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Table of Contents
Method 1 of 3:
Using Windows PowerShell
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Images 1 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Press ⊞ Win+S to open the Windows search bar. You can also open the search bar by clicking the magnifying glass icon on the Charms menu. -
Images 2 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Type powershell and press ↵ Enter. If you are not logged in with an administrator account, you may be prompted to enter the admin password now. -
Images 3 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Type or paste the product key retrieval command. The command is (Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey.[1]- To paste the copied command into PowerShell, just right-click the window.
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Images 4 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Press ↵ Enter. After a few seconds, your Windows 8 product key will appear on the next line.
Method 2 of 3:
Using ProduKey
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Images 5 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Go to http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html. This is the download site for a free tool called ProduKey. This tool will easily display your product key without requiring any special permissions.- This method should work on any computer running Windows 8 or earlier.
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Images 6 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Scroll down and click a download link. For English, click either Download ProduKey (In Zip File) (for 32-bit systems) or Download ProduKey for x64 (64-bit systems) above the table at the bottom. You can download the app in other languages by selecting one from the table.- The downloaded file will be saved to your default download location, which is usually the Downloads folder.
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Images 7 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Right-click the downloaded file and select Extract Here. The file should be called something like produkey-x64.zip. This unpacks the contents of the zip file into a folder with the same name (minus the ".zip" at the end). -
Images 8 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Open the new folder and double-click ProduKey.exe. This launches the app, which displays your Windows 8 product key next to the "Windows 8" entry.
Method 3 of 3:
Finding the Product Key if the PC is Unbootable
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Images 9 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Check the bottom or back side of the computer. If you have a desktop PC, look for a sticker somewhere on the tower (not the monitor/screen) that displays a series of 25 letters and numbers separated by hyphens (e.g., XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX). If you're using a laptop, check the bottom side of the unit or underneath the battery cover. -
Images 10 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Look at the packaging. If the computer came with Windows 8 installed, the product key might be found on sticker somewhere on the box or DVD case. It may also be located printed on a sheet of paper that came with the unit. -
Images 11 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Check your email. Did you buy the computer online? The product key might be in a message from the seller/manufacturer. -
Images 12 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Connect the hard drive to another PC. If the computer is unbootable but the hard drive still works, you can use a free tool called ProduKey to retrieve the key from the hard drive. To do this:- Remove the Windows hard drive from the non-working PC. See How to Remove a Hard Drive to learn how.
- Connect the drive to another PC as a secondary (slave). One easy way to do this is to put the drive into an external hard drive enclosure and connect it to the other PC.
- Follow the steps to download and run ProduKey in this method: Using ProduKey.
- Once you run ProduKey, press the F9 key to open the Select Source menu.
- Select the radio button next to "Load the product keys of external Windows installations from all disks currently plugged to your computer."
- Click OK to display the product key. The key from the Windows 8 hard drive will appear next to "Windows 8."
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Images 13 of How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key Contact Microsoft to request a new product key. If you are still having trouble finding your product key, you can purchase a replacement key for $10 from a Microsoft support agent. Here's how:[2]- Call 1 (800) 936-5700. This is a paid Microsoft support line ($40-60 per issue), but you will not be charged for support if you are just calling to purchase a replacement product key.
- Follow the phone prompts to reach an agent who handles product key issues.
- Tell the representative that you can't access your Windows 8 product key. Provide the representative with any requested information, which may include your computer's serial number (if Windows 8 came with your PC), information from Windows 8 DVD (if you have the media), and your credit card details once your request is processed.
- Write down the product key exactly as it is read to you by the agent. Read it back to confirm you have written it down correctly.
- Follow additional any additional activation instructions provided to you by the agent. You may be transferred to another department to activate the key before it can be used.
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