Welcome to Dagon Design. In addition to free scripts, WordPress plugins, and articles, we offer a variety of services including custom theme design, plugin creation, and PHP scripting. Contact me for more information.

Updated Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 at 1:13pm

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. You can also download a stand-alone version of my decrypter tool.

Windows Vista Users

I have been informed that this method also works on Windows Vista.

Translations

Background Information

While this may not sound very useful to the average user, if you work with computers on a daily basis you have most likely ran into this problem: You have to perform a fresh installation of Windows on a computer with a corrupt operating system, and the product key has been lost. This method makes it easy to find.

Instructions

The first step is getting the ntuser.dat file from the computer. In most cases the easiest method is to remove the hard drive, and connect it to a working machine.

ntuser.dat is generally located here:
C:\Documents and Settings\(User Name)\ntuser.dat
Where (User Name) is the primary account - Most often it is ‘Owner’ or ‘User’

Now that you have the file, you need to be able to view it. I recommend loadhive.exe (Download it here) from matcode.com.

Just run the program and select the file. It will show you a message with more information. It is important that you do not close this program until you are finished viewing the registry, as it temporarily loads the file, and unloads it again when you exit.

Now run regedit. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE you will notice a new sub-key called NTUSER. Starting with NTUSER go to Software > Microsoft > Windows NT > Current Version.

In the right window, double-click on DigitalProductID. This is the entry that contains the encoded product key.

We want the information in bytes 52 to 66. You can use the chart below for reference. We need the 15 sets of numbers where the 1’s are located.

0000  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0008  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0010  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0018  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0020  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0028  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0030  00 00 00 00 11 11 11 11  ..
0038  11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11  ..
0040  11 11 11 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0048  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..
0050  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..

Now that you have the 15 byte encrypted code, you can type it into my decrypter tool:

Web-based version

Windows XP Key Decrypter Tool

Downloadable stand-alone version (exe)

Windows XP Key Decrypter Tool

Just click ‘Decrypt Code‘ and you will have your 25 digit Windows XP product key!

Troubleshooting

If you cannot find the DigitalProductId key in the file you loaded earlier, try the software hive located here:

\%SystemRoot%\System32\config\software

Load it the same way as before. Under regedit, it will generally create the new entries here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE_00 (although the loadhive program will tell you where it puts it).

Final Notes

  • The decrypter tool ignores spaces and dashes, and is not case-sensitive.
  • If you cannot find ntuser.dat, make sure you can view hidden and system files.
  • If you are not sure which user account to select, I recommend searching for all ntuser.dat files on the drive, and using the largest one.
  • Do not attempt to open your own ntuser.dat file with Load Hive, because it is already in use, and you already have access to your own registry :)
  • If you cannot find the proper key with the data you need, try the alternate hive file, mentioned in the troubleshooting section above.

NOTICE!

Please do not ask me how to retrieve the product key from your Windows CD - it is not possible. Also, please do not ask general Windows questions here. The comments below are only for discussion of this particular retrieval method. If you have Windows questions, or questions about product keys in general, search Google.

  1. 237
    Markus
    10-8-08 6:42PM

    I read through some of the comments and a few people asked if there was a way to determine the type of install, ie OEM, Retail, Volume. Well the answer is simple. Load the system hive and once it is loaded, navigate to the Setup key, and then the Pid key. There you will fine a String with a value that tells you the install type. Its 8 digits long. The last 3 digits tell you the install type. OEM is OEM. 000 or 335 is Retail. 270 is Volume License. I hope this helps someone.

  2. 236
    Dexter
    10-1-08 9:39AM

    My windows failed and I made my hard drive a slave drive and was able to retreive my original ProductID through your GREAT INFORMATION!! I have a disk I reloaded XP Pro with on a new hard drive. When I get to where I put in my original ProductID it says not valid. What Im wondering is if after I load windows with the old ProductID if i’m able to go to regedit and go in and double-click on DigitalProductID information in bytes 52 to 66 and change it back to what it was originally for my original ProductID that was registered to me.

  3. 235
    Manuel Bustos
    9-28-08 7:09PM

    I first tried the first method from a USB thumb drive having downloaded the stand-lone program as well as the hive program to the USB and using Bert’s PE (after trying with Winternals) to access the program hive and then use Regedit. Still I did not see the DigitalProductID in the right-hand pane. I saw nothing at all. Then I went to the second method under the Software_00 and had the same result - no right-hand pane. It was not until I connected the problem drive into a working machine that I was able to see the right-hand pane and then to find the DigitalProductID and only under the software_00 not the first method.

    Many thanks for such a great program. I tried many ways to find that damn number for the XP install, but only this method worked.

  4. 234
    yj
    9-23-08 1:53PM

    We want the information in bytes 52 to 66. You can use the chart below for reference. We need the 15 sets of numbers where the 1’s are located.

