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Best way to retrieve license information

The kid's computer is infested with viruses, and I want to wipe it clean and reinstall XP. I can't find the XP CD and box with the key sticker anymore. I have an installation CD from MSDN but for correctness reasons would like to use the original personal license. Is there a way to find out the activation key for the currently installed instance?

Control Panels -> System shows registered to, with a registration number, but it doesn't look like an installation key (i.e. it's only digits, not alphanumeric)

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marked as duplicate by hyperslug, Jeff Atwood Sep 24 '09 at 4:44


More here: superuser.com/questions/43196/… –  hyperslug Sep 24 '09 at 4:26
And here superuser.com/questions/32367/… –  hyperslug Sep 24 '09 at 4:27

2 Answers 2

up vote 2 down vote accepted

You can use the (open source!) Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder.

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Jelly Bean is probably the most popular. Here's some alternatives though:


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Keyfinder Thing:

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