How to find out the OEM Windows activation key from the BIOS. How to find out the OEM Windows activation key from the BIOS How to register the key in the BIOS
- Hello dear administrators! Question: how can I find out the OEM license key for a Windows 8.1 laptop if it doesn’t have hard drive? Or in other words, how to find out the Windows 8.1 key embedded in Laptop BIOS? My problem is that my HDD and I bought a new one, now I want to install Windows 8.1 Single Language previously preinstalled from the store on it, but I’m afraid that the system is not activated automatically during installation. I read on the Internet that using some programs you can find out the Windows 8.1 key,“hardwired” into the laptop’s BIOS and the key is saved in any case, for the entire life of the laptop.
- Hello admin! I bought a laptop a year ago, then Windows 8 was installed on it, which I immediately tore down and installed Windows 7, but now I’m thinking about returning Windows 8, but I don’t know license key, can I watch it somewhere? Previously, the Windows key was printed on the bottom of the laptop, but now it is not there.
How to find out the OEM key of a licensed Windows 8.1 laptop if it does not have a hard drive. Or in other words, how to find out the Windows 8.1 key “hardwired” into the laptop’s BIOS
Hello friends! With the advent of laptops with pre-installed Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and UEFI BIOS, Microsoft changed the rules for distributing licensed copies of Windows, now a license key operating system is no longer on the sticker located on the bottom of the laptop, from now on the key is “sewn” in text form into the ACPI MSD table of the laptop’s BIOS. What to do, these are the new rules and according to them, an ordinary user does not need to know the key of the operating system installed on his laptop.
Despite this, you can view the contents of ACPI tables and find out the Windows 8.1 key in the BIOS using various utilities: RWEverything, OemKey, ShowKeyPlus, ProduKey. If your laptop boots, then these utilities can be launched directly in a running Windows and it doesn’t matter what operating system you currently have installed: Windows 7 or Windows 10, regardless of this, any of the programs I listed considers the Windows 8.1 key from the BIOS.
You can also find out the key if the laptop does not have a hard drive at all, in this case we will have to boot the laptop from a bootable flash drive Live CD AOMEI PE Builder, this flash drive contains all the programs I mentioned, in today’s article I will show you how to create such a flash drive.
- Note: If you look at the question from the other side, then it is not at all necessary for an ordinary user to recognize the Windows 8.1 key embedded in the laptop’s BIOS, and here’s why. The fact is that when you install on a laptop exactly the version of the operating system that was preinstalled on it from the store (in most cases, Windows 8.1 Single Language), the key will be inserted automatically during system installation and you will not need to enter anything. In other words, know the registered key You do not need to enter the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS under any circumstances, even if you replace the hard drive on the laptop. I wrote about all this in detail in this.
For example, let's take a laptop with Windows 8.1 pre-installed from the store, delete everything from the hard drive and install another Windows 10 operating system, and then run our utilities and find out the Win 8.1 key registered in the BIOS.
Download all programs in one archive on my cloud storage.
So, let's look at the Windows 8.1 key registered in the BIOS with the programs: ShowKeyPlus, OemKey, RWEverything, ProduKey.
The first program in line is ShowKeyPlus
The program displays detailed information.
Product Name(The version of the operating system currently installed on the laptop) - Windows 10 Single Language.
Product ID: Product ID.
Installed Key: The key is currently installed on Windows laptop 10 Single Language.
OEM Key: TO Windows 8.1 key, registered into the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS (what we need is the key embedded in the BIOS).
OEM Edition: Operating system version ( Windows 8.1 Single Language) preinstalled at the factory by the laptop manufacturer. This is the version that the key will fit into ( OEM Key) and it will be entered automatically during system installation, that is, you will not have to enter it.
OemKey program
It only shows the Windows 8.1 key embedded in the laptop's BIOS.
Go to the program folder and run the executable file Rw.exe.
Click on the button ACPI.