    0000 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0008 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0018 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0020 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0028 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0030 00 00 00 00 11 11 11 11 ..
    0038 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 ..
    0040 11 11 11 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0048 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..
    0050 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..Now that you have the 15 byte encrypted code, you can type it into my decrypter tool:

  5. 233
    Cam
    9-19-08 1:04PM

    OK, the XP CD doesn’t have a working key on it. It might have something like a working key if you have an OEM installation CD from Dell, but it won’t be YOUR key. This works perfectly. If you need to pull data off another drive, use the Load Hive command, and you can find it under the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CONFIG\SOFTWARE key. It usually works for me. Thanks for the wonderful solution. Anyone know if this works on Windows 2000? Silly I know, since it doesn’t activate, but I was curious.

  6. 232
    lee
    9-10-08 10:17PM

    Tried the method above using loadhive which i pointed at my slave drive which has XP on it and im trying to get code off it.
    But when i load regedit it always finds the code from the master drive.
    Any help out there as i definitely pointed loadhive at drive in ? but it always reverts to copy of XP loaded on system
    HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

  7. 231
    Shane
    8-16-08 6:29PM

    It is possible to retrieve your product key from a windows installation cd. Its called viewkey. You run the program and its limited to some windows OS and IE etc…..

    You insert the CD/DVD and it will reveal the product ID and Product key

  8. 230
    Vista Recovery
    8-16-08 9:47AM

    Those information helped me a lot after a hard drive crash. Thanks a lot.

  9. 229
    Carter
    8-15-08 8:02AM

    I wanted to find out, I was installing Windows XP SP2 on my PC and it replaced my OS of Media Center Edition 2005. So I carried on until it came to the point where I type in the Product Key. I have the product key on my disc but once I type it in it says “The Product Id you entered is not valid.” What must I do in this situation as I really need the installation to be successfull?

  10. 228
    Ken
    8-13-08 10:04PM

    Thank you. I find frequent need of a procedure to extract the product key from an XP installation that wont boot. I cant tell you how often I have users that cant find the box, threw out the box, dog ate the box, We never kep the box. It’s nice to have a way to help them.

    Now if I could only find a proggie that would allow me to enter an XP product key…and have it tell me which version it’s for…OEM Pro, OEM HOME, retail Pro, retail Home, upgrade, media center etc!

  11. 227
    FiL
    7-20-08 2:24PM

    I would like to thank you for this ever-useful tip.

    And I would like to report with ecstasy that, following a very similar method, one’s Microsoft Office key can also be extracted!

    Just load the SOFTWARE hive from whichever machine you need it from, from \%SystemRoot%\System32\config\software
    Then, select Microsoft > Office > 11.0 > Registration
    OR Microsoft > Office > Registration if there is no “11.0″ subdirectory.

    Finally, double click on “DigitalProductID” from the aforementioned registry entry and from herein do exactly as you would to extract your XP key (see way above for instructions).

    I’m guessing that both Office and XP install keys use the same method of encryption, enabling this method to be applicable.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

  12. 226
    Matt
    7-15-08 9:15PM

    This is a FANTASTIC tool! I use it a lot. One thing: Could you make one that does it in reverse–an encrypter?

  13. 225
    Allan
    7-13-08 3:52PM

    Hello.
    Someone can tell me how can I figure out, using the windows Registry, which windows Xp have I installed?

    Thanks

  14. 224
    Caglar ARSLAN
    6-6-08 2:15AM

    thanks a lot.. all you said is working… I ve tried myself.

  15. 223
    Fritti
    5-21-08 12:39PM

    How can i copy the 15 bit code into the dagon program?

  16. 222
    miqbals
    5-18-08 5:16AM

    I use Linux and had been using Windows for years. I was trying to re-install my brother’s PC (who lost his passwd) and this one still AMAZED me:)

    Guys, you’re all rock!

    Thank you from Indonesia.

  17. 221
    Rich in Lima Peru
    5-16-08 12:06PM

    Worked like a charm, thanks so much

  18. 220
    GiGi
    5-14-08 9:43AM

    Thanks for this I was able to find the key but it says thats its mistyped(and I checked and re-checked)…what could this mean?

  19. 219
    TM
    5-5-08 2:03PM

    This was perfect! I was able to pull up the CD No problem! Awesome instructions! Finding this nugget of info was a God send for me since some r-tard at my office threw away the panel that had the COA on it.

  20. 218
    Orph
    4-29-08 11:26AM

    edit on last post:
    The latest version of Magical Jelly Beans will also show the product key for other programs installed, including MS Office, Nero etc.

