How do i find windows xp activation key

It should be the only executable ". View your product key. Running the Winkey Finder program should immediately display your Windows XP product key, allowing you to apply the key to the Windows XP activation wizard the next time Windows asks you to update. To be safe, be sure to write down the product key when you see it. Method 3. Restart your computer. You can choose this option from the Start menu, or you can simply hold down your computer's power button until it turns itself off and then press the button again.

Tap F8 as soon as your computer logo appears. You'll need to do this during the first time the logo appears after rebooting. Keep tapping F8 until you see the advanced options menu pop up. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Starting up your computer in this mode will bypass the Windows activation loop long enough for you to reset the timer for your XP trial.

You'll need to wait a minute or so for Safe Mode to load. Type " explorer. You should see a dialogue window pop up after doing so.

You may need to wait for a minute or so before the window comes up. Click Yes. This may also say OK. After doing so, you should notice that your desktop interface is now accessible.

This will bring up the Run tool from which you can complete the fix. Type " rundll This command resets the Windows XP trial clock to 30 days. When your welcome screen finishes loading, you should be able to log in like usual rather than being stuck in the activation loop.

You have a certain period of time to activate Windows. After this period, Windows will be stuck on the login screen in an activation loop. Not Helpful 16 Helpful Can I do this more than once? I have already done the 30 days one, a. Step 3. Nothing I do is working this time around. You can only rearm the timer up to four times while in the grace period, or two times in safe mode.

Not Helpful 2 Helpful Not Helpful 6 Helpful If you are in safe mode, boot into safe mode with command prompt and type in: explorer. Technically the operating system is still loaded; its just limited great if you can't load xp. Not Helpful 10 Helpful Microsoft stopped support for Windows XP on April 8, , and it is no longer being updated. If there is a bug, then it will never be fixed. Not Helpful 7 Helpful Not Helpful 3 Helpful It was going fine until I came to activation, which it would not allow in safe mode.

So I restarted, and it said, "Do you want to activate Windows now? Press 'OK' to exit". I pressed OK and it kicked me back to the login screen. Any ideas? You might be able to get out of this loop using the following steps. Not sure if this is a permanent fix or only for 30 days. Start in plain safe mode.

Login using an administrator user account. Run CMD as admin. Type these commands and press Enter. Then click OK on each of the following prompts: regsvr32 regwizc. Type this last command type exactly as what you see here : rundll Wait for a couple of minutes because the last command will not show anything on the screen.

However, it will reset the licensing components in the background. Then restart your computer and log-on back to your normal Windows. Not Helpful 46 Helpful From there you can give administrator rights and change or delete the current administrator. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3.

Is there a limit to the number of times I can reset the loop? Method 3 described above. I'd done it successfully 5 or 6 times, but now it is not resetting. There should be a limit. If it is allowing for more than four times, then it is a bug in Windows that is allowing you to reset it more often. Not Helpful 5 Helpful 1. Use the telephone option.

On the other hand, if you reinstall Windows using a "generic OEM" CD one not specifically for your brand of computer , you need the product key from the sticker in order to activate. The CD must be for the same version of Windows e.

If you bought a new version of Windows, it will have come with its own product key, and that's what you should use, not the one of the sticker or the one used by the original manufacturer. If necessary, the installation process itself will do that. Actually, you wouldn't be able to format the system drive from within Windows; you'd have to use a different tool to do that think of sitting on a tree limb while wanting to saw it off.

Before you get yourself in trouble, perhaps you'd care to explain a why you think you need to reinstall Windows and b what method and what media you plan to use to do this. In reply to LemP's post on December 3, I thought by re-installing XP the computer might run faster. Would this disk contain drivers for the hardware in my computer? In reply to jsknight's post on December 4, A "Windows XP disk created from a Dell machine" is a bit vague and it's also not clear to me if the old machine where you want to reinstall Windows is the same as the Dell that you used to create the CD.

In general, a system restore disk created for a Dell computer won't work on a non-Dell computer. I'm far from a Dell expert, but it's my understanding that Dell provided a mechanism for creating system restore disks, but only starting with computers sold in That doesn't seem to be what you're referring to.

The latter is where the drivers are. In short, I don't know what's on the CD you created and how -- or if -- you can use it to reinstall Windows even if it was created by the same machine on which you want to reinstall. What's the make and model of the older computer? Right click My Computer and select Properties and answer the following: -- What version of Windows is installed, including service pack? Have you kept the Windows up to date by keeping Automatic Updates turned on? What antivirus application is installed?

Is its subscription current? Has the subscription ever been permitted to lapse? What other antimalware applications are installed?

Toolbar, etc. Select your region. Microsoft provides local numbers for most areas, or toll-free numbers that you can call from anywhere. Use the drop-down menus to select the number that is best for you.

Select the language of your choice. English is usually the second language offered, which is number 2 on the dial pad. Select the product you want to activate. In our case, we want to activate a Windows XP, so push number 1 on the dial pad. Call Microsoft and provide the 54 digit "installation ID". Use the provided number to contact Microsoft. You will be asked by the rep to provide the 54 digit "installation ID". This is displayed on the same screen as the phone numbers. Enter the 35 digit code the rep gives you.

After verifying your installation ID, the support rep will give you an activation code. Enter this code into the boxes at the bottom of the window to finish activating. Method 3. Know when to do this. Sometimes when you're re-installing Windows with non-standard hardware, you may not be able to access Windows in order to activate. You'll get a message that you must activate in order to proceed, but you can't connect to the internet and the "installation ID" is not generated.

If this happens to you, you'll need to use Safe Mode to fix your drivers and activate Windows. Boot into Safe Mode. You'll need to fix the problems with your device drivers. This will allow you to either get an internet connection or generate an installation ID so that you can activate over the phone.

Reboot your computer and rapidly strike F8 as it boots up. This will open the Advanced Boot Options menu. Select "Safe Mode" from the list of options. Download the necessary drivers on another computer. You'll likely need to download the drivers on another computer.

Windows XP Safe Mode disables program installation, so you'll need the actual driver files, not an installer. Determine the piece of hardware that isn't working.

This will load the Device Manager. Look for items that have a "! These are the pieces of hardware that require drivers. Visit the manufacturer's support site on another computer. If you are using a laptop or pre-built desktop, you should be able to find all of the drivers you need in one spot. If you're using a custom-built computer, you'll need to find the manufacturer of the specific piece of hardware that's not working. Download the INF files for the piece of hardware.

Since you can't use an installer, you'll need the actual driver files. These come in INF format. Transfer these files from the working computer to the non-working one via USB or disk. Install the driver. Right-click on the non-working piece of hardware in the Device Manager and select "Update Driver". Browse your computer for the INF file that you downloaded and load it up. You'll be prompted to reboot your computer. For more detailed instructions on tracking down and installing drivers, click here.

Try activating as you normally would. You should now be able to either boot into Windows and activate over the internet, or get an installation ID and activate over the phone. See the above two methods for instructions on activating online or over the phone. Method 4.