Click on the MSDM button and see the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 key.
The ProduKey program, already familiar to you from our previous articles, will also cope with the task of determining the key embedded in the BIOS of a laptop.
The utility shows two keys, the first is an OEM key registered to the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS, and the second, the key of the currently installed Windows 10.
How to find out the OEM key of a licensed Windows 8.1 laptop if it does not have a hard drive?
Create a bootable USB flash drive Live CD AOMEI PE Builder
Friends, in this case, we need to boot the laptop from the AOMEI PE Builder Live CD bootable flash drive. Download the flash drive image from my cloud storage.
After downloading the ISO image, we launch the program, which is what we will use to create a bootable USB flash drive.
In the main window of the WinSetupFromUSB program, select our flash drive (be careful, all data on the flash drive will be deleted).
Put a tick on the item Auto format it with FBinst and check the FAT32 box.
Check the box Vista/7/8/Server 2008/2012 based ISO and click on the button on the right that opens the explorer window.
Explorer opens, find the ISO image of the Live CD AOMEI PE Builder, select it with the left mouse and click "Open".
Manufacturers of modern laptops and computers are actively abandoning disk drives, since any program or game can be downloaded from the Internet, and the presence of a drive only makes the PC more expensive for the end buyer. At the same time, users who are accustomed to receiving a disk with Windows and a license key included with their computer find it difficult to reinstall the operating system. While Windows itself can be installed from a flash drive, you will still need a license key for it. In this case, users have a question: how to find out the Windows product key that was preinstalled on a laptop (desktop computer), or was installed later from a disk that is not currently available? This can be done using both Windows and third-party programs.
When asking yourself the question of determining the license key of the operating system running on your computer, you should understand such concepts as Installed Key and OEM Key. Essentially, they are both Windows license keys, but there are some differences between them. The way they are determined also differs.
Installed Key is the installation key of the operating system running on the computer. It can be detected on those laptops and desktop computers on which Windows was installed by users themselves from a disk or as a digital copy purchased via the Internet and activated.
The OEM Key is the license key for the version of Windows that was originally installed on the computer. The OEM key information is hardwired into the laptop motherboard or desktop computer, and it cannot be changed.
Thus, if the computer was installed with the Windows 8 operating system at the time of purchase, which was later updated to Windows 10, the information about the OEM and Installed keys will be different. At the same time, wanting to install on new computer Windows 8, you will need to enter the OEM key - only it will work with this version of the operating system. Installed Key is suitable if you want to install Windows 10.
Attention: You can use the existing OEM or Installed key only for the version of the operating system that is installed on the computer. You cannot enter the key for the Basic version of Windows 10 for the Professional build.
How to find out the Windows 10 key using the operating system?
On any computer, with administrator rights, you can find out the Windows 10 license key without third-party programs and applications. However, the procedures are different in the case of determining OEM and Installed keys.
Finding out the license key of the operating system that is “hardwired” into the computer’s motherboard is very simple if you know the command that is specifically provided for this in Windows 10. To determine the OEM key, do the following:
The OEM-issued key can be used to reinstall the version of the operating system that was originally installed on the computer.
Using one command, it is not possible to determine the Installed Key, and it is hidden a little deeper in the Windows operating system. But if you wish, you can get information about the Windows license key without installing third-party applications on your computer. To do this you need to do the following:
- Launch an empty standard Windows notepad, which can be found in the following path: “Start” - “All applications” - “ Standard Windows" - "Notebook".
- IN open program text editor copy the following code:
Please note that the Installed Key is displayed in the “Product Key” item. Also, following the steps described above allows you to find out some details about the operating system used on the computer.
How to find out Windows keys using third-party programs?
From the instructions above you can see that finding out the OEM Key Windows is very simple, but “getting” to the Installed Key is much more difficult, and the procedure for detecting it using Windows tools takes a lot of time. If you don’t want to do it, you can install third party application, which will independently detect information about the OEM Key and Installed Key on the computer, and then give it to the PC administrator.
