Windows 7 Ultimate; Hard drive crashed, no product Key

[maxemax]

I have a Dell Inspiron 15 inch laptop. This came with Vista. I purchased WIN 7 Ultimate, 64 bit and installed it. This has been several years ago. This week the HD crahsed, and we have to reinstall WIN 7 Ult. I have lost the product key, since it was on the HD. How do I now re-install Windows. I know I will lose everything but most of the data files are in Carbonite. I have the original software disk. Any suggestions?

 

[Mellon Head]

When purchasing Win 7 Ultimate, you should have been given a Certificate of Authenticity that looks something like this:



It has your product key on it. Where did you buy the copy of Ultimate that you are trying to reinstall?

 

[maxemax]

I am not able to locate the COA. I thought I kept it, however, recent office construction has caused the item to disappear. The code was in my hard drive, and was typed into Winword for saving. Not able to find it anywhere. Any other suggestions? Thank you for trying.

 

[Lance1]

Most of the data files are in Carbonite.

Have you looked through all your backup files at Carbonite? I would say that the Winword file in question is quite important. Also when you say the HDD crashed, do you mean that it is non-accessible? Are you installing on a new HDD?

 

[maxemax]

The computer stopped booting up, and the only thing I can do is reinstall Windows, but without the key I cannot activate the reinstall. I have given up recovering. I cannot load the repair file as the computer will not allow me to.

Thank you for your help.

 

[TrustMe]

I used this guide and and was able to retrieve my product key. Good luck.

How to Recover Windows and Software Keys from a Broken Computer

 

[Lance1]

The computer stopped booting up, and the only thing I can do is reinstall Windows, but without the key I cannot activate the reinstall. I have given up recovering. I cannot load the repair file as the computer will not allow me to.

Thank you for your help.

If this is the case Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer Follow the instruction there to gain access to the Winword file you created with the Windows key.