Most commercial software such as Windows comes with a license key to prevent unauthorized copying and installation.
Although software manufacturers use several methods to prevent this type of protection against unwanted installations, one of the most common ways to prevent unwanted installations is to register with a license key or product key.
Depending on how you got your copy of Windows 10 or Windows 11, you'll need a 25-character product key or a digital license to activate it. A digital license (called a digital entitlement) is an activation method in Windows 10 and Windows 11 that does not require you to enter a product key. Windows is automatically activated when you log in with your Microsoft account details.
So if you purchased a PC or laptop with Windows 11 or 10 pre-installed, there is a good chance that a digital license is used. You will often find this license code in an email from the manufacturer. You can also use a tool I recommend in this article. This also applies to one Office license key or product key.
Depending on how you purchased or acquired Office, you will find an Office product key in an email, a sticker on the product packaging, or in your Microsoft account subscription information. This is, for example, the case with “Office 365” or “Microsoft 365”. When in doubt, try one of the tools I recommend in this article. These tools can look up your product key on your PC and display it.
If you want to purchase another license, always buy one Windows license directly and securely online from an authorized online store.
How can you look up the Windows or Office license?
Magical Jelly Bean Key Finder
If you have installed Windows and you can't remember the license code, you can find it with the Jelly Bean Key Finder program.
Jelly Bean Key finder retrieves the license code directly from the Windows registry. The program also supports 300+ other applications to retrieve license codes.
If necessary, Jelly Bean Key Finder is even able to retrieve the Windows license from computers that no longer boot to Windows.
→ Download Jelly Bean Key Finder.
Install the program and it will launch the program. Jelly Bean's Key Finder will automatically locate all installed applications and display the associated license keys and information.
SterJo Key Finder
SterJo Key Finder is a free tool that helps you find lost product keys from various software programs, including Microsoft Office, can recover. It is a portable program that you can download for free and run without installation. It scans your computer and displays the license keys found.
Lazesoft Windows Key Finder
Windows Key Finder not only finds the Windows 11 or Windows 10 product key; Using this software, you can view the product key of Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, 2012 or Windows 7, 8.
Moreover, this free software can improve the Microsoft Office retrieve product keys from the Windows registry. Once the product key is retrieved by this tool, you can take a printout or save the product key to a notepad file.
Windows Key Finder is a free and portable tool, which means you don't need to install it on your PC. Just download and run and you will immediately get the product key of Windows 10, Windows 11 or Microsoft Office .
→ Download Lazesoft Windows Key Finder.
List of supported Windows versions to find out the product key:
- Windows 2000 SP4
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows 8
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 10
- Windows 11
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
List of supported Microsoft Officeversions to retrieve the product key:
- Microsoft Office 2000
- Microsoft Office 2003
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Microsoft Office 2010
- Microsoft Office 2013
- Microsoft Office 2016
- Microsoft Office 2019
- Microsoft Office 2021
Look up Windows product key with Command Prompt or PowerShell
You can through Command Prompt or PowerShell commands recover the Windows product key.
To do this, go to search and search for “command prompt”. Once you have opened the Command Prompt, type the following command and confirm with the enter key:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
The next screen appears. This method does not work for every PC. If no license key is shown, use one of the apps above.
You can also look up the license code with PowerShell code. Right-click on the Start button. In the menu click on “Windows Terminal (admin)” or “PowerShell (admin)”
Then copy and paste the command below into the PowerShell window.
(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
You see the example below. This method also does not always work. If no license key appears, use the recommended apps.
Look up Windows license code via Visual Basic Scripting (VBS) with Notepad
Go to search in Windows and type: notepad. You can now open notepad and start a new text file.
Copy the following code from this page and paste it into the new notepad text file.
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"))
Function ConvertToKey(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Cur = 0
x = 14
Do
Cur = Cur * 256
Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255
Cur = Cur Mod 24
x = x -1
Loop While x >= 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i -1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End If
Loop While i >= 0
ConvertToKey = KeyOutput
End Function
After pasting the above content into notepad, you will get the following result below.
Now we are going to save the contents, choose File from the menu and then Save As, see image.
Choose the desktop location so that you can find the file more easily. You are of course free to choose the location yourself, in the instructions we assume that the file will be saved on the Desktop.
At the bottom of Save as, choose “All files (*.*)”, give the file a name with the extension .vbs, as in the example below: licensecode.vbs. Now click the Save button to save the code file to the Desktop.
Now locate the license.vbs file on your Windows desktop and double-click the file to open it. A new Windows window will now appear containing your Windows license product key.
Not sure if your Windows 10 or Windows 11 is activated?
Which version you are also using of Windows, all Windows versions must be activated to obtain product updates. Not only to get updates, but also to register with Microsoft that you are the owner of the purchased license.
Windows 10
To make sure that Windows is activated, open Windows Explorer and right-click on This PC. In the menu click on Properties. A new window will open with information about your computer. At the bottom of the window you will see the information whether Windows 10 is activated.
