[SOLVED] Retrieving the product key without installing

[notasandwich]

I've been trying to activate my copy of 10 for a while now using the product key that came with my copy of 7. For whatever reason, it does not seem to be working now even though it worked when I tried doing a fresh install only a few weeks ago (kind of a long story). I got my current copy of 10 after taking advantage of the free upgrade promotion that went on a few years ago.

It being likely that my handwriting is just so <Mod Edit> that what I have written down just isn't a 100% accurate product key; how can I retrieve the it from the disc without having the reinstall Windows 7? I sure as hell don't have a way of retrieving the original email from wherever it is I originally bought the disk over a decade ago.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

You can get a free copy of windows 10 anytime you want that’s always updated from Microsoft if you go to the Microsoft Windows 10 creation tool you can download the iso or make a bootable USB. Where did you get your copy of windows 10 I mean where did you purchase it from and how much was it when you purchased it? Also where had you purchase Windows 7?

 

[Math Geek]

there is no key stored on your win 7 install disk. it usually came with a sticker that had the key on it. just like now with win 10 the install disk is simply the files needed to install the OS. not the key needed to activate it.

you need to find the sticker that came with the win 7 disk whenever/however it was that you got it. if you can't find t, then there is nothing you/we can do. no key means no activation unless you buy a new win 10 key. until then you can always run win 10 unactivated until you get it sorted out.

 

[punkncat]

When you did the upgrade your key should have basically been invalidated and the new license tied to either a hardware ID or your MS account. So far as I am aware there is no limitation to re-installing the same OS on the same base system (CPU/Mobo) as many times as you want. I have found that "upgrading" an OS like from home to pro tends to kill the prior validation. If you did a clean install with a different type OS (home/office) then it will not validate either.