Website said:

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

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

[...]

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

Hope I am not strying off-topic here. LOL

 

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

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

Thanks anyway.

·  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.

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.

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. LOL

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.

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

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.