a bit sketchy, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiver Veteran Posted May 13, 2015 Veteran Share Posted May 13, 2015 As far as I know this is only a tool for discovering information thats already in the registry - if its illegal, I'm not aware of the reasons why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadeOfBlue Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I prefer ProduKey myself. It shows the current key being used by Windows as well as the key residing in the firmware. Unless another key has been entered for some reason (e.g. product edition upgrade), they are identical. Windows will actually try to use the product key in the firmware automatically during setup. However, It is important to remember a couple of things: 1) The installation media you use has to support the edition (e.g. 8, 8 Pro) and channel (e.g. OEM, Retail) that you require. Some media may include one or more files that limit which ones are supported. Removing those files (or burning a disc without them) removes the restrictions. 2) If the PC originally came with Windows 8.0, then you are supposed to use 8.0 installation media. Likewise, if it came with 8.1, then you are supposed to use 8.1 media. Otherwise, it will not accept the firmware key and it will prompt you for a key instead. However, there is a workaround for using 8.1 media with a PC that originally came with 8.0. Microsoft publishes generic keys for all Windows versions. They won't activate, but they are intended to make the installation media select and install the proper edition of Windows. After installation, you can then enter/detect the firmware key. The 8.0 key works perfectly fine for activation. For reference, the generic Windows 8.1 keys are: Windows 8.1 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT Windows 8.1 Professional XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB That info should cover all the standard installation scenarios that I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ir0nw0lf Subscriber² Posted May 13, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted May 13, 2015 The current ESD download images of Windows 8.1 will take a 8.0 key, exceptions being some of the earliest Upgrade keys for 8.0 when it first came out, those keys are dicey on working directly without having to use the "cheat" keys. I've used the ESD version of 8.1 fine on a few laptops that came with 8.0 on them. No cheat key needed at all, it picked the BIOS key up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
]SK[ Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Jelly Bean was always my go to tool for this. I'm pretty sure MSE used to flag it as a hacking tool at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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