microsoft office activation key on my computer

#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER HOW TO#
#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER INSTALL#
#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER SOFTWARE#
#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER PC#

You’ll need that product key to reinstall Windows - and, if the manufacturer used System Locked Pre-installation, that key is different from the one your PC came with in software.Įxamine your computer to find the key. The COA sticker verifies that the computer came with an authentic copy of Windows, and that sticker has a product key printed on it. To check, you’ll need to look for a certificate of authenticity sticker on your computer. If you try, you’ll get error messages about the key being invalid.

#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER INSTALL#

Thanks to “System Locked Pre-installation,” you’re not allowed to use that key to install Windows. If you have a Windows 7-era PC, there’s a good chance the PC’s key is a single key the manufacturer uses for all their PCs. Read the Key From the Certificate of Authenticity Sticker Write it down and store it in a safe place. You should be rewarded with your embedded license key. Then, enter the following command and press Enter: (Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey Just open the Start menu, type “powershell” into the search bar, and run the Powershell application that comes up. If you want to find the UEFI-embedded key and write it down, you can do so quite simply. (Still, it may be best to find the product key using one of the below methods and write it down before reinstalling Windows - just in case.) You should just be able to reinstall the same edition of Windows the PC came with and it should just work without even asking you for a key. You don’t have to do anything special if you have this. Instead, the key is stored in the computer’s UEFI firmware or BIOS by the manufacturer. No one can glance at your computer’s sticker to steal its product key.

#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER SOFTWARE#

On newer Windows 8, 10, and 11 computers, the key isn’t stored in software where it can be wiped, or on a sticker where it could be smudged off or removed. If the Key Is Stored in Your PC’s Hardware In other words, if it came with Windows 7 Home Premium, you can’t install Windows 7 Professional. It’ll all happen automatically.īe sure to use the same version and edition of Windows the computer came with. You don’t even need to know it–assuming you’re installing the same edition of Windows the PC came with, it should automatically activate and work without you needing to enter a key. The key for the version of Windows the PC comes with is stored in the computer’s UEFI firmware or BIOS. Embedded in your PC’s UEFI firmware: Many newer PCs that come with Windows 8 or 10 use a new method.This system was common for Windows 7 PCs. The one in the registry and key-viewer application is a red herring. The actual key is on a certificate of authenticity (COA) sticker on your PC or its power supply. If your PC uses this, the product key on your PC–the one stored in the registry, and the one key-viewer applications display–will be different from the actual key your PC needs. Printed on a sticker: Some PCs use a technology called “System Locked Pre-installation,” or SLP.Crucially, you’ll need to grab it from your operating system before you begin reinstalling Windows or it could be deleted if you format your hard drive.

You can extract this product key, and–often–enter it when reinstalling Windows on your PC.

Stored in software on your PC: When you (or your PC manufacturer) installs Windows, Windows stores its product key in the registry.

The key you need will be in one of three places: RELATED: Where to Download Windows 10, 8.1, and 7 ISOs Legally All you need is access to the disk drive from a working computer. The great thing is that you can even recover a key, even from a computer that won’t boot anymore.

We can only assume that they don’t want anybody to re-use a key from an old computer. We’re not really sure why Microsoft went to great lengths to make it difficult to see the product keys for their software, especially since they are stored right in there in the registry and can be read by software, if not by humans.

#MICROSOFT OFFICE ACTIVATION KEY ON MY COMPUTER HOW TO#

RELATED: Beginner Geek: How to Reinstall Windows on Your Computer As you can see in the screenshot above, the product ID is stored in the registry but is in a binary format that can’t be read by humans unless you are some sort of Cylon.

Microsoft office activation key on my computer