    I also just discovered it’s “Load Hive” feature… lol

  21. 217
    Orph
    4-29-08 11:16AM

    Firstly, I’d just like to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU for publishing this tutorial and the tools for finding the product key.
    I’d just spent nearly 2 hours trying to find this information on the M$ website, with no luck whatsoever, their only solutions being to either call them with the sales voucher and COA or buy another copy… Totally unacceptable service in my opinion.
    I repair, build and upgrade PC’s as a 2nd job, and I’m always coming across people with Windows installations that won’t boot. Most of the owners have either lost or damaged original Windows CD’s, and/or lost product keys which makes it very difficult to reinstall legitimately. Magicaljellybeans works well on working operating systems, but prior to finding this site, I had no alternative but to either sell them Windows or install Linux.

    In response to QueenB’s questions,
    from what I understand, you are trying to find the product keys for the programs that came with your computer, not Windows itself, am I right?
    If that’s the case, then you need to use an older version of Magicaljellybeans or something similar… a quick Google of ” product key finder” should do the trick.

  22. 216
    DjLizard
    4-25-08 7:57AM

    Oops I was way late in replying and didn’t notice we’ve jumped up to 200+ replies :)
    (The previous comment was in reference to comments 113, 119, 120; sorry for any confusion.)

  23. 215
    DjLizard
    4-25-08 7:55AM

    Admin: I don’t know how to retrieve the version using the key, but it’s easy enough to do with the product ID if you have access to the SOFTWARE registry hive or have a copy of i386\setupp.ini on the machine itself (huge assumptions aside). So that was my answer to Falcon - get the product ID beforehand.

  24. 214
    pablo
    4-9-08 7:55AM

    hi there

    i installed what i thought was an update off microsoft site and nows its shut down my O S and is asking for a product key?? this vista must have been out of date and the rat i bought it off didnt mention it

    so now my computer is f*****

    do you know how i may beable to fixd it?

    i have downbloaded jellybean but how do i run it i have no operating systen now to insall the software now only window appears asking for the key?

    hope you can help

    thanks

  25. 213
    Steven
    4-8-08 6:23AM

    Finally found a DigitalProductId using the trouble shooting information. Thank you very much.

  26. 212
    Er.s.syed abdul kader
    4-6-08 5:01AM

    thank you…dagondesign.com

  27. 211
    Drenyx
    3-16-08 1:49PM

    I didn’t read all the posts, but this is a lifesaver… I slightly altered my method and thought I would share.

    There is a bootable linux CD that will mount the ntfs filesystem and with some scripts will let you access the registry on a non-booting windows hard disk. Check it out at http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

    I browsed on my friend’s drive to the correct place in the registry and pulled the hex code out without moving any files or other dirty stuff, dropped the hex code into the Dagon Design key tool and got the product key.

    I would outline my method a little further, except that this is extremely advanced stuff IMO… people that think they are a pro should forget about it. Definately not geek squad level. I recommend my method for elitists only. With that said (no offense intended) if you can’t figure it out, you probably shouldn’t do it my way. Anyone else can feel free to write up something on it.

    In response to the ‘Pro’ post 217: I wasn’t thinking straight either, you have to remember this is all hexidecimal, line 00 (in the example above) covers 8 bytes, line 08 covers 8 bytes…. so by the time you’re at line 10 you’ve gone through 16 bytes… by line 30 you’re looking at the 49th byte.

  28. 210
    New
    3-13-08 9:45PM

    hi
    Can I change the key of my old system with the new key without fomatting the system. I have win xp profe. installed in my comp and I also have the win Xp Profe. keys with me.

  29. 209
    Prabhu
    3-11-08 3:40AM

    All:

    I understand that this method is working 100% without having any problem using Decryptor Tool and I hope that there are lots of VB Script to find the XP CD KEY from DigitalProductID.

    My Question is:

    Is it possible to find the Decode the CD KEY from the “ProductID”
    I mean using this “55274-640-8365391-23739″

    If anyone can find a solution to the above mentioned mail me

    prathaprabhutemp@yahoo.com

  30. 208
    QueenB
    3-10-08 4:51PM

    However,

    I’d like to know the answers to posts 202 and 209.

    And how does one get the encrypted code from DigitalProductId4.

    Thanks.

  31. 207
    QueenB
    3-10-08 4:47PM

    Aw heck… maybe I should just read the other comments huh.

    I’m such a tool.

  32. 206
    QueenB
    3-10-08 4:42PM

    I’m using Vista on my laptop. The programmes were pre-installed on the pc so there’s no installation disc - the product key is located on a sticker on the underneath of my laptop. only problem is it doesn’t work - when I type it in to access the programmes on my pc it say the key is “incorrect”.

    I need the correct key, so following your tutorial…Vista is a little different from XP but I eventually managed to locate the DigitalProductID…I followed your instructions using the chart you provided and the decryptor tool - the product key came up fine, and it’s completely different from the one on the bottom of my laptop….but it still doesn’t work.

