How to find out the Windows 10 license. How to find out the OEM key from UEFI. View your installed system's product key and OEM key in ShowKeyPlus

To activate the operating room Windows systems a special product license key is used. Key Windows product, designed to activate the system, differs depending on the version operating system(Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, etc.), OS edition (Home, Pro, etc.), distribution method (OEM, Retail, etc.).

To activate the Windows operating system, a product key is used, consisting of 25 characters in the form of numbers and capital (upper case) English letters, divided into 5 groups of 5 characters: “XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX”.

Laptops used to often have a key stuck on them. Windows activation. IN this moment, laptop manufacturers with pre-installed operating systems embed the product key into the BIOS to automatic activation Windows.

If the system is reinstalled, or for some other reason (for example, activation failed after a hardware failure), the user may need a Windows product key. How to find out your Windows activation key?

You can find out the license key installed Windows, by running a special VBS script, as well as using five programs: ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit, Speccy, AIDA64, SIW. All listed programs free, except AIDA64 and SIW.

Script with ".vbs" extension and portable free programs(ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit) can be downloaded from here. Download the rest of the programs to your computer from the official websites of the manufacturers.

Using these methods you can find out Windows key 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10. After you have found out the Windows product key, the obtained data is for subsequent use, in case of reinstallation of the operating system, to activate the operating system.

How to find out the Windows key in ProduKey

Free ProduKey program from famous manufacturer NirSoft does not require installation on your computer. The application shows keys to Windows OS and browser Internet Explorer,Microsoft Office.

Unpack the archive with the program, and then run the “Application” file from the folder. After launch, the ProduKey utility window will display the key for the installed operating system.

Select the entry with the key for Windows 10, or another operating system, and then select “Copy Product Key” from the context menu to copy the activation key to the clipboard.

We look at the license key in ShowKeyPlus

The free ShowKeyPlus program does not require installation on your computer. After launch, in the application window you will see the following information:

Product Name - the operating system currently installed on the computer
Product ID - product code
Installed Key- the key of the operating system currently installed on the computer
OEM Key- key sewn into Laptop BIOS originally installed operating system

To save the data, click on the “Save” button, and then the received information in a text format file.

How to view the Windows key in Free PC Audit

The free program Free PC Audit will help you find out the key of your installed Windows. This program does not require installation on your computer. Run the utility file, after which a window will open Free programs PC Audit, which will begin scanning the system.

After the scan is completed, in the “System” tab, opposite the “Windows product key” item, you will see the product key of the installed Windows operating system.

To copy the key, select the line with the license key, and then using the “Copy” context menu item, or using the “Ctrl” + “C” keys, copy the Windows product key from the utility window.

How to find out Windows 8 key using VBScrit

Activation keys for the Windows operating system are stored on the hard drive in encrypted form. Executing the VBScrit script will allow you to obtain the product key of the installed operating system in decrypted form. This script was developed for the Windows 8 operating system, but this code also works fine in the Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 operating systems.

To perform the operation, double-click on the “WindowsKey.vbs” file. In the window that opens, you will see the Windows activation code. Next, click on the “OK” button.

The next window will display information about the operating system version, product ID and product key number. Ignore the title of the entry "Windows 8 Key". The name of this OS will be displayed on any version of the Windows operating system.

Getting a Windows key in Speccy

Free Speccy program from famous company Piriform, maker of CCleaner and other software. You can download the portable version of Speccy from the official website. Exists paid version programs with advanced capabilities.

The program provides the user detailed information about hardware computer, you can also use the application to find out the license key of the installed Windows.

Run Speccy program, in the “Operating system” section the version of the installed operating system will be displayed, its serial number(activation key).

Finding out the product key in AIDA64

AIDA64 - powerful program to obtain all kinds of information about computer software and hardware.

After launching the AIDA64 program, license information, including the Windows product key, will be displayed in the “Menu” tab, in the “Operating System” section.

Select the product key, select “Copy” in the context menu, then paste the key into Notepad or another similar program to save.

Read the program overview.

Key information in SIW

SIW ( System Information of Windows) - a program for obtaining information about hardware state And software computer.

