readermaniax
Ambassador of Buzz
If for some reason you lost your Windows serial number, you can recover it using several methods. You can use Magical Jelly Bean or you can use this Windows tip to do it yourself. First you need to go into the command prompt by going to Start->Run and type in command. If you can not start up Windows and want to reinstall, you can still retrieve this information if you need it. Just boot with your Windows bootdisk (with or without CD-ROM support) and type in command. Just don't format it before retrieving the serial number.
Type in the following for Windows 95:
C:\Windows\Command\Find /I "ProductId" c:\windows\system.dat
Type in the following for Windows 95/ME:
C:\Windows\Command\Find /I "ProductKey" C:\Windows\System.dat
The line that will show up is the following:
ProductKey XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
All those Xs are the actual Windows serial number. Write this down on a paper or on the Windows CD.
Type in the following for Windows 95:
C:\Windows\Command\Find /I "ProductId" c:\windows\system.dat
Type in the following for Windows 95/ME:
C:\Windows\Command\Find /I "ProductKey" C:\Windows\System.dat
The line that will show up is the following:
ProductKey XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
All those Xs are the actual Windows serial number. Write this down on a paper or on the Windows CD.
