Lost Key ? | Tech Support | Forums

A A A

Please consider registering
guest

Log In Register

Register | Lost password?
Search
Advanced Search
Advanced Search:

— Forum Scope —



— Match —



— Forum Options —




Wildcard usage:
*  matches any number of characters    %  matches exactly one character

Minimum search word length is 4 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters

Topic RSS
Lost Key ?
Topic Rating: 0 (0 votes) 
April 20, 2010
8:14 PM
ron
Novice
Forum Posts: 2
Member Since:
April 20, 2010
Offline
1
0

Hello ,I am new here and have been checking out the website for a few weeks now after following the link from gaotd. Recently I had to do a complete restore to get my computer going after a problem that I think was from doing a restart for an adobe update just as my AVG anti- virus was starting it's scan and I ended up with a black screen with a message about a lost or corrupted NTLDR boot file.  I lost several programs that I had installed from gaotd and I was wondering if there was a way to retrive the keys from my other computer if I had installed some of the same programs on it. I have tried some programs such as ,magic jelly bean finder and product key but they didn' t show me the ones I was needing , anyone have any ideals ?

April 20, 2010
8:19 PM
phoenix_rising
dotTechie
Forum Posts: 899
Member Since:
March 19, 2010
Offline
2
0

Hi ron. You might want to check out this article that lists a number of progs that you can try:

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/productkeysactivation/tp/topkeyfinder.htm

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” – Martin Luther King Jr
April 20, 2010
8:26 PM
phoenix_rising
dotTechie
Forum Posts: 899
Member Since:
March 19, 2010
Offline
3
0

Or alternatively, I found these instructions:

 

Launch REGEDIT by selecting Start/Run, typing REGEDIT in the text box and pressing Enter.

·  Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, click on the + and scroll down to Software.

·  Find the Microsoft listing click on it, and look for the directory that contains software you need to reinstall.

·  Double-click the Product ID listing and select the middle two number strings. For example, in the string 53491-460-1656111-49145, you'd select 460-1656111. (for Office 97)   One more thing, add a 1 to the first 3

Press Control C to copy the CD key to the clipboard, then paste it someplace where you can reuse it. Some experts advise compiling all your keys to a text document, then printing it out for safekeeping. 

And remember to always backup your registry before tinkering with it.

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” – Martin Luther King Jr
April 20, 2010
8:58 PM
ron
Novice
Forum Posts: 2
Member Since:
April 20, 2010
Offline
4
0

Thanks for the help and I will post what works for me

April 21, 2010
2:25 AM
AlanR
Disciple
Forum Posts: 205
Member Since:
February 25, 2010
Offline
5
0

phoenix_rising said:

·  Double-click the Product ID listing and select the middle two number strings. For example, in the string 53491-460-1656111-49145, you'd select 460-1656111. (for Office 97)   One more thing, add a 1 to the first 3

 

#3 Phoenix – Thanks for pointer to this technique.

Can you please clarify the remark "add a 1 to the first 3", just so there is no misunderstanding. Confused

Also, this method depends on using REGEDIT to open and acces the Registry file.

What to do if, for instance, the information resides on a crashed XP drive?

I am in process of recovering data from such a beast and pleased to report good progress so far (the data recovery utilities mentioned in posts under different topics) have served me well. Smile

Important to note that registry information, and product keys etc., can reside in different locations according to the OS in question, e.g. XP, Vista, Win7.

Also, they may be in different user profiles to add to the confusion.

Hope I am not strying off-topic here. Confused LOL Smile

 

SEEK (Google) and yea shall find. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.
April 21, 2010
2:34 AM
phoenix_rising
dotTechie
Forum Posts: 899
Member Since:
March 19, 2010
Offline
6
0

@ AlanR: I just found the info and passed it on. I'm afraid I can't answer your questions.

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” – Martin Luther King Jr
April 26, 2010
2:12 AM
AlanR
Disciple
Forum Posts: 205
Member Since:
February 25, 2010
Offline
7
0

phoenix_rising said:

@ AlanR: I just found the info and passed it on. I'm afraid I can't answer your questions.

 

Cry Thanks anyway.

SEEK (Google) and yea shall find. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.
April 27, 2010
7:39 AM
Adrian
dotTechie
Forum Posts: 546
Member Since:
September 21, 2009
Offline
8
0

AlanR said:

[...]

Also, they may be in different user profiles to add to the confusion.

Hope I am not strying off-topic here. Confused LOL Smile

 

 

Why would you think you're off topic?! We are always talking about ice cream (mmm… vanilla) in the forum posts Wink

April 27, 2010
1:32 PM
Locutus
Guru
Forum Posts: 1886
Member Since:
February 19, 2009
Offline
9
0

Website said:

You'll find them in; 
%systemroot%system32config 

the current_user hive is in; 
Documents and Settings%userprofile% 
ntuser.dat 

The last reg backup files in; 
%systemroot%repairRegBack 

and the original as-installed files in; 
%systemroot%repair

Oh, the site that was :(
April 28, 2010
1:50 AM
AlanR
Disciple
Forum Posts: 205
Member Since:
February 25, 2010
Offline
10
0

Locutus said:

Website said:

 

Very helpful, thanks. Smile Can now go hunting those ellusive files again. Cool

SEEK (Google) and yea shall find. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.
All RSS
Forum Timezone: America/Los_Angeles

Most Users Ever Online: 253

Currently Online:
30 Guest(s)

Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)

Top Posters:

phoenix_rising: 899

karen: 878

Wheezer: 786

yourpalal: 647

PCbasics: 612

ebony: 548

Member Stats:

Guest Posters: 9

Members: 7523

Moderators: 0

Admins: 3

Forum Stats:

Groups: 3

Forums: 17

Topics: 2192

Posts: 15804

Newest Members: asrok, condor, alexluz, pagera, kotogbe davidson, rmikep

Administrators: Ashraf (1741), Locutus (1886), amnesia (270)