Support for Windows 7 has ended, but many users still use Windows 7. And when Windows 7 asks for activation, you need a “product key”. So this time, I will explain how to check the “product key” of Windows 7.
[Windows 7]Why should I look for the “product key”?
Support for Windows 7 has ended, but many users still use Windows 7. If you are using Windows 7, you may be asked for license authentication, in which case you will need a “product key”. The case where Windows 7 requires license authentication is when Windows 7 is newly installed on a personal computer, and license authentication is required and a “product key” is required. You will also need a “product key” in the following cases.
・If you have expired Windows 7, you can use it by entering the “product key”.
・If you reinstall Windows 7, you will be prompted for license authentication and a “product key” will be required.
In this way, there are situations where a “product key” is required. Learn how to find your Windows 7 product key.
[Windows 7]How to check the “product key”?[Introducing the required time and procedure]
I will explain how to check the “product key” of Windows 7. Here, we will introduce the time required to check the “product key” and the procedure.
[Method 1]Use the product key confirmation tool
(The image is quoted from the “EaseUS Key Finder” official website)
The method/procedure ① to check the “product key” of Windows 7 is to use the product key confirmation tool. The tool that can check the “product key” is “EaseUS Key Finder”.https://jp.easeus.com/utilities/key-finder.html” and install it on your computer, you can check the “product key”.
The time required to check the “product key” with the “EaseUS Key Finder” tool is about 1-2 minutes. However, you cannot check the “product key” in the free version. To check the “product key”, try to purchase the paid version. After installing the tool, launch “EaseUS Key Finder” and double-click “Windows” in the left menu. Then, the “Product Key” will be displayed on the right side of the screen.
Don’t forget the “product key”, click “copy”, copy the “product key”, and paste it to “Memo app” etc.
[Method 2]Check from the registry
The method/procedure ② to check the “product key” of Windows 7 is to check it from the registry. The time required to check the “product key” with the registry editor tool is about 5 minutes.
To check the “product key” from the registry, enter “regedit” in the search box at the bottom left of the Windows 7 screen and press the “Enter key”. Then, the registry editor starts, so click “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” → “SOFTWARE” to expand it and click “Microsoft”. Then, click “Edit” → “Search” at the top of the Registry Editor screen to open the search screen.
Open the search screen, enter “ProductKey”, and click “Find Next”. Then, a list of search results is displayed, so check the “ProductID” column in it. The “product key” is displayed in the “data” in the “ProductID” column.
[Method 3]Check from the command prompt
The method/procedure ③ to check the “product key” of Windows 7 is to check from the command prompt. The command prompt tool is a function installed in Windows, and it is a tool that allows you to check the “product key” by entering a command.
The time required to confirm the “product key” with the command prompt tool is about 3 minutes. To check the “product key” with the command prompt tool, enter “CMD” in the search box at the bottom left of the Windows 7 screen and press the “Enter key”. Then, the command prompt screen is displayed, so enter “wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey” and press “Enter”. After that, you will see the product key on the screen, so check it.
[Method 4]Check from Windows PowerShell
How to check the “product key” of Windows 7/Step 4 is to check from Windows PowerShell. The Windows PowerShell tool is a function installed in Windows, and it is a tool that allows you to check the “product key” by entering a command.
The time required to check the “product key” with the Windows PowerShell tool is about 3 minutes. To check the “product key” with the Windows PowerShell tool, open the “Start Menu” at the bottom left of the Windows 7 screen and click “Windows PowerShell” in “Accessories”. Then, the Windows PowerShell screen will be displayed, so enter “powershell “(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey”” and press the “Enter key”. After that, you will see the product key on the screen, so check it.
[Method 5]Check from the COA label
The method/procedure ⑤ for checking the “product key” of Windows 7 is to check from the COA label. The COA label is a label that is attached when purchasing at stores other than online shopping, and the “product key” can be confirmed from the label.
The time required to confirm the “product key” on the COA label is about 1 minute. If there is a COA label, check the number displayed next to “ProductKey”. And the number displayed there will be the “product key”.
[Method 6]Check with the label or card inside the computer box
The method/procedure ⑥ for checking the “product key” of Windows 7 is to check the label or card inside the computer box.
Some, but not all, send a “product key” inside the computer box. And in such cases, the “product key” is displayed on the label or card. Labels and cards are often found inside computer boxes or on installation CDs. Therefore, let’s check to see if there are any labels or cards affixed. The time required to check the “product key” on the label or card is about 1 minute.
[Method 7]Check from the content of the email (for online purchases)
The method/procedure ⑦ to check the “product key” of Windows 7 is to check from the contents of the e-mail.
This method is only available if you purchased Windows 7 online. If you purchased it online, you should have received an email from Microsoft with the “product key”, so you can find the “product key” by checking the email. The time required to confirm the “product key” by e-mail is about 1 minute.
[Method 8]Contact the PC manufacturer
The method / procedure ⑧ to check the “product key” of Windows 7 is to contact the manufacturer of the PC. If you cannot confirm the “product key” by all means, let’s contact the manufacturer of the PC.
You can contact the manufacturer by phone or email. The time required to contact the manufacturer and check the “product key” is about 30 minutes. It may take some time, but if you can’t confirm it, we recommend contacting the manufacturer of the PC you are using.
[Windows 7]Points to note when checking the “product key”
So far, we have explained the method/procedure for checking the “product key” of Windows 7, but there are points to note when checking the “product key”. That is, Windows 7 was released a long time ago, so methods ⑤ to ⑧ may not be usable.
Also, the easiest way to check is to use the ① tool. Therefore, if you are not very familiar with PCs, we recommend using method ①.
* Thumbnail image (Image: Voelz Tom / Shutterstock.com)