How to Find Your Windows 8 Product Key

This wikiHow teaches you how to find your 25-character Windows 8 product key in a variety of ways. If you can boot into Windows, you can find the key using the Windows PowerShell or a free app called ProduKey. If the PC won't boot, you may...

Method 1 of 3:

Using Windows PowerShell

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    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.
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    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.
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    Type or paste the product key retrieval command. The command is (Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey.[1]
    1. To paste the copied command into PowerShell, just right-click the window.
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    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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    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.
    1. This method should work on any computer running Windows 8 or earlier.
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    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.
    1. The downloaded file will be saved to your default download location, which is usually the Downloads folder.
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    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).
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    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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    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.
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    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.
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    Check your email. Did you buy the computer online? The product key might be in a message from the seller/manufacturer.
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    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:
    1. Remove the Windows hard drive from the non-working PC. See How to Remove a Hard Drive to learn how.
    2. 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.
    3. Follow the steps to download and run ProduKey in this method: Using ProduKey.
    4. Once you run ProduKey, press the F9 key to open the Select Source menu.
    5. Select the radio button next to "Load the product keys of external Windows installations from all disks currently plugged to your computer."
    6. 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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    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]
    1. 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.
    2. Follow the phone prompts to reach an agent who handles product key issues.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
Update 04 March 2020
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