Windows 11
In Windows 11 it works slightly differently. Read: How to check if Windows 11 is activated.
License code not found yet? Search the BIOS
You can also look up the Windows license code in the BIOS. This concerns an OEM license key. In the following article: Look up OEM license in the BIOS I explain how you can look up the OEM license key via the BIOS.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading! Also read: Transfer Windows license to a new computer.
I am always careful about letting external programs snoop around in my system, especially when it comes to licenses. If you have it legally, you always know what your license is and if you have lost it, you can always request it or see it in your account from where you are. bought it.
The vbs script to retrieve the Windows key works flawlessly, I replaced Windows NT with Office 2 in line 2019 and saved it as vbs. I get the error message that character 1 in line 2 is incorrect, probably more than the 1st character. The simplest thing is to adjust line 2 in such a way that you are shown the code of Office 2019.
How do I find out the full code of Office 2019, tried various programs that indicate Office, you see a Windows key or only the last 5 letters of the Office key.
How do I get the full 25 letter numbers of the Office 2019?
Hello, I suspect that the Office 2019 code is linked to a Microsoft account. Log in to:
https://account.microsoft.com/services/Here you may see the license key for Office 2019. Good luck!
Your full license ID and session ID can be seen in your Office account, for example go to Word open account and look at information about Word
Dear,
I am having a registration problem on a new PC that I have put together, a fairly stately machine that runs fine despite not being able to register Win 10.
The problem itself:
I bought quite a bit of hardware and also the Windows 10 software in a store where I have never had a problem with deliveries before.
It's not about the hardware this time but about MicroSoft's software.
– first they delivered me a version that did not carry a registration code, a COA version?
So I wasn't into that.
After some emails with the store, they sent me a version where I could scratch out the first XXXX XXXX, but the next problem was that everything after the XXXX came through and was perfectly readable, everything after that was completely unreadable.
A technical service would deal with this in the store, but I still cannot register.
I thought I would use that program to see if the key can be found in WIN itself (registry or other)
The key finder had found a key, but it turned out to be incorrect when entered.
The device itself works fine, but because I cannot register, I am limited in setting certain things.
Do you see a solution for this or am I faced with purchasing new software?
I think that a Linux distribution will be available because many PC magazines already write that this could be a good option. (free)
I hope I can solve this because it would be a shame because it is a heavy/beautiful device that I 'screwed' together.
Best regards,
Pete
A thank you is now in order.
ps
The last version that was 'delivered' to me should even have been a 'Windows 10 Enterprise' version according to the keyfinder. :s
Hello, if you are looking for a license on a PC that has already been activated, you can do so with the information from this article. If Windows is not activated, you will not find a license. Purchasing a license is then necessary.
COA stands for Certificate of Authenticity and is a simple sticker that declares that a legal license code has been used by the PC builder. This is not a license code in itself. Why anyone sold you this sticker is beyond me.
Unfortunately, I cannot determine from your story whether Windows 10 is activated or not. If so, the license key must be found with the “key finder”, if not, you must purchase a new license code. I also read that you have purchased a license code, but that the code is not readable due to scratching, so this code is not good and I think you can simply return to that store.
You indicate that the keyfinder indicates that a Windows 10 enterprise license has been found, I suspect that Windows 10 enterprise version has been installed, possibly without a license code. It is possible to install Windows versions without immediately activating them with a license code. You can then use Windows, but with limited features, as you mentioned.
Hint: I would buy a Windows 10 license from a reputable store. I would also carefully consider which Windows 10 version you want to purchase. An Enterprise license code is quite expensive, a home edition is cheaper. It just depends on which Windows 10 features you will use. In most cases, Home edition is suitable for the average home user.
Greetings, Stefan
Dear,
First of all, thank you for your quick response.
Why they sent me that COA version is also a mystery to me and it doesn't really matter to me.
After some emailing with the store, they sent me a CD on which I was able to scratch out the first XXXX-XXXX and they also came out very clearly legible, everything behind it was simply unreadable so I still can't get that version Win 10 Pro Enterprise already register that it is already running fine for the most part.
I have never had any problems with purchases from the store in question and there are quite a few.
I paid for the Win 10 version so why should I buy a new one? (156€ I thought)
Lost money?
I still email the store (even sent photos of the unreadable code) and the technical service there is aware of it, but I still haven't had the chance to proceed with the registration.
The key finder can find a 'key' that is somewhere in the registry, but you cannot register the version with that.
Still, thanks for thinking about this + BIGGG THANK YOU.
Pete
Dear Stefan, we know each other from a while ago :). my question is: I have downloaded and installed the windowskeyfinder.exe, but it only shows me the w10 license and not the MicroSoft professional plus 2016. Do you have any suggestions on how I can find this again? thank you very much for your time. Kind regards: roediegoo
Hello, welcome back 🙂 If you have purchased this software you will find the digital license on the Online Store website: https://stores.office.com/myaccount/home.aspx
Here you can read more information: https://support.microsoft.com/nl-nl/office/productcodes-gebruiken-met-office-12a5763a-d45c-4685-8c95-a44500213759
Greetings, Stefan
My laptop turns on but there is no way to restore it, says every time I try to start it, it turns on, allows all options to restore but does not continue, always gives the message that it is not possible
Hello, I am sending you an email with some solutions in English.