After launching SIW, go to the “Programs”, “Licenses” section. This will display information about the product key that is used in the Windows operating system installed on your computer.

Incorrect product key

When checking keys using the methods listed above, the Windows product key may appear as follows: “BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB”.

This means that your computer is activated with a corporate MAK or VLK key. Operating Windows does not save such keys, so programs do not see them.

Used in Windows 10 new method System authentication (not available in all cases on Windows 10). The activation record is stored on servers and is not displayed on the computer. After reinstallation, Windows activates itself for some time.

Maintaining the license depends on changing the computer hardware configuration. In case of replacement motherboard, servers Microsoft activation revoke the license for of this computer. Windows OS will offer to purchase new key product.

Conclusions of the article

If necessary, the user can find out the Windows operating system license code by running the VBS script, or using specialized programs: ProduKey, ShowKeyPlus, Free PC Audit, Speccy, AIDA64, SIW.

By agreement with Microsoft users who upgrade to Windows 10 receive licensing system. In this case, its activation takes place in background, that is, the OS does not inform the user in any way that the process has completed successfully. Therefore, not everyone knows how to understand whether a copy of the system is activated. The situation is similar with the license key and activation periods - you have to look for this data yourself.

How to check Windows 10 activation

Check if yours is activated copy of Windows 10, can be done using several methods:

Through the system properties window: you need to press the Win+X keys and select the “System” tab in the menu that appears. At the very bottom of the window there will be information about whether Windows activation has been completed or not. The license key will also be displayed here.
The easiest way to find out if Windows 10 is activated is through the system properties window
In system settings: you need to click the “Start” button and select “Settings”, then find the “Update and Security” section, then open the “Activation” tab in the menu on the left. All the information will be there: system release, activation data and product code.
All Windows activation data is also displayed in the system menu "Options"
Using a script via the command line: for this, a special script SLMgr.vbs is used, which is responsible for managing licenses, license keys and operating system activations. To execute it, you need to launch a command line with administrator rights with the combination Win keys+X. In the drop-down menu, select “Command Line” and type the command “slmgr /xpr”. If the system is activated and the activation period is infinite, the message “The machine is permanently activated” will appear. In the case of activation that is valid until a certain period, the system will display a window with the end date of this period.
Using the SLMgr.vbs script, you can check whether Windows 10 is activated and find out the activation time frame

The cscript slmgr.vbs -xpr command allows you to display the activation message in the command line console.

How to find out the activation period of Windows 10

If a license key was entered during system installation or the current OS was updated to Windows 10, the activation period is infinite. If it was installed trial version for a limited number of days, then to check the period you need to press the Win+R combination and enter the command “winver.exe” in the window that opens. A window will open indicating the activation expiration date. If it is not indicated, then the system is installed for an indefinite period.

The system has a specific activation period only if a trial version is installed

In addition, the activation period can be found using the SLMgr.vbs script, which is described in detail in paragraph 3 above.

How to find out the license key of installed Windows 10

The product license key is a 25-character code - it is used not only to activate the system, but also to reinstall it, so it is better to know it and not lose it. Since Windows 10 activation occurs in the background, the user is not informed of the code in any way, and must look at it themselves. There are several ways to do this:

using special programs;
through the system properties window (see point 1 above);
through system parameters (see point 2 above);
using scripts.

The easiest way to view the code is through the system parameters or the properties window, but these methods are not always available - for some reason the computer may not display numbers or display the message “No data.” Therefore, you have to resort to special viewing programs license key or to scripts.

Utilities for viewing the activation code can be downloaded from official websites and installed on your PC. There are several of them, here are the simplest ones:

Speccy is a Russian-language application with user-friendly interface, which shows all information about the OS, including its serial number: it is located in the “Operating System” section;
In the Speccy utility, the license number is located in the “Operating System” section
ProduKey is a utility that does not require installation, you just need to download it and run it, the activation key will immediately be displayed in the information window;
The ProduKey utility only shows the license key, but it starts quickly
ShowKeyPlus also does not require installation, the application is simply downloaded from the official website and launched. The serial number is shown on the screen.
The ShowKeyPlus utility also does not need to be installed - it displays the system key immediately after startup

In addition, you can find out the license key by running a special script. This method will be more complicated than those described above, but sometimes for some reason installing third-party applications on your computer is not available. Then the task is performed using its own shell Windows PowerShell.

