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Product keys are one of the ways software developers protect their products against piracy. Unfortunately, they're easy to lose, which can be a real problem if you need to reinstall Windows or any other software from scratch
If you've bought a desktop PC or laptop with Windows 10 already installed, you'll probably find its product key on a Certificate of Authenticity sticker on the the case or in the included paperwork, but not if you've built your own PC and installed the operating system yourself.
Windows Product Key Viewer is a lightweight and portable piece of software whose purpose is to reveal the Windows product key. You can use this tool when you have lost or forgotten the OS serial. The Windows 10 product key is a sequence of 25 letters and numbers divided into 5 groups of 5 characters each (ex: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) that is used to activate the 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 edition that you have installed. Freebsd install x11.
Many other applications also require product keys if you reinstall them – including Microsoft Office – and if you've lost the email you received when you first installed them, you could be in real trouble later on.
- Win Product Key Viewer is a single purpose tool for quickly recovering your Windows product key (or activation code). As soon as you run the program instantaneously retrieves the Windows version and the Windows product key. Once displayed you have the option of copying it the clipboard in order to.
- If your PC uses this, the product key on your PC–the one stored in the registry, and the one key-viewer applications display–will be different from the actual key your PC needs. The actual key is on a certificate of authenticity (COA) sticker on your PC or its power supply. The one in the registry and key-viewer application is a red herring.
- 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.
- How to view your product key in Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7 If you lost or forgot where you had stored your Windows product key, I have a solution for you. Today we will see how a simple VBS script can be used to show us the product key of an installed copy of Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 7.
Product key finders only work for software that's already installed, so download one and make a note of all your keys now, so you're prepared in advance.
1. Belarc Advisor
A wealth of information about your hardware and software
Automatic updates
Product Key Viewer Windows 10 Software
No security score for Windows 10
Belarc Advisor is primarily a tool for gathering information about your Windows system, including hardware, security updates and product keys.
Whenever you run Belarc Advisor, it automatically checks its database for software definitions – essential for finding keys for new programs. After that, it scans your system and presents the findings in an HTML page in your default web browser. Scroll down to 'Software licenses' to find serial numbers and product keys for Windows, Office and many other applications.
Belarc Advisor offers a wealth of other information, including details of your antivirus software, connected hardware, and other devices on the same network. It also offers a security benchmark score, though sadly this is only available for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP Pro.
Belarc Advisor's scans are fast and offer so much more information than just serial numbers, it's our favorite free product key finder.
2. Abelssoft MyKeyFinder
Displays your Microsoft product keys in a clear, searchable list
Searchable results
There are two versions of Abelssoft MyKeyFinder: free and paid-for. Both will find Windows and Microsoft Office product keys but the Plus edition (£8.90 – about US$10, AU$15) will also scan external hard drives and find Wi-Fi passwords.
After MyKeyFinder has scanned scan your PC’s registry the results are presented in a clear list, ready to be copied to the clipboard with a single click. Unlike many product key finders, MyKeyFinder won’t throw up duplicate keys and the results can be searched and filtered.
You can also add programs and keys not detected by MyKeyFinder as standard, then export the full list as a PDF so they’re all in one convenient location.
3. LicenseCrawler
![Free product key viewer software Free product key viewer software](/uploads/1/2/5/0/125008371/951766562.png)
Find the keys for Windows and a wealth of other software
Portable
Occasional ads
LicenseCrawler will find the license key for pretty much any application that has one, and it's free for home use. Its scan of the Windows registry takes a long time to complete – even if you select the 'high speed' option – but you can limit its scope using the blacklist and whitelist filters.
LicenseCrawler is distributed as a portable app, meaning you don't have to install it on the Windows system you're scanning – just download the zip file, extract its contents and run LicenseCrawler.exe. This is particularly handy if you have several PCs; just download it to a USB stick and you can just plug it in and run it on any of them.
The only downside of LicenseCrawler is the occasional pop-up ad, but finding product keys isn't a task you'll be performing every day, so they're only a minor inconvenience.
4. Windows Product Key Viewer
A quick way to find your Windows product key, but nothing else
Portable app
Some misleading ads on site
Windows Product Key Viewer is super fast, taking barely a second to scan your system and present the results. That's because, as the name suggests, it only supplies the product key for your operating system.
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That shouldn't necessarily put you off though. Although it doesn't find serial numbers for other applications, it does provide some extra information about your OS, including the registered user, install date and last boot time, and it's compatible with versions of the operating system from Windows 10 all the way back to Windows 95.
Take care when downloading the software – the site includes some ads that look like download buttons for the software, but are in fact unrelated. Only click the link 'Download Windows Product Key Viewer'.
5. Free PC Audit
A super simple way to find your Windows 10 product key
Portable
Free PC Audit is another portable application, and doesn't even come as a zip archive – just download the exe file and run it to begin scanning.
Like Belarc Advisor, Free PC Advisor provides a wealth of information about your whole system – not just its software – though its interface isn't quite as intuitive. It's compatible with all versions of Windows, from NT all the way through to Windows 10, but doesn't find keys for Microsoft Office or any other software.
It also provides lists of all installed software and running system processes, though this information is readily available through Windows itself.