Product keys have lost some relevance due to modern activation systems and automatic digital license generation, but that doesn't mean they've disappeared. There are still many users who rely on them to reinstall Windows and the main Redmond applications, and on more than one occasion it's necessary to extract them from the Registry or the BIOS on the machine. If you want to know how to recover the Windows key and other Microsoft products, it all starts with a copy of Product Key Scanner, developed by the tireless NirSoft.
Beyond the impressive demand the market is experiencing, hardware cycles have extended to the point where it's not unusual to find computers ten years or older, working perfectly. Obviously, that adds the challenge of installing the appropriate operating system and software for their specs… and finding all their product keys.
Now, I admit it's not complicated to obtain compatible keys with a bit of Google-fu, but if your goal is to reinstall an original Windows license with its key in the BIOS, or you have the original discs of an old Office edition and you know its key is buried in some dark corner of the Registry, you'll need the help of a program. To recover the Windows key and other Microsoft products, today we're going to recommend the new Product Key Scanner, created by none other than NirSoft.
How to recover the Windows product key with Product Key Scanner
When you run it for the first time, Product Key Scanner asks you if you want to search for keys on the current operating system, or explore the Registry files on an external hard drive. The only two advanced options in the interface are searching with WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation), and on the computer's BIOS, which come checked by default. Once you click OK, the program will show the list of all detected keys.
From there, you can copy the keys you need manually, generate an HTML report, or save all the keys in different formats (plain text, CSV, XML, JSON), something NirSoft has accustomed us to. The program's limitations are repeated keys (that's because they're stored in different places), and the absence of keys under some licenses that no longer use them at all. Product Key Scanner works with all Windows versions starting from XP, it's portable, and has 32-bit and 64-bit editions.
Official website and download: Click here