First you need to open the Notepad program and create a file in it with the extension .ps1: to do this, enter the value “All files” in the “File type” field, and enter the extension manually. The following script should be copied to the file:

$regHKLM = 2147483650
$regPath = "Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion"
$DigitalProductId = "DigitalProductId"
$wmi = "\\$env:COMPUTERNAME\root\default:stdRegProv"
$Object = $wmi.GetBinaryValue($regHKLM, $regPath,$DigitalProductId)
$DigitalProductId = $Object.uValue
If($DigitalProductId)
$ResKey = ConvertToWinkey $DigitalProductId
$OS = (Get-WmiObject "Win32_OperatingSystem" | select Caption).Caption
If($OS -match "Windows 10")
$value ="Windows Key: $ResKey"
$w1=”The script is for Windows 10 only”
$w1| Write-Warning
$w2=”The script is for Windows 10 only”
$w2| Write-Warning
$w3=»Arose unexpected error upon receipt of the key"
$w3| Write-Warning
Function ConvertToWinKey($WinKey)
$isWindows10 = ($WinKey/6) -band 1
$WinKey = ($WinKey -band $HF7) -bOr (($isWindows10 -band 2) * 4)
$Symbols = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
$CurIndex = $CurIndex * 256
$CurIndex = $WinKey[$X + $OffsetKey] + $CurIndex
$WinKey[$X + $OffsetKey] = ::Floor(($CurIndex/24))
$CurIndex = $CurIndex % 24
$KeyResult = $Symbols.SubString($CurIndex,1) + $KeyResult
$last = $CurIndex
while($с -ge 0)
$WinKeypart1 = $KeyResult.SubString(1,$last)
$WinKeypart2 = $KeyResult.Substring(1,$KeyResult.length-1)
$KeyResult = "N" + $WinKeypart2
$KeyResult = $WinKeypart2.Insert($WinKeypart2.IndexOf($WinKeypart1)+$WinKeypart1.length,"N")
$WindowsKey = $KeyResult.Substring(0.5) + “-” + $KeyResult.substring(5.5) + “-“+ $KeyResult.substring(10.5) + “-“+ $KeyResult.substring( 15.5) + “-“+ $KeyResult.substring(20.5)

Next you should run it yourself Windows shell PowerShell: press the Win+R key combination, and in the window that appears, enter “powershell” - this is the most quick way. In the window that opens you need to type cmd command and the name of the directory where the file created in Notepad is stored, click Enter key, then enter the script name in the form: “./filename.ps1” and press Enter again.

Photo gallery: how to find out the license key of installed Windows 10 using a script

Create text file in Notepad and copy the script there Save the text file in .ps1 format (select “All files” in the “File Type” menu) Launch PowerShell using the command in the line quick launch Enter the cmd command, the path to the directory with the text file and the name of the script

Sometimes a message may appear that script execution is disabled on the system. Then enter the command “Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned” into the PowerShell console, and then confirm the actions with the Y and Enter keys.

Video: how to find out the activation key for Windows 10

How to find out computer ID on Windows 10

To remotely activate programs and remotely control your PC from other devices, you need to know its ID. You can find it out yourself. To do this in Windows 10, you need to go to the “Control Panel”, successively open the “Network and Internet”, “Network and Sharing Center” sections. shared access", "Change adapter settings". Next, in the window that opens, on the adapter you are using, you need to click right click mouse, select “Status” and in the window that appears at the bottom, click the “Details” button. Your ID will be indicated in the “Physical Address” column.

You can clarify the computer ID through properties network adapter in the “Physical Address” column

There is an easier way, the previous one still requires a lot of body movements. Using the Win+R combination you need to call the line quick access, type cmd, press Enter and type “ipconfig /all”. A window with data will be displayed, where the required computer ID is indicated in the “Physical Address” section.