    I’m pretty much a complete novice when it comes to anything computer-related so please bear with me if I’m being totally thick :)

    In the same folder, there’s a second file: DigitalProductId4 it looks different from DigitalProductId - the encrypted code appears to be in a different place, not between 0030 and 0040, so can’t be found using the chart you provided. So not sure what to do with this one…

    There’s also a file, ProductId, which shows a 20 digit number, separated by some dashes (xxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx) which doesn’t look like a product ID :) do you know what this is?

    I thought the same product key could be used for all the programmes installed…maybe this is not the case? Windows works fine, it’s just the other programmes I can’t use properly.

    Should I be speaking to the original seller d’ya think? I’d like to avoid that preferably…

    Sorry for all the questions! If anyone can enlighten me I’d be grateful.

  33. 205
    andi
    3-9-08 3:17PM

    Dude…
    Thx so much for this tutorial.
    But: I think i am a pro, but it needs hours and different tries again and again by gettin´what you mean with “15″ characters.
    A screenshot and the sentence “write the 15 letters from line 0030 10th letterpairs to line 0040 6th letterpairs” may help others too to understand what you mean.

    Thx so much!

  34. 204
    RickH
    3-6-08 6:03AM

    Hey Admin,

    I’m devastated. I “encrypted” a folder containing all JOURNAL items! Yeah, terrible… Then I forgot, or actually didn’t know to save the key… Later I had to reinstall windows XP Home… I saved all my “data” files to two different hard drives… I then installed Windows XP Home… I couldn’t access the “journal” files… I couldn’t figure out exactly why… (of course it’s obvious now)… But my install of Windows XP Home had some qwerks so my computer guy (family) installed Windows XP Pro for me after we’d saved my data files…

    So, I saved the folder itself… Is there any way that the key to those folders is connected to the backed up hard drives? Can I recover these files using your software?

    Please help me, I’m desperate.

    thanks, Rick.

  35. 203
    Charles Henry
    3-5-08 11:53AM

    I have a different sort of problem. I had a hard drive from an old computer with a licensed copy of WinXPsp2, and I wanted to take that drive and install it on a second computer (as a dual boot) running linux.
    Now, I can mount my WinXP drive as ntfs under linux and browse through the file system. I just don’t know how to find the 30-char hex string for the encrypted product key.
    Any insights would be most helpful!

  36. 202
    James
    2-27-08 4:18AM

    Thanks so much for this valuable information. I was stuck in an XP reinstall and couldn’t find my product key. This really bailed me out.

  37. 201
    wolf
    2-26-08 1:48PM

    I just wanted to say thanks. I did what you said and it worked. I didn’t do everything though. I just went straight to the “regedit” and got the digitalproductid and verified it with what I know is the product id and it works. I’m just curious how you made the decryption tool. That thing is really cool. If you could let me know, I’m really interested.

  38. 200
    natasha
    2-9-08 11:04PM

    Thankyou so much for this article :) After finally figuring out I needed to load the software hive all worked brilliantly. :)

  39. 199
    nate
    1-29-08 11:50PM

    So I’m not sure if this is possible without the system intact to produce some sort of hash? but i have the product-id which i’m hoping might be the same as the hex or binary you are extracting/decrypting with your current tool. I installed an OS over windows and wrote down the product-id not realizing it wasn’t the actual key….

    the product-id is in the form XXXXX-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXX and seems to be all decimal

  40. 198
    brendan
    1-28-08 8:46PM

    ok, I see. Scratch last post. Makes sense now.

  41. 197
    brendan
    1-28-08 8:38PM

    Sorry I must be dim, I don’t understand how to identify the numbers to enter into the decrypter. From the example I gather you need 15 sets containing 1’s. Thing is I only have 9. I take it that the 1’s are supposed to be in the main body of numbers where they are in pairs? Please help.

  42. 196
    Gean
    1-19-08 5:58AM

    Thank you thank you so much im gonna try this now

  43. 195
    Buster Guster
    1-17-08 5:25PM

    I tried this technique on a 7 year old XP Home installation.
    Microsoft refused to activate an installation based on this number.
    I also tried Magical Jelly Bean. It produced a completely different product key that Microsoft refuses to activate as well.
    What is going on?
    The motherboard of this machine died and has been changed. Is my Windows “BIOS-Locked”?

  44. 194
    rampantheart
    1-15-08 6:32AM

    Thanks a lot!I found what i was looking for, afetr a long time!

  45. 193
    Jeremy
    1-10-08 10:12PM

    I used this to get my XP product key.

    What I am interested in is the mathematics behind your decryption tool, can you explain the algorithm for converting the numbers in the DigitalProductID to the valid product key?

    Thank you.

