Windows 7: Need help resetting a laptop I purchased used

I mistaked product ID for product key. I have removed this post to avoid confusion.



Thanks to @gregrocker for letting me know that I was wrong.

Ben, that is the Product ID and not the key. The Product ID gives MS additional information to track the source of the OS and sometimes replace the key such as where the sticker is rubbed off. If it says OEM in the string it means it either came preinstalled from the factory, is retail builder's OEM, or might have had activation cracked with an illegal method.

The Product Key can be audited from the HD using one of the tools mentioned earlier, however if this is factory OEM it will not be the key needed for reactivation during a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. Instead it will be a SLP key used for offline mass activation at factory, which cannot be used to reinstall except from factory Recovery partition or media.

There is a way to back up Factory Activation SLP key file from Factory OEM Windows 7 before Clean Reinstall but it is not supported here by the decision of our Administrator due to the possibility of it being used for unlawful purposes.

I always thought they were the same thing, thanks for letting me know. I'll remove the post to avoid confusion.

No worries, Ben. Someone from Activation forum may correct something in my correction. That's how we learn.