While newer computers, now seem to store the Windows Product Key in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). It does no harm to make a note of your Product Key before you wipe your computer and reinstall Windows. So in this video, we take a look at how from the Command Prompt we can recover our Windows Product Key.
Note: The Windows Product Key is only necessary to activate Windows. However, it is possible to run an un-activated version of Windows which will be missing key features and important updates. Then with Windows installed on your computer you can purchase a product key through Windows online.
Quick reference notes:
- From the Windows desktop, select the Search bar.
- Within Search type CMD and press Enter on your keyboard
- When the Command Prompt window opens type the following:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey- When you press Enter on your Keyboard, the Product Key for your computer will be displayed.
- To gracefully close the Command Prompt type:
exit- When you press Enter on your keyboard the Command Prompt window close.
Reference Material:
Microsoft article – Windows commands
Microsoft article – Find your Windows product key
Amazon store – Purchase Windows product key
Wikipedia article – cmd.exe
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