  46. 192
    andrew
    1-10-08 2:14AM

    o hey , by the waYy, you can find the product key on your cd, all you have to do is put the xp cd into the drive,wait for auto run to do its thing, exit auto run. then go to the start menu and run a search. set it for searching all files and folders, for the keyword: ” unattend.txt ” , set the search location to the drive you have your xp cd in. about 4 paragraphs or so down, you key will appear . . . it will look something like this :
    [UserData]
    FullName = “Your User Name”
    OrgName = “Your Organization Name”
    ComputerName = *
    ProductKey= “xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx” . . . . .
    your key is obviously going ot be the x’s

  47. 191
    Fealuin
    1-9-08 3:23PM

    First, thanks a lot. I found this entry a pair of moths ago when I was desperate for the situation. This method solve my problem!!!

    Personally, I prefer to boot with a Windows livecd instead of mount the drive in another computer. Avoids to get mixed up with hardware unnecessaryly.

    Finally, I want to ask your permision to translate the article to spanish (I understand english better than I wrote) Please!

  48. 190
    jim
    1-5-08 2:12AM

    This worked for my vista key.
    http://miscsoftware.com/product-key-viewers/cat_3.html

  49. 189
    monks010
    1-5-08 1:08AM

    >i need to find out the product key of my windows 64x before i install it is this possible?<

  50. 188
    frank
    1-4-08 11:04PM

    i need help getting the vertification code for my windows xp installer

  51. 187
    Jon
    1-4-08 12:59AM

    Hey, I see the discussion has shifted to windows vista, so sorry for this, but i have an xp installation question.
    i have 3 dell computers that are running windows xp, all oem, 2 pro, 1 home. i want to format and clean reinstall the xp home on the comp running it, but accidently tossed that cd, so am just left with two pros.
    since i can’t reinstall the xp home without the cd, i’m thinking of just installing one of the dell oem xp pro cd’s on the dell currently running xp home. would this work? i have read that dell oem doesn’t require activation? all 3 comps have totally different configs…could i use the COA from one of the comps running the xp pro? any ideas? and no, i don’t know anyone with a dell oem home xp cd. also, one of the xp pro cd’s has no service packs, the other has service pack 2. thank you!

  52. 186
    kc
    1-3-08 12:37AM

    after change the product key , can i upgrade my computer

  53. 185
    Ken
    12-12-07 3:27PM

    Excellent app and instructions, I would include in the instructions that if the key you finally retrieve doesn’t work for your repair/install then try with an upgrade version of the OS install disk (eg. Orange key vs new key)

  54. 184
    Rob
    12-3-07 5:57PM

    Very cool tool, thanks! One little suggestion - it would be nice if the final output could be copied/pasted

  55. 183
    till
    12-2-07 8:53PM

    i tried it and it froze my comp and corrupted the HD woohoo i am sure that is a bad thing… but i am stuck now buying a new version of xp pro i am sure it would have worked on a healthy drive.. thanx

  56. 182
    Qivo
    11-29-07 6:26AM

    Dear All.

    The Vista stores the information in a different key.
    If you want to recover your Vista key, find the DigitalProductID4, next to the DigitalProductID in the registry.
    Then you continue the step-by-step instructions, with this key.

  57. 181
    Paul
    11-21-07 5:09AM

    Jimbo, Vista product keys are in a different format. Vista beta builds, RC’s and possibly even some early production releases of vista used the old XP format for DigitalProductID, but later releases use a new format and there doesn’t seem to be anyone on the web who has decoded it yet.

  58. 180
    spike
    11-20-07 7:37PM

    Fantastic tool, had a totally scrambled hard drive, but managed to load hive from \System Volume Information\_restore{ some guid }\RPxx\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE

  59. 179
    Saleh
    11-19-07 2:41PM

    This tool is worked well, while there was no need to run loadhive.exe to see or decrypt the DigitalProductID bytes.
    Please, explain the steps/procedure for decrypting the DigitalProductID bytes manually

  60. 178
    JimboJuice
    11-17-07 4:29AM

    It appears that my install of vista business is hiding the DigitalProductID from me. I have found the exact locations described in this writeup and tried to find my vista product key, however the data is simply not where it should be. The section of the product ID that would have the CD Key are all “0″’s. I’m not sure for what reason the data is missing though. My only thought is that I installed vista w/o a key then used the change key option to enter a valid key and activate it. Or perhaps because it is vista business and has decided not to share key info with me. Anywho, I thought I’d ask to see if anyone knew if the data was kept in a different section of the ProductID entry in the registry or perhaps somewhere else. Right now when i use this too, or magic jelly bean or any other key finding tool, they all look to the same spot as this utility and all show BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB corrisponding with the all 0’s in the ProductID.

    -Also, can this thing help me find the code to my car door? i’m locked out of it…. /jk

  61. 177
    AEC
    11-5-07 4:21PM

    I have found the correct hive and loaded it successfully, but the product ID from the foreign hive and the product ID from my local machine’s hive are coming up the same, I have not tried loading it onto a third machine to see if results are the same. Any ideas on whats going on? I am pulling the bytes depicted in the picture, not the ones mentioned in the instructions.