To find out the computer ID, just type “ipconfig /all” at the command line

Despite the fact that Windows 10 activation occurs without direct user participation and without issuing an information window about completion, you can always see whether the system is activated and also find out the license key. It is better to do this using Microsoft tools, although they also resort to installing and launching third-party applications. The main thing is to run and install only verified files from official sources on your computer.

Many people are prompted to read this material by a very standard and common situation: I once bought a laptop with a licensed Windows 7 or 8 operating system installed. certain time due to need Windows reinstallation or for any other reason, you need an activation key, which was indicated on the sticker that is located on the bottom of the laptop, but over the months and years of using the laptop, it has long worn out or completely peeled off. What should I do?

If your PC is running Windows with an activated license key, then “getting” it from the operating system will not be difficult. If by icon My computer right click and open Properties, then below we will only see code of product, and not the activation key itself. It is also important to distinguish between what you need to get - just the code that was indicated on a special sticker or the code for Windows 8, which is in the computer's BIOS.

Screenshot of My Computer properties

For Win8 from BIOS using RWEverything

To extract the OEM license key Windows 8 from the laptop BIOS or desktop computer We recommend that you read it - in it we looked at how to use the program to get the Win8 key from a new type of BIOS: UEFI. This method is also relevant for those who are trying to recover the key if, instead of licensed Windows 8 "from the store" another OS was installed.

Screenshot of the RWEverything program

Windows activation key in AIDA64

If you need an activation key for an installed and running system, you can use the program we are already familiar with to full diagnostics PC - - go over, get acquainted, download and install. Then run the program and open the tab operating system. In chapter License information in field Product Key and the required Windows activation code will be indicated.

Screenshot of the AIDA64 program

In AIDA64, as in RWEverything, you can see the key hardcoded into the BIOS. To do this, go to the tab Motherboard , then ACPI. In chapter Description of the table we'll find MSDM and in the field SLS Data The 25-character Windows activation code we need will be written.

AIDA64 screen

Finding an activation key via KeyFinder

A simple utility from Magical Jelly Bean. This small program It doesn’t take up much space and provides only the bare minimum of information, but that’s exactly what we need. You can download KeyFinder from here (the official website of the developers), it is available in two versions - the free one is enough for us. Download, install, launch. In the left window, select the software for which you need to find out the activation key - in in this case We are interested in Windows 7 Home Premium. CD Key and there is the required code.

Screenshot of KeyFinder

Instead of a conclusion

This list could be continued endlessly, since there are at least a dozen more popular utilities for solving the same problem, but I believe that the set provided will be enough for you. Found on the Internet and various scripts that use VBScript or PowerShell to extract keys without installation unnecessary programs. Everyone chooses the method that is more convenient for them.

Manufacturers of modern laptops and computers are actively abandoning disk drives, since any program or game can be downloaded from the Internet, and the presence of a drive only makes the PC more expensive for the end buyer. At the same time, users who are accustomed to receiving a disk with Windows and a license key included with their computer find it difficult to reinstall the operating system. While Windows itself can be installed from a flash drive, you will still need a license key for it. In this case, users have a question: how to find out the Windows product key that was preinstalled on a laptop (desktop computer), or was installed later from a disk that is not currently available? This can be done using both Windows and third-party programs.

When asking yourself the question of determining the license key of the operating system running on your computer, you should understand such concepts as Installed Key and OEM Key. Essentially, they are both Windows license keys, but there are some differences between them. The way they are determined also differs.

Installed Key is the installation key of the operating system running on the computer. It can be determined on those laptops and desktop computers on which Windows was installed by users independently from a disk or in the form digital copy purchased online and activated.

The OEM Key is the license key for the version of Windows that was originally installed on the computer. The OEM key information is hardwired into the motherboard of your laptop or desktop computer and cannot be changed.

Thus, if the computer was installed with the Windows 8 operating system at the time of purchase, which was later updated to Windows 10, the information about the OEM and Installed keys will be different. At the same time, wanting to install on a new Windows computer 8, you will need to enter the OEM key - only it will work with this version of the operating system. Installed Key is suitable if you want to install Windows 10.

