Finding Your Key

• 1). To find the product key in Windows 95 and 98, open the registry editor by clicking "Start" and selecting "Run." Type "regedit" in the text box and press "Enter."
  
  
• 2). With the Registry Editor open, press "Ctrl" and "F" to open the find box. According to Microsoft Support, the product key can be located in the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\MIcrosoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProductKey. Copy this key into the find box and search for it. The value of this key is the product key for your operating system.
  
  
• 3). Finding the product key in the registry of operating systems newer than windows 98 requires a key finder program. Magical Jellybean keyfinder will work. Windows Product Key Finder also will retrieve product keys for most versions of Windows. Both programs are free.
  
  
• 4). To retrieve a product key from Windows XP or later using Windows Product Key Finder, download the executable file from the Windows Product Key website. Double click the .zip file to open it, and run "Windows Product Key Finder.exe." Press "Find Key" button at the bottom of the window that opens. The product key is displayed in the white box above the Find Key button.