  62. 176
    Karl
    10-18-07 10:30PM

    I tried this on two different computer and none of the ntuser.dats or software.sav’s from either computer had the key entry. I need to retrieve the key from my Father-in-law’s computer but I am losing hope.

  63. 175
    J.L.
    10-11-07 4:19PM

    I mean, you do log these decodes, don’t you :)

  64. 174
    bcdm
    10-2-07 5:00AM

    Hy!
    I got some old PCs that where to be trashed, but we wanted to store the xp pro keys for later use. Only 1 pc had no sticker on it…

    As i can’t boot from the drive (tough it worked in the old machine wich is unfortunately gone allready) i tried your method and it looked good, sad thing is that neither in the ntuser.dats (i tried them all) nor in the system32/config/software.sav is an entry DigitalProductID.

    search didn’t help, it only found the IE key thingy of the local machine…

    it ‘was’ and Windows xp pro sp2 oem on there…

    any idea what could be the problem? the ntuser files where all readable and the drive seems ok so i am a little confused ^^

    greez bcdm

  65. 173
    jd
    9-29-07 5:49PM

    Will this work on Windows 2000 Pro? If not, what would?

    Thanks.

  66. 172
    Martin
    9-23-07 5:47PM

    Thanks helped me to recover a lost XP product key. I did a repair re-install after updating the motherboard. Put in another code to complete reinstallation but wouldn’t let me login in without revalidation. In safe mode only the software file had the key … but the new one. Found file software.sav which contained the original key. Then used keyfinder to replace the XP product key and then revalidate.

  67. 171
    Dominic
    9-22-07 2:20PM

    OMG!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH.
    see it all started out my friend got a laptop (used) and he forgot his password. so i thought it was going to be a simple password disk thingy but it didnt work. so i eventualy decided to get my copy of windows and reinstall it on his computor all was well and good untill it asked me for the code and i didnt have the sticker thingy with the code so i tried EVERYTHING and it wouldnt work so i found this article and eventually i got it so thank u . U SAVED MY LIFE !!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH U GUYS ARE THE BEST

  68. 170
    Cameron
    9-21-07 10:41AM

    Wow, this has to be one of the greatest finds I’ve ever made while looking for tools on the web. We get a lot of kids that have lost their key, or left it at home when they headed off to college. Your software is a life saver for them. Thank you!

  69. 169
    Hiro
    9-13-07 3:54AM

    That’s amazing! Thank you so much, worked first time! I thought my key was lost for good.

  70. 168
    Naveen Singh
    8-31-07 10:57AM

    Hi,

    I have used same method to retrieve product key of office products and it worked. In general, from the Digital product ID data of any Microsoft product can me used with above calculator to retrieve CD keys.

    Naveen

  71. 167
    Pedro P.
    8-23-07 9:53AM

    there is noting on the "Software > Microsoft > Windows NT > Current Version", but i fund "Software > Microsoft > Internet Explorer > Registration"... and it gave me my product key... but my problem still is to activate the windows (XP home)...

  72. 166
    Pedro P.
    8-23-07 9:53AM

    there is noting on the “Software > Microsoft > Windows NT > Current Version”, but i fund “Software > Microsoft > Internet Explorer > Registration”… and it gave me my product key… but my problem still is to activate the windows (XP home)…

  73. 165
    vaughn_k
    8-22-07 9:49AM

    Great Tools to recover XP Key! In order to recover the XP key without removing the hard drive, I ran loadhive.exe and xpkeydecrypt.exe from ‘inside’ the ’shell’ created by BartPE V.3.1.10a! I needed to use the software hive to get a valid DigitalProductID, however this worked great! For all that are interested, BartPE can be created on a bootable CDROM. Check out
    http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/. This ’solution’ of course assumes that the ‘broken’ XP machine will boot from the BartPE CDROM. I hope that this helps…Vaughn !:-) PS - In order to run XPKeyDecrypt.exe from the BartPE CDROM it was necessary to copy the file msvbvm60.dll into the same directory that contained XPKeyDecrypt.exe. (Also, BartPE is useful for ‘operating’ on ‘broken’ XP systems that will not boot to Normal mode or Safe mode!)

  74. 164
    Bob Wiliams
    8-22-07 12:53AM

    I haven’t tried the recovered key yet so I’m not sure it works. I did have a problem when I went to the current version folder in regedit there was nothing on the right side. I then searched for DigitalProductId and found one under IE and the one mentioned in the article. Hopefully this will work. I have spent 5 hours going to sites that assume your pc is up and running. Yours was the first with a resolution pc’s that aren’t.

  75. 163
    Admin
    8-8-07 10:06PM

    John: As stated above, the point of this method is for when you cannot boot from the drive to run standard key-finding programs.

  76. 162
    John
    8-8-07 3:41PM

    Easier is to download Belarc Advisor (belarc.com). DLs fast, installs fast, gives you ALL the license numbers for all the software on your pc.

