How to find your Windows 7 product key

What there is to know

• You need a free Windows 7 compatible product key finder. Then just follow the instructions to get the number.
• The Windows 7 product key is sometimes referred to as a Windows 7 serial key, activation key, or CD key.
• A copy of your Windows 7 key is also stored in the registry. It’s encrypted, but a special program extracts it for you.

This article explains how to find an activation key (product key) for Win 7. Manual techniques for finding the product key for older versions of Windows do not work in Windows 7 (they only find the product ID, which is different). Our Windows Product Key FAQ explains product keys and how they work in Windows.

Follow the steps below to find your Windows 7 product key code:

Select a free product key finder that supports Windows 7 from this list.

Any product key finder that finds Windows 7 product keys will find product keys for every version of Windows 7: Ultimate, Enterprise, Professional, Home Premium, Home Basic, and Starter.

Download and run the key finder program. Follow the software’s instructions.

The numbers and letters displayed by the program represent the Windows 7 product key.

The product key should be formatted as follows:

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

To be clear, there are five sets of five letters and numbers.

Write down this key code exactly as the program shows it to you. Most key finder tools allow you to export the key to a text file or copy it to the clipboard.

If a single character is misspelled, the Windows 7 installation attempted with this product key will fail.

Reinstall Windows 7 with this product key.

Some additional options

If you need to install the Windows 7 operating system but cannot find your Windows 7 product key even with a product key finder, you have two options:

As of January 2020, Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7. We recommend upgrading to Windows 10 to continue receiving security updates and technical support.