Attention: You can use an existing OEM or Installed key only for the version of the operating system that is installed on the computer. You cannot enter a key from the Basic version of Windows 10 for the Professional build.

How to find out the Windows 10 key using the operating system?

On any computer, with administrator rights, you can find out the Windows 10 license key without third-party programs and applications. However, the procedures are different in the case of determining OEM and Installed keys.

Finding out the license key of the operating system that is “hardwired” into the computer’s motherboard is very simple if you know the command that is specifically provided for this in Windows 10. To determine the OEM key, do the following:

The OEM-issued key can be used to reinstall the version of the operating system that was originally installed on the computer.

Using one command, it is not possible to determine the Installed Key, and it is hidden a little deeper in the Windows operating system. But if you wish, you can get information about the Windows license key without installing third-party applications on your computer. To do this you need to do the following:

Run empty standard notepad Windows, which can be found in the following path: “Start” - “All applications” - “ Standard Windows" - "Notebook".
IN open program text editor copy the following code:

function Get-WindowsKey ( param ($targets = ".") $hklm = 2147483650 $regPath = "Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" $regValue = "DigitalProductId" Foreach ($target in $targets) { $productKey = $null $win32os = $null $wmi = "\\$target\root\default:stdRegProv" $data = $wmi.GetBinaryValue($hklm,$regPath,$regValue) $binArray = ($data.uValue) $charsArray = "B","C","D","F","G","H","J","K","M","P","Q","R","T","V","W","X","Y","2","3","4","6","7","8","9" ## decrypt base24 encoded binary data For ($i = 24; $i -ge 0; $i--) { $k = 0 For ($j = 14; $j -ge 0; $j--) { $k = $k * 256 -bxor $binArray[$j] $binArray[$j] = ::truncate($k / 24) $k = $k % 24 } $productKey = $charsArray[$k] + $productKey If (($i % 5 -eq 0) -and ($i -ne 0)) { $productKey = "-" + $productKey } } $win32os = Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem -computer $target $obj = New-Object Object $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty Computer -value $target $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty Caption -value $win32os.Caption $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty CSDVersion -value $win32os.CSDVersion $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty OSArch -value $win32os.OSArchitecture $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty BuildNumber -value $win32os.BuildNumber $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty RegisteredTo -value $win32os.RegisteredUser $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty ProductID -value $win32os.SerialNumber $obj | Add-Member Noteproperty ProductKey -value $productkey $obj } } !}

Please note that the Installed Key is displayed in the “Product Key” item. Also, following the steps described above allows you to find out some details about the operating system used on the computer.

How to find out Windows keys using third-party programs?

From the instructions above you can see that finding out the OEM Key Windows is very simple, but “getting” to the Installed Key is much more difficult, and the procedure for detecting it using Windows tools takes a lot of time. If you don’t want to do it, you can install third party application, which will independently detect information about the OEM Key and Installed Key on the computer, and then give it to the PC administrator.

One of the simplest and convenient programs ShowKeyPlus is considered to determine the Windows key. It can be downloaded from the official website of the developers absolutely free. In this case, the program not only shows information about the license keys of the version of Windows used, but also allows users to save the received information in a txt document.

Each licensed copy of the Windows 10 operating system has a unique key that indicates activation installed version. The key consists of 25 characters, including english letters and numbers. Without this code and entering it into the system, your OS will be available within 30 days from the date of installation. After this, the computer will remind you of the need to activate, and after a while it will stop booting altogether. Below you can read about how to find out the Windows 10 product key, what types of keys there are and what they are needed for.

There are two types of operating system serial numbers:

OEM key is “hardwired” into the motherboard memory by default, since the OS was installed by the manufacturer;
Product Key. This key applies to the installed digital version of the product.

Due to the differences between the two types of serial numbers, confusion can sometimes arise. For example, if you uninstall the pre-installed copy of the OS and then install your own version, the OEM and Product keys will not match.

Why do you need a key?

Before the release of the "ten", developers from Microsoft used a simpler method to determine unique code. Serial number for preinstalled version operating system has always been on a sticker with reverse side laptop or PC case. WITH the advent of Windows 10 and the distribution of digital versions, it was decided to abandon this idea.