ShowKeyPlus is considered one of the simplest and most convenient programs for determining the Windows key. It can be downloaded from the official website of the developers absolutely free. At the same time, the program not only shows information about the license keys of the version of Windows used, but also allows users to save the received information in a txt document. 
- Hello dear administrators! Question: how can I find out the OEM key for a licensed Windows 8.1 laptop if it does not have a hard drive? Or in other words, how can you find out the Windows 8.1 key embedded in the laptop’s BIOS? My problem is that my hard drive failed and I bought a new one, now I want to install Windows 8.1 Single Language pre-installed from the store on it, but I’m afraid that the system is not activated automatically during installation. I read on the Internet that using some programs you can find out the Windows 8.1 key,“hardwired” into the laptop’s BIOS and the key is saved in any case, for the entire life of the laptop.
- Hello admin! I bought a laptop a year ago, then it had Windows 8 installed, which I immediately tore down and installed Windows 7, but now I’m thinking about returning Windows 8, but I don’t know the license key, can I look it up somewhere? Previously, the Windows key was printed on the bottom of the laptop, but now it is not there.
How to find out the OEM key of a licensed Windows 8.1 laptop if it does not have a hard drive. Or in other words, how to find out the Windows 8.1 key “hardwired” into the laptop’s BIOS
Hello friends! With the advent of laptops with pre-installed Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and UEFI BIOS, Microsoft changed the rules for distributing licensed copies of Windows; now the operating system license key is no longer on the sticker located on the bottom of the laptop; from now on, the key is “sewn” in text form into the ACPI MSD table of the BIOS laptop. What to do, these are the new rules and according to them, an ordinary user does not need to know the key of the operating system installed on his laptop.
Despite this, you can view the contents of ACPI tables and find out the Windows 8.1 key in the BIOS using various utilities: RWEverything, OemKey, ShowKeyPlus, ProduKey. If your laptop boots, then these utilities can be launched directly in a running Windows and it doesn’t matter what operating system you currently have installed: Windows 7 or Windows 10, regardless of this, any of the programs I listed considers the Windows 8.1 key from the BIOS.
You can also find out the key if the laptop does not have a hard drive at all, in this case we will have to boot the laptop from a bootable flash drive Live CD AOMEI PE Builder, this flash drive contains all the programs I mentioned, in today’s article I will show you how to create such a flash drive.
- Note: If you look at the question from the other side, then it is not at all necessary for an ordinary user to recognize the Windows 8.1 key embedded in the laptop’s BIOS, and here’s why. The fact is that when you install on a laptop exactly the version of the operating system that was preinstalled on it from the store (in most cases, Windows 8.1 Single Language), the key will be inserted automatically during system installation and you will not need to enter anything. In other words, know the registered key You do not need to enter the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS under any circumstances, even if you replace the hard drive on the laptop. I wrote about all this in detail in this.
For example, let's take a laptop with Windows 8.1 pre-installed from the store, delete everything from the hard drive and install another Windows 10 operating system, and then run our utilities and find out the Win 8.1 key registered in the BIOS.
Download all programs in one archive on my cloud storage.
So, let's look at the Windows 8.1 key registered in the BIOS with the programs: ShowKeyPlus, OemKey, RWEverything, ProduKey.
The first program in line is ShowKeyPlus
The program displays detailed information.
Product Name(The version of the operating system currently installed on the laptop) - Windows 10 Single Language.
Product ID: Product ID.
Installed Key: Key for Windows 10 Single Language currently installed on the laptop.
OEM Key: TO Windows 8.1 key, registered into the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS (what we need is the key embedded in the BIOS).
OEM Edition: Operating system version ( Windows 8.1 Single Language) preinstalled at the factory by the laptop manufacturer. This is the version that the key will fit into ( OEM Key) and it will be entered automatically during system installation, that is, you will not have to enter it.
