The great thing is that you can even recover a key, even from a computer that won’t boot anymore. We can only assume that they don’t want anybody to re-use a key from an old computer. We’re not really sure why Microsoft went to great lengths to make it difficult to see the product keys for their software, especially since they are stored right in there in the registry and can be read by software, if not by humans.
RELATED: Beginner Geek: How to Reinstall Windows on Your Computer Luckily, we’re here to help.Īs you can see in the screenshot above, the product ID is stored in the registry but is in a binary format that can’t be read by humans unless you are some sort of Cylon.
It’s just not easy to find, and it’s impossible to read without some help. If you’re planning on doing a reinstall of Windows but can’t find your product key, you’re in luck because it’s stored in the Windows Registry.
