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If you lose the product key of your Windows operating system, don't worry. On this page, we will introduce you to 5 methods with detailed steps to help you successfully retrieve the lost product key on Windows 11/10/8/7 by yourself.

How to retrieve a lost product key on Windows? Here are 5 methods that can help you.

As we all know, a Windows product key is widely used for activating or reactivating the Windows operating system, whether you're reinstalling or migrating the system. But how can you find it on your computer if you have lost or didn't save the product key?

Don't worry. Here, we list 5 reliable methods with step-by-step guides that you can successfully retrieve the lost product key on Windows 11/10/8/7. Let's check them out.

5 Ways to Retrieve a Lost Product Key in Windows

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  1. #1. Check the COA Sticker
    2. ` `
  2. #2. One-Click Windows Product Key Finder Tools
    3. ` `
  3. #3. PowerShell Command
    4. ` `
  4. #4. CMD Command
    5. ` `
  5. #5. Notepad
    6. `

Note that these methods are listed from simplest to most complex. Methods 1 and 2 are recommended for the easiest solutions. If you want to try more advanced built-in Windows methods, proceed with Methods 3, 4, and 5.

Below, we'll show you the entire process using the latest Windows 11 as an example. Let's get started with the methods to find your lost or missing Windows product key.

Read more: How to Find Your Windows 11 Product Key Using CMD

Method 1: Find the Windows 11/10/8/7 Product Key from the COA Sticker

A COA sticker, which stands for Certificate of Authenticity, is a sticker found on many computers that come with a pre-installed Windows operating system. This COA sticker serves as proof that the laptop or desktop computer you purchased has a genuine copy of Windows installed on it. Additionally, it contains the product key for the operating system currently installed on the computer.

As such, if your PC came with Windows pre-installed, you can simply check the Windows COA sticker to find the missing product key.

Step 1: Check the back of your computer or the area around the keyboard.

Currently, most COA stickers are located on the back of the computer.

Step 2: Find your lost product key for your Windows PC.

Typically, the COA sticker under the product key contains a string of numbers.

Recover lost product key with COA sticker on Windows

Note: If you have upgraded your version of Windows, the product key printed on the COA sticker may not work. You can find your current key by using Method 2, 3, 4, or 5 below.

Method 2: Retrieve the Lost Product Key in Windows 11/10/8/7 Using a Product Key Finder

Another simple way to retrieve a lost product key on Windows 11/10/8/7, or even an older version of Windows, is to turn to a reliable product key finder utility like Tools Key Finder.

With this Product Key Finder, you can easily recover lost product keys from your Windows computer with just one click. See what else you can do with the software:

Step 1: Click the “Windows” key under the Registry Editor.

Find Windows product key 1

Step 2. Check the Windows product key on the right. Click “Copy” to paste it. Or choose either of the other two options:

"Save" - Save as a local PDF file.

"Print" - Click to print critical documents.

Find a Windows product key 2

Method 3: Retrieve a Lost Product Key in Windows 11/10/8.1 using PowerShell Command If you've already installed Windows 11, 10, or 8.1 but no longer have the product key, you can retrieve it by running a PowerShell command. Follow these steps: 1. Press `Win + X` to open the menu and then choose `Windows PowerShell (Admin)` or `PowerShell (Admin)` to run it with administrator privileges. 2. In the PowerShell window, copy and paste the following command, then press Enter: ``` Get-WmiObject -Class "Win32_product" | Select-Object -Property Name, IdentifyingNumber ``` 3. This command may take some time to execute as it lists all installed applications and their identifying numbers. Once completed, browse through the output to find the product name and identifying number associated with your version of Windows. The identifying number might resemble a product key but is actually a product ID used for internal identification. Please note that this method might not always provide the product key, especially for recent versions of Windows. In some cases, the key is stored on Microsoft's servers and automatically linked to your account during activation instead of being locally saved. If you're unable to locate the product key, you may need to contact Microsoft Support for assistance.

On some newer Windows computers, the Windows operating system product key isn't printed on a COA sticker. The manufacturer might store certain product keys in the computer's hardware, such as in the UEFI firmware or BIOS.

Users can directly use or even reinstall the same version of Windows on their computer. In this case, you might try running a Windows PowerShell command to find the product key. Here's how:

Step 1: Right-click the Windows icon in the Start menu, and select “Windows PowerShell.”

Open PowerShell

Step 2. Enter the command line in Windows PowerShell:

The Chinese translation of "(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey" is: "Retrieve the WMI object, query all properties from the SoftwareLicensingService, and return the OA3xOriginalProductKey attribute." This is a command used in PowerShell to retrieve the operating system product key.

Recover Lost Product Key in Windows 11 via PowerShell Recover Lost Product Key in Windows 11 via PowerShell

Step 3: Wait for Windows PowerShell to display the embedded license key for the current Windows operating system on your computer.

Method 4: Find the Lost Product Key in Windows via CMD

Another method, similar to using the PowerShell command, is to run CMD commands on a Windows computer to retrieve a lost product key. This is particularly useful when looking for a product key on an older Windows 7 computer.

Of course, this method also works on a new computer with Windows 11/10/8. Let's see the detailed steps:

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box, right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator."

Open CMD

Step 2. Type the command in the CMD window and press Enter:

Querying the software licensing service with OA3xOriginalProductKey

Enter the command in the Command Prompt to retrieve the lost product key

Step 3: Wait for the prompt to search your computer for the product key.

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Using CMD

Method 5: Find Your Lost Product Key with Notepad in Windows

One last valid method you could try is running Notepad with some commands and saving the file as a Product Key Finder.

It will automatically find your product key for the current operating system. Here's how:

Step 1: Create a new Notepad and paste the following content into it:

```vb Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId")) Function ConvertToKey(Key) Const KeyOffset = 52 i = 28 Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789" Do Cur = 0 x = 14 Do Cur = Cur * 256 Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255 Cur = Cur Mod 24 x = x - 1 Loop While x >= 0 i = i - 1 KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput If ((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0 And (i <> -1) Then i = i - 1 KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput End If Loop While i >= 0 ConvertToKey = KeyOutput End Function ``` This is the provided script in VBScript format. It reads the Windows product key from the registry and converts it to a human-readable format.

Step 2: Go to File > Save As, and change the “Save as type” to “All Files.”

Create Product Key File

Step 3: Rename the Notepad file as productkey.vbs.

Step 4: Save the file to your desktop.

5. Double-click the “productkey” file and you should see the key for your current operating system.

Recover lost product key via Notepad

Recovering a lost Windows product key is easy – go find yours now

On this page, we list 5 methods that can help you recover a lost product key on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or even older versions of Windows.

Out of these 5 methods, the COA sticker and the one-click Product Key Finders – Tool Key Finder are the easiest ways to retrieve your lost Windows serial number.

Though the other three methods are slightly more involved, you should still be able to follow them closely to retrieve your lost key. If your Windows product key is important to you, get started with these methods now.

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