Now the owners of the “Ten” have to use non-trivial solutions to determine serial key. You will need the number if you decide to reinstall a licensed copy of the OS on your computer. Using pirated version this operation is not required, since activation is carried out using special program. You can also purchase a Windows 10 license through the official Microsoft website.

How to check if Windows 10 is activated?

Before searching for the key in the system, check that your copy is activated. It's very easy to do. To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

Right click on the shortcut "This computer" on the desktop and in the context menu, select .

In the window that opens, you will see information about your system (technical data, performance assessment, etc.). In the subsection "ActivationWindows" there should be an inscription: "ActivationWindows done", as shown in the screenshot:

You can open the same window using the keyboard shortcut Win + Pause/Break

Now you know how to check if installed copy OS. Now you can start searching for a license key for your Windows 10.

Where can I find my Windows 10 key?

You can find the activation key standard means OS and third party programs. Let's look at all the methods in more detail:

VBS script;
extended command line (PowerShell);
ProduKey program;
ShowKeyPlus;
extract from UEFI;
applications for collecting system data.

Finding the key through scripts

IN this method consider finding a license key using Visual Basic Script. It differs from the regular command line in that the result of the script is visualized in a separate window. You can download the script from . If you encounter any difficulties with the download, do not worry - you can create such a script yourself.

First you need to create a document in Notepad with the following. Then save the file to any location on your computer with .vbs resolution and any name on English language. To change the extension you must first save Text Document, and then change the resolution using the rename function. Next you need to run the file with a simple click on him. The system should show the OEM key on the desktop in a separate window, as shown in the screenshot. Click OK and you will see more detailed information about the installed version of the operating system:

The method works for 32-bit and 64-bit systems, as well as for all Windows versions 10, including Home, and Pro.

PowerShell

The second way to obtain a key using the built-in functionality is to use the command command PowerShell strings, which is only available on Windows 10 (x64). With its help you will receive information about the Product Key, that is, the number current version OS.

Launch Notepad and copy the text from . After that, save the file to any folder with the extension .ps. Now you need to run PowerShell as an administrator. To do this, go to the search and enter the name in English (1). Now right-click on the icon and select from the menu "Run as administrator" (3).

In the command prompt window, enter the command Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned and press Enter on your keyboard. Next, you need to specify the path to the file with the extension .ps1. If you saved it directly to your desktop, the command will look like this:

C:\Users\your username\Desktop\winkey.ps1

The Installed Key line will indicate the 25-digit code of your operating system. You can save it to a separate text file. Now let's figure out where to check the serial number on OEM version OS.

We take out the key from UEFI

This method will allow you to find the OEM Key.

First, open the command line as an administrator:

At the command prompt, enter the combination and press Enter.

The same action can be performed via PowerShell. Open PowerShell again using the method described earlier and enter the command ( Get-WmiObject -query "select * from SoftwareLicensingService").

Now you know how to check your license using the built-in operating system tools. Let's move on to third-party tools.

To install the program, follow the link. The application starts without installation, immediately after downloading. Information about the serial numbers of the installed software will appear in the ProduKey main window:

Producey is also used to determine the license number office packages from Microsoft and other software.

Download the program for free using the link. After launch, you will immediately be able to read information about Product and OEM in one screen:

Other applications

If you want to receive information not only about the OS license, but also about the entire PC, you can use one of the following programs:

AIDA 64;
Everest;
SIW and the like.

Software in this category allows you to find out everything about the software and hardware installed in your computer. The information also includes serial numbers. Finding them is not that difficult.

For example, let's take the program. On the main screen, tap the button OperatingSystem(1). On the right side of the program you will see SerialNumber(2). In a similar way, you can find the serial number through the other programs listed above.

conclusions

There are numerous ways to find the Product Key or OEM Key of an installed operating system. The article describes everything so that the user can use it by choosing the method independently. If a method doesn’t work for you or you don’t understand the procedure for performing it, just move on to another! The easiest way is to use automated software such as ProduKey and others. More experienced users can easily handle scripts and command line(PowerShell).