Windows 7 Product Key: can't access recovery partition - what now?

[Turbonium]

Say you have a laptop where, for whatever reason, the recovery partition isn't working/accessible: how else can you recover the Windows Product Key if you performed a fresh install of Windows 7 on the appropriate (largest) partition?

Assume the Windows sticker is not there or not readable.

 

[bbhaag]

A program like magicjellybean will be able to get the Windows key for you. You have to use a program like this before you wipe the original partition or it won't work.
If you have already wiped the drive and started over...well you are sol unless you go the warez route and talk like that isn't allowed here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

A program like magicjellybean will be able to get the Windows key for you. You have to use a program like this before you wipe the original partition or it won't work.
If you have already wiped the drive and started over...well you are sol

Just wanted to echo that while this is true, there is another twist. The original OEM install, is installed with an identical VLK OEM royalty key on all of that mfg's machines. Which means, that key cannot be used to activate a clean install either, unless you also save and migrate the OEM SLP stuff over to the clean install too.

Normally, the key printed on the sticker on the laptop is unique, and CAN be used to activate a fresh install.

If you've lost that key, or it has become unreadable, and you didn't make recovery discs, then you are indeed SOL.

Go buy another copy of Windows.

 

[corkyg]

FYI, for Lenovo laptops, the key certificate is located under the battery. Have you removed the battery and looked there?

 

[Turbonium]

FYI, for Lenovo laptops, the key certificate is located under the battery. Have you removed the battery and looked there?

The system in question is a Dell Insipiron 1545, and yes, I realized after making the original post that the sticker is likely underneath the battery (hence my edit).

Thanks for your input either way, everyone.

 

[hoorah]

There are copies of the orignial OEM SLP certificates out there that, when slipstreamed into the windows 7 install disc, allow you to OEM activate a windows 7 install the same as if you were dell or HP. I don't know if this is illegal or violates the TOS. It sounds legit to me, but I'm not an expert. Obviously, you can only do this on machines that have the SLIC 2.1 bios and thus came with windows 7 originally.