I see all the posts about this, but nothing recent, especially with the 8. But Microsoft should have some way of verifying this, else some clients will be paying double for activation, giving that the licenses themselves are not cheap. I'm gonna say that it's not likely to help. After calling Dell customer service, the rep informed me the product key is embedded in the motherboard. Remember product keys are edition specific, so a home basic key will not work with ultimate or hp or pro or starter. I'll be using a laptop as an example in this post. The sticker does peel off from the cardboard envelope it is attached to.
Glad to know it'll work. The key did not activate properly after the first reboot. The system recovery media can be used to restore your Dell to the condition it was on a previous date without having to worry about the loss of data. Blaming the sellers will not get you a refund or exchange. Contact information for the manufacturer of your computer can be found here: Retail Windows: If you have lost a product key for software that you purchased separately from your computer, or if your product key is not working, please call Microsoft. Try the following in order, as they are organized as easiest to hardest: System Restore — A system restore is a feature built into Windows that allows you to go back to a previous state in the event a system file or hardware driver has been damaged. You can get a new product key of windows 7 for new system or laptop, - See more at:.
Does anybody have any ideas? Will the Microsoft guys give me a another product key for this installation or I have to resort to paying for recovery disc full of bloatwares Code: Diagnostic Report 1. As mentioned earlier, burning a recovery disk is not possible as the laptop doesn't have a burner if that's what you meant. Verify if recovery partition is deleted or not. If not, then I don't really have any good solutions for you. I called microsoft and they said they can't help me. System Recovery Media — Use this method to perform a System Recovery in the event you cannot boot into Windows or if you have replaced your hard drive. Click Next and login to your administrator account on the computer.
Navigate to your desktop and double-click on the installation file, then follow the on-screen instructions to install KeyFinder on your computer. Use F8 key during boot to get into the Advanced Boot Options menu. I contacted Microsoft to check the product key on the sticker and they say it is no good. Retrieve product keys One thing you might do before you go that route - there are a couple of tools that may help. Before i begin, let me just say that the question s below are basically just out of curiosity for now. I have some registry backups, backup files, and toshiba hdd recovery. Just open PowerShell, paste the below code into it and hit Enter a few times until it returns.
You'll still be genuine after all this. My two questions are: 1. To create the System Recovery media, turn on the computer and let it boot up. When installing windows I realized that my product key sticker is extremely faded and I can't read 5 of the characters properly. Dell Factory Image Restore — This final method will destroy any data or programs you have added since you bought the computer.
You can also copy and save the recovery partition on an external drive, the specifics again depend on the oem brand. I had to reinstall windows 7. You can also copy and save the recovery partition on an external drive, the specifics again depend on the oem brand. Somehow I'm getting a message that Windows is not genuine. But hey, I'm not complaining. Select Dell Factory Image Restore.
If you still have the Windows. I am unable to activate windows 7. Unfortunately the product key on your laptop, that's on that sticker, is the one you probably need. The rep was very kind and helpful, no issues there. Where is this key - a sticker on the machine, a post it note, something else? I pretty much figured it's illegal. The one on the sticker has never been used before. The guy almost became rude and told me you are using a pirated copy and the key is available online.
May I ask how you found it on your machine? Forum staff: I hope i'm not breaking any rules by asking this and if i did, please remove the paragraph below. Do that; save it; see, for example, if it matches the beginning and the end of whatever you can see on that sticker. I reinstalled windows 7 and my sticker is worn and can't see half of the key Any way I could find the key? When ready, reboot and tap F8 until you see the Advanced Boot Options. Anyways, getting the genuine stamp is what's important for me at least and your answer is what i was expecting. Each time I called the Microsoft Activation line, got to a human being, and explained the situation.
Had been using this laptop for three years now. They kindly generated a new key free of charge after approval from their supervisor. In this part of the world, return is even unheard off, so i still count on you guys for help. However, I later found out that department was closed for the day. Well, no offense, but keeping track of your licensing is generally considered something that's up to the end user. The times that I have contacted the manufacturer for advice or recovery discs, I met with a brick wall of indifference, or was required to give a product key from a completely useless sticker.
Noel Paton Nil Carborundum Illegitemi. Their initial solution was to try to sell me a new copy of Windows. Thanks, Sol Knightt Ron, thanks for the utility info. From the Advanced Boot Options chose the Repair Your Computer option. This is also the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity from what I've seen. You can reinstall using those recover disks without using a product key from the bottom of the computer. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time.