OemKey program
It only shows the Windows 8.1 key embedded in the laptop's BIOS.
Go to the program folder and run the executable file Rw.exe.
Click on the button ACPI.
Click on the MSDM button and see the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 key.
The ProduKey program, already familiar to you from our previous articles, will also cope with the task of determining the key embedded in the BIOS of a laptop.
The utility shows two keys, the first is an OEM key registered to the ACPI MSD table of the laptop BIOS, and the second, the key of the currently installed Windows 10.
How to find out the OEM key of a licensed Windows 8.1 laptop if it does not have a hard drive?
Create a bootable USB flash drive Live CD AOMEI PE Builder
Friends, in this case, we need to boot the laptop from the AOMEI PE Builder Live CD bootable flash drive. Download the flash drive image from my cloud storage.
After downloading the ISO image, we launch the program, which is what we will use to create a bootable USB flash drive.
In the main window of the WinSetupFromUSB program, select our flash drive (be careful, all data on the flash drive will be deleted).
Put a tick on the item Auto format it with FBinst and check the FAT32 box.
Check the box Vista/7/8/Server 2008/2012 based ISO and click on the button on the right that opens the explorer window.
Explorer opens, find the ISO image of the Live CD AOMEI PE Builder, select it with the left mouse and click "Open".
Any system must be licensed and have a certain identifier indicating this license. Windows software is a paid solution, which means that when purchasing online or on disk, you will always have a product key. Some people are wondering how to find out the key for Windows 7, 8 or 10. For what case it is up to you to decide, the main thing is that here you will find many options on how to perform this procedure.
One good option to find out the Windows 8 license key is to download the RWEEverything utility. Download from this site - http://rweverything.com/download.
So, the procedure for finding information about a license key may be needed in the following cases:
- When the system is damaged to such an extent that the option to correct the problem is to reinstall the system.
- The drive where Windows is installed is formatted.
#1 way to find the key
Almost every laptop with an OS system, that is, it does not have DOS, but is licensed, has a key hardwired into the BIOS. That is, this is the activation key for OEM systems. This is found in both Windows 7 and Windows 10. There should also be a sticker on the bottom of the device indicating the product key and a couple of irrelevant information. When you download a clean system of the desired edition (for example, Home), you can enter this key, thereby activating it.
#2 method of finding the system key
- Run the file Rw.exe
- In the window we find the tab ACPI, and in another window go to the tab MSDM. Find the line Data, where your license key will be written.
In this section we use the program again, but this time it’s different. The previous one is also suitable for any system.
The program is called Product Key Viewer and you can download it from this resource: .
Why are there two keys in a laptop?
All laptops you purchase online or in a brick-and-mortar store come with OEM versions pre-installed. The system can be anything. OEM version is pre-installed on Windows computer, which uses a special authentication by matching 2 keys.
Initially, the key embedded in the BIOS is checked, then the 25-digit license key already in the system; to activate the system, a so-called OEM certificate is also required.
When you begin to reinstall Windows 10 and activation begins, Microsoft servers will begin matching these keys, 1st and 2nd license. Provided that both keys are related to Windows 10 Home for the same language, then activation will be successful (For example, I indicated the tenth version of Home).
To check the Windows key, just download the ShowKeyPlus utility. It is free and there is no need to install it, and after opening you will immediately see the necessary data.
You will see the system name, product code, the key itself, and a second key for the OEM system.
Free PC Audit
Another tool that will help you find out about the Windows key on any computer. It is similar to other tools we have reviewed. Download from here, run it and go to the “System” tab. On the left we look for the section “ Windows product key" And on the right side of the window the information we need is displayed.
How to find out the Windows key using Speccy and AIDA64
So, here we come to one of my favorite utilities, with the help of which I look up information about the system and components called. It also contains an option to check the Windows key. All you need to do is go to the “Operating System” tab and on the right you will see the line “Product Key”.