Greetings, Stefan
Windows 10 Prof. and Office 2019 Prof. The complete W10 key is easy to find.
With the off. 2019 prof. it's a different story. Tried various key finders that promise all kinds of things, but only manage to retrieve the W10 key. Via the prompt, the last 5 characters of Off. cannot be found out further. My problem is that I have keys from Off. I have both ending in the same group of 5 characters. Off. is installed under a Microsoft account, this may be causing the problem. Is there a key finder that can retrieve the complete key?
Hello, I suspect this is linked to your Microsoft account.
https://support.microsoft.com/nl-nl/office/find-your-office-product-key-3cbc1978-252b-6768-762b-64ab752b973d
I would contact Microsoft.
https://www.microsoft.com/nl-nl/overnederland/contact.aspx
Good luck! Greetings, Stefan
If you are using Microsoft Office installed on 1 PC AND you were able to retrieve the license key AND you have the installation package Microsoft Office..
# Can you then install this package on a new PC/Laptop (due to the purchase of a new laptop)?
# or must the original installation be deactivated first? So that the license key becomes “available” again and can only then be installed on another computer? If so, how does this deactivation work?
Best regards
Hello, as far as I know that is possible as long as the devices are yours. To be sure, it is better to contact Microsoft support, there may be a difference in the type of Office (Personal or 365) and the purchased license.
Good luck! Greetings, Stefan
I found my license code at the bottom of my PC, but due to using the PC on my legs, this code is no longer readable.
That is annoying indeed. Did you manage to look up the code software using the tips in the instructions? If not, what is going wrong and have you tried everything? Greetings, Stefan
thanks 1000x
Glad I could help. Thanks for your response!
please
I want to configure a dual boot for home recording purposes. I have an SSD and a regular hard drive, and I want to run the music software on Windows 10 as quietly as possible, and all other applications on the larger HD. Is there any way I can copy my copy to the other drive and use a dual boot to choose which windows to use? I'm not very skilled...
You don't need dual boot for that, two partitions (SSD & HDD) and then copy files over. If you use dual boot you cannot consult the files on the other Windows installation.
Thank you Stefan, I want to disable all unnecessary services in that stripped-down version of Windows, anti-virus, WiFi, really everything. I don't want to have to do that every time I record. That's why dual-boot seems like a good idea to me.
You can of course install normal Windows and minimal Windows side by side using dual boot. As far as I know, you cannot access the files from the minimal version of Windows to the normal version of Windows. It is the minimum or normal Windows version to start and use. What is possible is to set up a virtual machine in Windows and install at least Windows on it, but I think you want to use a minimal version to get the fastest possible Windows and a VM is not really suitable for that. Search for install Windows dual boot, i.e. two Windows side by side and then remove Windows bloatware, you may be able to achieve what you are looking for.
Thanks Stefan, I will do that!
I searched some more. You can also create your own Windows installation using this video instruction.
https://youtu.be/R2SfgtTA0hc
You can then remove components from the Windows installation and perform a minimal Windows installation. I will investigate this myself and write an article about it later.
Unfortunately I have a 1.oTb drive that crashed. Don't want to say anything more. Now mounted another disk and loaded temporary Windows. Are the original license codes traceable?
Possibly yes, if the OEM License is in the BIOS.
http://www.pc-tips.info/tips/windows-10/oem-licentie-sleutel-opzoeken-voor-windows-in-de-bios/
try all steps
I have another challenge. I didn't think to look up the license/product key FIRST. So I hope someone knows how I can fix this 'error'. I would like a 'clean; install Windows 10. This on the surface. The surface naturally comes with an (OEM) code, but I can no longer find this anywhere due to the fact that I have already completely cleaned the Surface. What are the options for me now?
A digital license should be linked to a Surface (with a Microsoft account). If you reinstall the same Windows version (home, pro, etc.), Windows 10 will be activated automatically.
I installed Windows 10 with an activation code, and then checked whether Windows is activated. That indeed turned out to be the case.
However, when I searched for the code with jelly bean and also with “wmic path software licensing service get OA3xOriginalProductKey”, the code found turned out to be different from the code entered. Is there an explanation for this?
This is what I found about it. Hopefully this information helps.
Just about every Windows 10 PC now comes activated with a digital license. Even an OEM installed system. Once that happens, the key in use becomes a generic key. Once you obtain a digital license, you can reinstall it with the generic key or no key at all. Or enter your original key, if you wish, but it is not necessary.
The generic key only works if that PC has a pre-existing digital license. The Digital License is stored on the activation server, along with a digital printout of that computer's hardware.