If you're preparing to reinstall Windows 7 you will need to locate your unique Windows 7 product key, also sometimes called the Windows 7 serial key, activation key, or CD key.
Free Key For Windows 7
Normally, this product key is on a sticker on your computer or located with the manual or on the disc sleeve that came with Windows 7. However, if you don't have a physical copy of your product key, that doesn't mean it's gone forever.
Windows 7 serial key can be considered as a complete Windows since XP, especially after the debacle of Vista. It has a fresh look, premium interface, numbers of amazing features and all of that is boosted with high performance and speed. Windows is funny. My win10 died and I put old win 7 64bit on that HDD and used the product key from the install CD. Worked fine but I found out that it was the actual HDD which was damaged.
Fortunately, a copy of your Windows 7 key is stored in the registry. It's encrypted, meaning it's not easily readable, but there are several free programs that can help fix that problem in less than 15 minutes.
Confused? Check out our Windows Product Keys FAQ for more information about product keys and how they work in Windows.
The manual techniques used to locate the product key for older versions of Windows won't work in Windows 7. Those manual procedures will only locate the product ID number for Windows 7, not the actual product key used for installation. So if you've done this kind of thing before in Windows XP or Vista, you'll need to instead use the process outlined below.
Where To Put Windows 7 Serial Key Replacement
Follow the steps below to locate your Windows 7 product key code:
How to Find Your Windows 7 Product Key
Manually locating the Windows 7 product key from the registry is nearly impossible due to the fact that it's encrypted so you'll need to use a product key finder program to extract it.
Choose a free product key finder program from this list that supports Windows 7.
Any product key finder that locates Windows 7 product keys will locate the product keys for any version of Windows 7: Ultimate, Enterprise, Professional, Home Premium, Home Basic, and Starter.
Download and run the key finder program. Follow any instructions provided by the software.
The numbers and letters displayed by the program represent the Windows 7 product key.
To be clear, thta's five sets of five letters and numbers.
Write this key code down exactly as the program displays it to you. Most keyfinder tools let you export the key to a text file or copy it to the clipboard.
If even one character is written down incorrectly, the installation of Windows 7 that you attempt with this product key will fail. Be sure to transcribe the key exactly!
You can now reinstalling Windows 7 using that product key!
A Few More Options
If you need to install the Windows 7 operating system but you still can't find your Windows 7 product key, even with a product key finder, you have two choices:
The first thing to try would be to request a replacement product key from Microsoft, which should cost you around $10 USD. This doesn't always work out, but it's worth a shot.
If that doesn't get you anywhere, you're left with purchasing a brand new copy of Windows 7 from NewEgg, or some other retailer.