How to Find Your Windows 7 Product Key: CMD, Registry & More

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: May 3, 2024 Fact Checked

Do you need to find the product key for your copy of Windows 7? If you need to reinstall Windows 7 or use your license on another PC, you'll need a valid 25-digit product key to authenticate your version of Windows through Microsoft. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to display your Windows 7 product key without installing software, including using the command prompt (CMD), checking the registry, and running an easy VB script. This wikiHow article will teach you free ways to find or recover your Windows 7 product key.

Finding Windows 7 Product Key

Open the Windows 7 command prompt and type "wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey" to get the product key. If you can't boot into Windows, find the key on the COA sticker on the POC, the Windows 7 packaging, or your receipt. Or, use third-party software like ProduKey and ShowKeyPlus.

Section 1 of 8:

Check the Sticker on the PC

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If your PC came preinstalled with Windows 7, you should be able to find a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) sticker on your computer. This sticker often has a holographic or rainbow label, but sometimes will just be a plain white sticker. If you're using a tower/desktop computer, it'll usually be on the side or back of the unit. On a laptop, it's typically on the bottom of the unit or under the battery .

Section 2 of 8:

Try the Command Prompt (CMD)

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Use the Windows Command Prompt to find the product key. This is a handy way to display your Windows 7 product key if you can no longer read what's on the sticker or can't find it elsewhere. As long as Windows 7 was installed on this computer when you purchased it, you'll be able to pull up the key this way.
- Click the Start menu and select Run .
- Type cmd and click OK to open Command Prompt .
- At the prompt, type wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey and press Enter .
- Find the 25-digit product key on the next line.

Section 3 of 8:

Search the Registry

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1
Open the Registry Editor on your Windows 7 PC. In most cases, you can locate the product key in your registry. To open the registry editor:
- Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.
- Type regedit .
- Click OK
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2
Navigate to the correct registry key. The path you'll need to access is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Install\UserData. Here's how to get there:
- Expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder in the left panel.
- Expand the SOFTWARE folder beneath it.
- Expand the MICROSOFT folder.
- Expand the Windows folder.
- Expand the CurrentVersion folder.
- Expand the Install folder.
- Expand the UserData folder.
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This allows you to search for the product key.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d8\/7020249-6.jpg\/v4-460px-7020249-6.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d8\/7020249-6.jpg\/v4-728px-7020249-6.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":544,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Now you'll see a "ProductID" entry in the right panel. You can double-click this entry to display an easy-to-copy version of your 25-digit Windows 7 product key.

Section 4 of 8:

Try Third-Party Software

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Download ProduKey from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html . This simple free tool can display product keys for many older Microsoft products, including Windows 7, 8, Vista, Microsoft Office, and SQL Server. ^{[1]
X
Research source} To download, click the Download ProduKey (In Zip file) link to download the ZIP file, unzip the file , then double-click the file ending with .exe to display your 25-digit product key.
- This tool is often falsely flagged as a virus, even though it's totally safe. ^{[2]
  X
  Research source} The only reason it's flagged is because the tool is capable of viewing your product key, which many antivirus apps think can be used to pirate software. ^{[3]
  X
  Research source} As long as you download the tool directly from Nirsoft, it's safe and you can ignore any virus warnings. ^{[4]
  X
  Research source}
- If you can't get Nirsoft's tool to work, try ShowKeyPlus, which you can download from https://github.com/Superfly-Inc/ShowKeyPlus/releases . ^{[5]
  X
  Research source} You can then unzip the downloaded file and run the Showkeyplus.exe file inside to display your product key.

Section 5 of 8:

Run a Simple Script

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you still can't find the product key, you can paste a simple Visual Basic script into a text file and run it like an application to display your product key. Start by launching Notepad, which you'll find in your Start menu's Accessories folder.