The second similar tool is. Also go to the “Operating System” tab, which is there on the right. Find the line “Serial number”. That's the whole process.
I don't think anyone would want to bother with entering a script when there are such simple methods as described above. But I’ll still point out this method, just in case.
Below is a script executed as a file with a VBS extension. Let's consider this option.
Open a standard notepad and paste this content into it:
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
regKey = "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\"
DigitalProductId = WshShell.RegRead(regKey & "DigitalProductId")
Win8ProductName = "Windows Product Name: " & WshShell.RegRead(regKey & "ProductName") & vbNewLine
Win8ProductID = "Windows Product ID: " & WshShell.RegRead(regKey & "ProductID") & vbNewLine
Win8ProductKey = ConvertToKey(DigitalProductId)
strProductKey = "Windows Key: " & Win8ProductKey
Win8ProductID = Win8ProductName & Win8ProductID & strProductKey
MsgBox(Win8ProductKey)
MsgBox(Win8ProductID)
Function ConvertToKey(regKey)
Const KeyOffset = 52
isWin8 = (regKey(66) \ 6) And 1
regKey(66) = (regKey(66) And &HF7) Or ((isWin8 And 2) * 4)
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Cur = regKey(y + KeyOffset) + Cur
regKey(y + KeyOffset) = (Cur\24)
Cur = Cur Mod 24
Loop While y >= 0
winKeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & winKeyOutput
Loop While j >= 0
If (isWin8 = 1) Then
keypart1 = Mid(winKeyOutput, 2, Last)
winKeyOutput = Replace(winKeyOutput, keypart1, keypart1 & insert, 2, 1, 0)
If Last = 0 Then winKeyOutput = insert & winKeyOutput
a = Mid(winKeyOutput, 1, 5)
b = Mid(winKeyOutput, 6, 5)
c = Mid(winKeyOutput, 11, 5)
d = Mid(winKeyOutput, 16, 5)
e = Mid(winKeyOutput, 21, 5)
ConvertToKey = a & "-" & b & "-" & c & "-" & d & "-" & e
The file should not be saved with a text extension, such as “.txt”. You must click the “File” button, select the “Save As” option and enter some name in Latin, adding the VBS suffix. In other words, the name could be like this:
SIW program
Last section of the article. We use the SIW program. You just need to download it, run it and go to the tab on the left “ Licenses».
Why are other symbols displayed instead of the normal key?
Sometimes, when trying to find out the Windows 7, 8, 10 key of a laptop or other device, a situation arises when characters appear that are completely unrelated to the key. Typically, such systems are activated by the so-called MAK and VLK, and they, as a rule, are not saved. Such keys are not registered on the PC, but are located on Microsoft servers.
Another similar case can occur when changing components, so remember, maybe you recently changed your motherboard or some other component.
Now you know how to find out the Windows 7, 8, 10 key using various software and even using the system itself.
Each licensed copy of the operating Windows systems 10 there is a unique key that indicates activation installed version. The key consists of 25 characters, including english letters and numbers. Without this code and entering it into the system, your OS will be available within 30 days from the date of installation. After this, the computer will remind you of the need to activate, and after a while it will stop booting altogether. Below you can read about how to find out the Windows 10 product key, what types of keys there are and what they are needed for.
There are two types of operating system serial numbers:
- OEM key – “sewn” into memory motherboard by default, since the OS was installed by the manufacturer;
- Product Key. This key applies to the installed digital version of the product.
Due to the differences between the two types of serial numbers, confusion can sometimes arise. For example, if you uninstall the pre-installed copy of the OS and then install your own version, the OEM and Product keys will not match.
Why do you need a key?
Before the release of the “ten,” Microsoft developers used a simpler method to determine a unique code. The serial number for the pre-installed version of the operating system was always located on a sticker on the back of the laptop or PC case. With the advent of Windows 10 and the spread of digital versions, it was decided to abandon this idea.
