crp Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Anyone know how to derive the serial number of an XP system when the OS won't boot? I want to do a reinstall and would like to use the correct disk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Anyone know how to derive the serial number of an XP system when the OS won't boot? I want to do a reinstall and would like to use the correct disk. Not if the COA tag is missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Anyone know how to derive the serial number of an XP system when the OS won't boot? I want to do a reinstall and would like to use the correct disk. I've used Keyfinder on a working XP install, and it worked fine. According to their website it will also work on unbootable installs, though I've never tried this. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I've used Keyfinder on a working XP install, and it worked fine. According to their website it will also work on unbootable installs, though I've never tried this. HTH Good find Mac! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 You could try this method, http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/window...covery/#more-36 Windows XP and Vista Product Key Recovery There are many programs available for extracting the product key from a Windows XP or Vista installation. The only problem is that they generally require the computer to be functional to run. These programs are useless if the operating system is corrupt and the computer will not boot into Windows. Fortunately, there are other options. This article explains how you can retrieve the product key with just the ntuser.dat file from the machine. Never had to use this myself but it could be worth a punt. You might be able to get the "ntuser.dat file " with a GNU/Linux live cd if you can not get it via windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Good find Mac! Yepp, Mac found a good one for Windows a bit dorky and i'm surprised it was not a stand alone exe, but I think it did it. ps: okay, maybe it wasn't quite so funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I've used Keyfinder on a working XP install, and it worked fine. According to their website it will also work on unbootable installs, though I've never tried this. HTH This is a great program. I have been using it for years! About Magical Jelly Bean The Magical Jelly Bean exists primarily because of the Keyfinder project which was originally developed by Aleks Ozolins. The project to date has around 9 million downloads and has been a huge success. In near future we're planning to create new free software. Wow, is that all ... only 9 Million downloads... I am surprised as useful as this tool is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Extract CD key from the Registry? Sad that Doug Knox's Find the CD Key from DOS doesn't work with XP. I would suggest that you call the OEM. If the system was registered, they may be able to provide the key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Think this might just do the trick: How to Recover Windows and Software Keys from a Broken Computer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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