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/79\/7020249-9.jpg\/v4-460px-7020249-9.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/79\/7020249-9.jpg\/v4-728px-7020249-9.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":545,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Just copy and paste this block of code into your blank new text file. ^{[6]
X
Research source}

 Set 
 WshShell 
 = 
 CreateObject 
 ( 
 "WScript.Shell" 
 ) 
 MsgBox 
 ConvertToKey 
 ( 
 WshShell 
 . 
 RegRead 
 ( 
 "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId" 
 )) 
 Function 
 ConvertToKey 
 ( 
 Key 
 ) 
 Const 
 KeyOffset 
 = 
 52 
 i 
 = 
 28 
 Chars 
 = 
 "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789" 
 Do 
 Cur 
 = 
 0 
 x 
 = 
 14 
 Do 
 Cur 
 = 
 Cur 
 * 
 256 
 Cur 
 = 
 Key 
 ( 
 x 
 + 
 KeyOffset 
 ) 
 + 
 Cur 
 Key 
 ( 
 x 
 + 
 KeyOffset 
 ) 
 = 
 ( 
 Cur 
 \ 
 24 
 ) 
 And 
 255 
 Cur 
 = 
 Cur 
 Mod 
 24 
 x 
 = 
 x 
 - 
 1 
 Loop 
 While 
 x 
 >= 
 0 
 i 
 = 
 i 
 - 
 1 
 KeyOutput 
 = 
 Mid 
 ( 
 Chars 
 , 
 Cur 
 + 
 1 
 , 
 1 
 ) 
 & 
 KeyOutput 
 If 
 ((( 
 29 
 - 
 i 
 ) 
 Mod 
 6 
 ) 
 = 
 0 
 ) 
 And 
 ( 
 i 
 <> 
 - 
 1 
 ) 
 Then 
 i 
 = 
 i 
 - 
 1 
 KeyOutput 
 = 
 "-" 
 & 
 KeyOutput 
 End 
 If 
 Loop 
 While 
 i 
 >= 
 0 
 ConvertToKey 
 = 
 KeyOutput 
 End 
 Function

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To do this, just click File > Save as , choose a location you'll remember (your desktop is a good option), type productkey.vbs as the file name, and then click Save .
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/93\/7020249-11.jpg\/v4-460px-7020249-11.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/93\/7020249-11.jpg\/v4-728px-7020249-11.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":545,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

For example, if you saved the file to your desktop, just double-click the productkey.vbs icon on your desktop. This displays a pop-up window that contains your Windows 7 product key.

Section 6 of 8:

Check the Packaging

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/10\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-2-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-2-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/10\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-2-Version-3.jpg\/v4-728px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-2-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Sometimes this sticker is affixed to the outside of the Windows 7 box or CD packaging while other times it may be on a card insert inside the box. ^{[7]
X
Trustworthy Source
Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
Go to source}

Section 7 of 8:

Search Your Email

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/06\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/06\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":348,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":550,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Search your email for a confirmation message from Microsoft (or from whoever you purchased the software) and you'll find the 25-character product key.

Section 8 of 8:

Contact the Manufacturer

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/57\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/57\/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

As long as you purchased a computer that came with Windows 7 from a manufacturer like Dell, HP, or Lenovo, a technician should be able to provide you with any tools you'll need to pull up your product key.

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You can't. You have to buy an 8 gig USB.

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I can't download the Win7 ISO because when I type the product key I find on the bottom of my laptop it says it "appears to be for SW pre-installed by the device manufacturer." Any ideas?

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Do a Google search for "Windows 7 ISO file." It may take some time to find a good website to download it from, but you should be able to get one.

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Try re-entering your Windows 7 product key if you receive an “invalid product key” error. This error usually means you mistyped the product key, or that you’re entering the product key for another version of Windows. ^{[8]
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If you don't have a valid product key, you can try activating without a key using the "rearm" command.

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How to Find Your Windows 7 Product Key: CMD, Registry & More

Finding Windows 7 Product Key

Steps

Check the Sticker on the PC

Try the Command Prompt (CMD)

Search the Registry

Try Third-Party Software

Run a Simple Script

Check the Packaging

Search Your Email

Contact the Manufacturer

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

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