  77. 161
    Qureshi
    7-30-07 9:43PM

    No matter which ntuser.dat file I try. I get the following message.
    ” The system has attempted to load or restore a file into the registry, but the specified file is not in the registry file format”

    Please help

  78. 160
    Omer
    7-29-07 5:33PM

    Hi there

    I need some help, my computer crashed and Samsung Sata hard drive went bad few weeks ago, just before this incident happened, fortunately I did a back up on external hard drive(freecom) through windows back up option , few weeks down the line some thing went wrong with Samsung drive and computer would not boot, it was going in circles coming up to Windows XP logo and restarting again, after several investigation and contacting Samsung finally I got a new hard drive, now the problem is I cannot find my XP cd for my desktop. I was suggested about this site, I restored the back up on Freecom hard drive to be able to see the file including XP pro, I did all the steps as per instruction on this site and following are the results

    1) On loading hive file on 2 users accounts I get message “ User not accessible, assess is denied”
    2) Two of the users do load hive file but I don’t see DigitalProductID
    3) I even tried software hive, I can see software_00 and in right side screen I only see 1 item called Default.

    Plz help how can I get my XP key back so that I can use my other CD to install XP and use my original XP key?

    Regards
    Omer

  79. 159
    Stewie
    7-28-07 12:58PM

    Solution to missing DigitalProductID. Use Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v2.0 Beta 2½ (at http://www.magicaljellybean.com/beta/). For those wanting to retrieve their keys from another hard drive, you just select ‘Load hive’ from the ‘Edit’ menu, then navigate to the WINDOWS directory on the hard drive in question. That’s it!

    (To the author, I’m SO sorry for posting this here because your efforts are to be highly commended. I reluctantly posted this because I–& apparently others–struggled with this problem. So please delete this post if it’s inappropriate. Thanks for all your hard work!)

  80. 158
    Josh
    7-22-07 11:23AM

    NVm about that, Once I open regedit, I have Ntuser\software\microsoft\ctf\etc I do not have windows nt folder… is this a vista problem or what?

  81. 157
    Josh
    7-22-07 11:00AM

    OKay, So here’s my problem. I purchased windows vista home premium and used it to upgrade my dell from xp to vista. then from that i purchased a new comp. case and motherboard. Not knowing I had to reinstall windows vista (due to significant hardware change), i had already thrown out my old dell case (which had the vista product key sticker on it). SO now i have Vista installed on my computer (un-activated) and time running out. The ntuser.dat from my previos windows vista installlation is in a windows.old folder however when i try to run loadhive.exe it tells me the ntuser.dat (old one with my product key) is already in use. HELP

  82. 156
    Jouni
    7-20-07 1:54AM

    Oops, somehow I managed to use the wrong path in the registry. Works perfectly now. Many thanks.

  83. 155
    Jouni
    7-20-07 12:44AM

    The DigitalProductId wasn`t in the ntuser.dat-file so I opened the file from the \%SystemRoot%\System32\config\software root. Now I could find the DigitalProductId but when installing XP it says “Your product ID is invalid”. I did decrypt it ;) What also concerns me, is that the DigitalProductId doesnt change after I close the Loadhive program even after refresh in the registry. It`s not even the DigitalProductId of the computer I installed my hard drive.

  84. 154
    Ron
    7-5-07 6:46AM

    This is my encoded key 76487-OEM-0054615-92500 and the binary view does not have enough byte - only 48 where every second byte is 00 (stands for “.”)
    What should I do to recover my product key?

  85. 153
    Carl
    6-21-07 9:26AM

    Well, your eg has a counting error. Hex-Decimal & year-Zero.
    Year-Zer0:
    1st Byte= 0000Hx vs. 1 dec.
    0030Hx=48dec= 49th Byte.
    So your GRAPHIC shows from 0034=52= 53rd Byte,
    and shows 0042=66= 67th Byte.

    But text says “Byte 52-66″.

    Web DeCrypt tool:
    This gives a frame shift of 1 Byte.
    Every other Byte is null (00), so mine starts
    with 0034=53rd= 74Hx, or 0033=51= 52st= ooHx.

    Your tool gives Prod IDs for BOTH.

    Would you clarify please? -Carl,Columbus OH

  86. 152
    Bradford
    6-8-07 5:53PM

    followed the steps and everything worked great!
    Thanks so much for this great how-to piece!

  87. 151
    Network Admin
    6-6-07 2:21PM

    Interesting Read. This was very helpful. Thanks.

    Also, in response to Petty Problems comments…..There are three types of Windows XP product keys: Retail, Corporate, and OEM. Retail is the type you buy from the store. Corporate is for volume license customers. OEM is the copy that is preinstalled on computers (These have a Windows license sticker on the side of the case). Each type of license has a different installation CD. There is a very very tiny difference on each type of disk (Three characters to be exact) that will only allow that installation disk to accept one type of product key. So make sure you are using the proper disk to reinstall your copy of Windows to accept your valid product key.