Now owners of the “Ten” have to use non-trivial solutions to determine the serial key. You will need the number if you decide to reinstall a licensed copy of the OS on your computer. When using a pirated version, this operation is not required, since activation is carried out using a special program. You can also purchase a Windows 10 license through the official Microsoft website.
How to check if Windows 10 is activated?
Before searching for the key in the system, check that your copy is activated. It's very easy to do. To resolve the issue, follow these steps:
- Right click on the shortcut "This computer" on the desktop and in the context menu, select .
- In the window that opens, you will see information about your system (technical data, performance rating, etc.). In the subsection "ActivationWindows" there should be an inscription: "ActivationWindows done", as shown in the screenshot:
You can open the same window using the keyboard shortcut Win + Pause/Break
Now you know how to check whether the installed copy of the OS is activated. Now you can start searching for a license key for your Windows 10.
Where can I find my Windows 10 key?
You can find the activation key standard means OS and third party programs. Let's look at all the methods in more detail:
- VBS script;
- extended command line (PowerShell);
- ProduKey program;
- ShowKeyPlus;
- extract from UEFI;
- applications for collecting system data.
Finding the key through scripts
This method looks at finding a license key using Visual Basic Script. It differs from the regular command line in that the result of the script is visualized in a separate window. You can download the script from . If you encounter any difficulties with the download, do not worry - you can create such a script yourself.
First, you need to create a document in Notepad with the following. Then save the file to any location on your computer with .vbs resolution and any name in English. To change the extension, you must first save the text document and then change the resolution using the rename function. Next, you need to launch the file by simply clicking on it. The system should show the OEM key on the desktop in a separate window, as shown in the screenshot. Click OK and you will see more detailed information about the installed version of the operating system:
The method works for 32-bit and 64-bit systems, as well as for all Windows versions 10, including Home, and Pro.
PowerShell
The second way to obtain a key using the built-in functionality is to use the PowerShell command line, which is only available on Windows 10 (x64). With its help you will receive information about the Product Key, that is, the current OS version number.
- Launch Notepad and copy the text from . After that, save the file to any folder with the extension .ps. Now you need to run PowerShell as an administrator. To do this, go to the search and enter the name in English (1). Now right-click on the icon and select from the menu "Run as administrator" (3).
- In the command prompt window, enter the command Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned and press Enter on your keyboard. Next, you need to specify the path to the file with the extension .ps1. If you saved it directly to your desktop, the command will look like this:
The Installed Key line will indicate the 25-digit code of your operating system. You can save it in a separate text file. Now let's figure out where to check serial number to the OEM version of the OS.
We take out the key from UEFI
This method will allow you to find the OEM Key.
- First, open the command line as an administrator:
At the command prompt, enter the combination and press Enter.
The same action can be performed via PowerShell. Open PowerShell again using the method described earlier and enter the command ( Get-WmiObject -query "select * from SoftwareLicensingService").
Now you know how to check your license using the built-in operating system tools. Let's move on to third-party tools.
ProduKey
To install the program, go to
Other applications
If you want to receive information not only about the OS license, but also about the entire PC, you can use one of the following programs:
- AIDA 64;
- Everest;
- SIW and the like.
Software in this category allows you to learn everything about software and the hardware installed in your computer. The information also includes serial numbers. Finding them is not that difficult.
For example, let's take the program. On the main screen, tap the button OperatingSystem(1). On the right side of the program you will see SerialNumber(2). In a similar way, you can find the serial number through the other programs listed above.
conclusions
There are numerous ways to find the Product Key or OEM Key of an installed operating system. The article describes everything so that the user can use it by choosing the method independently. If a method doesn’t work for you or you don’t understand the procedure for performing it, just move on to another! The easiest way is to use automated software such as ProduKey and others. More experienced users can easily cope with scripts and command line(PowerShell).
Video instruction
