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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.

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  1. 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

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

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

  3. 223
    Fritti
    5-21-08 12:39PM

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

  4. 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.

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

    Worked like a charm, thanks so much

  6. 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?

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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.)

  11. 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.

  12. 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

  13. 213
    Steven
    4-8-08 6:23AM

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

  14. 212
    Er.s.syed abdul kader
    4-6-08 5:01AM

    thank you…dagondesign.com

  15. 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.

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