  88. 150
    Gal
    6-1-07 1:35PM

    Hi, I installed Win XP Prof SP2 on my MAC laptop. The key for this has expired and I want to reload it using my Win XP Prof SP1 after I perform the slipsstreaming process; My Question is will my Win XP Prof SP1 key work? Will my Win XP home key work? I dont know how these keys work and hence need some info. Thanks in advance!!!

  89. 149
    Admin
    5-31-07 9:57PM

    To people who have been posting comments, lately, please read the above notice. It says:

    “comments below are only for discussion of this particular retrieval method. If you have Windows questions, or questions about product keys in general, search Google.”

  90. 148
    help!
    5-25-07 11:57PM

    hey.. good job, but i cannot see any DigitalProductID in either NTUSER or the other one please help me…

  91. 147
    meme
    5-23-07 10:05AM

    Very nice work. My recovery disks have died and I had to put a “copy ” ;) of XP on this old machine for the misses while im away cuz she dont speak Linux. I aways thought that I could use my own Product Key in any copy of XP but it was not accepted so I had to use a not so genuine key. Is there a way of replacing my original key in the bytes 52 to 66? of course it would mean doing the reverse decrypting to your excellent tool. Is there a tool to do this already that you know off. Thanks again for this great bit of knowledge and tooling you rock!!

  92. 146
    Admin
    5-21-07 9:29PM

    Doug: Always nice to hear from those who find it useful :) Thanks.

  93. 145
    Doug Kopp
    5-20-07 2:28PM

    You are too cool. What a great tool and service. Followed
    directions exactly and found the key on a freebee 40G drive.
    It was OEM ver and nothing in ntuser.dat, but found in
    sys32/config/software. Thank you again from an 70 year
    old geezer (an thats what you call a 70 year old-time geek) :)
    Doug

  94. 144
    Paul
    5-15-07 11:44PM

    I have genuine WinXP Pro CD but have lost the key. I managed to use the disk to install XP Pro on my laptop (it had XP Home)using a non genuine key, have can I find out the correct key for the cd I have ?

  95. 143
    illyume
    5-9-07 11:07PM

    My NTuser.dat file didn’t have the DigitalProductID key, but the Windows/system32/config/software file did. Everything looked fine and such, I retrieved a key, tried inputting it into a Windows install screen… and it said the key was invalid.

    I run (ran, rather) Windows XP Professional Edition. I don’t know if caused the problem, or not.

  96. 142
    jeff
    5-5-07 1:23PM

    I used the loadhive application on the ntuser.dat file of a non bootable hard drive but no DigitalProductID was present. I also tried the ntuser.dat file from the system32\config location but then the registry entry couldn’t be opened. Any other suggestions for retrieving the lost key?

  97. 141
    Admin
    5-5-07 11:13AM

    Petty: That is true. Some OEMs use ’special’ versions of the CD/key. Although the majority of them do not. For those that do, you have to have the proper version of the CD that came with (at least the make) of the computer to go along with the key. Often times you can tell these by the computer brand being listed on the product key tag, but not all that show the brand are like this.

  98. 140
    Petty Problems
    5-5-07 2:45AM

    You really have petty problems, people.

    I happen to have bought a Laptop with a genuine Windows XP Professional License. The Key, or any of the valid one I own, does not work on any of the cracked (i.e. not requiring activation) Version of WinXP, even the most recent.

    So I have come to suspect that there must be a difference between OEM-Installation CDs (Recovery-CDs,Rescue-CDs, all those) that contain WinXP in a congested form and all the others. Your claim that all conventional WinXP CDs are alike might be true, but this goes not for OEM-Systems.

    So there must be a difference in the algorithm that checks the key for every System-Builder-Company. If MS would be really determined to keep me from running a legal key on a different WinXP-CD, they might have hidden several checking functions in the binaries of the Installation Program, and only their order of running through the key might be changed without changing file sizes at all. This would allow for identification of a key contingent of the OEM-Seller.

  99. 139
    Admin
    5-4-07 9:50PM

    Michal: Make sure you are opening the ntuser.dat file on the other drive. To view the registry files for other drives (than the one you are booting from), the loadhive.exe program works well (link is above).

  100. 138
    Michal
    5-4-07 1:19PM

    Hi, I,ve problem with DigitalProductID. If i load software.saw from connected hard disk E: , In registry editor i see DigitalProducID of my current windows, no windows od connected HDD. Thanks for help (sorry for my english but i’m from Czech republic)

  101. 137
    Admin
    5-1-07 11:08PM

    was: Read the section above, under the big red ‘Notice’ text.

  102. 136
    was
    5-1-07 9:31AM

    i coud not read the product key from thoperating system cd of window xp. please how can i get it?

  103. 135
    S