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Retrieve the Software Installation Keys From Your PC
You know how it is. You buy some software on CD, or online, and install it. The program works perfectly for ages. And then one day it doesn't. Or you change your PC.
Time for a reinstall of your applications. Except that you forgot to write down the installation key of that software, and the CD case (or confirmation email) has long since been lost. So you face the prospect of having to buy another licence for that can't-do-without application.
If that sounds familiar, here's a possible solution. A tiny, free utility for Windows (XP and above) that retrieves and displays the installation keys for loads of Windows apps. Here's part of the report that it produced for one of my PCs, for example:
The utility in question is called Softkey Revealer, and you can download it from http://sites.google.com/site/cakirbey/softkeyrevealer. No need to install anything - just unzip and run. And then copy those keys somewhere safe, before you forget!
Got a hot find for me? A great item of freeware, or a handy web-based service? Let me know via
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Comments
i used this product key finder and lost it but i found it now .it's very good... thanks!
SIW and Belarc both pick up more of my licensed programs than this one. What's supposed to be so great about this one? Really, it missed pretty much all of my most expensive and important programs. Poor recommendation, the first I've ever gotten here.
This tool only recovered a 4 of the 25+ pieces of software that have serial numbers on my system. It even missed the Windows 7 x64 OS.
I keep a "Kits" directory on my NAS Server with each piece of software and a "key.txt" file for each product within that directory. I think that I won't give up doing this any time soon ;=}
Softkey Revealer did not reveal the key to my Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit OS.
I is offputting to download freeware,(advertised as such), then find the warning: THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE. AFTER 40 DAYS, YOU MUST EITHER PAY FOR THIS SOFTWARE OR REMOVE IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER. ??????
I no longer will download this type of "freeware". It is a gimmick.
I downloaded and used SoftKeyRevealer, and did not find any such message. Also, its mentioned on the site that the software is free for personal use..
Can you please write the procedure you took from downloading, to installing, and of running the program?
From their site and as Anupam says:
"SoftKey Revealer is a Free Software for Personal Usage, not for Commercial Usage".
The above is just a malicious post.
Thanks for this...I've used (& appreciated) Belarc, but this seems to be even more thorough. I see no reason not to use both. When your e-world blows up in your face- the more info. you have, the easier your recovery will be.
I wish someone would come up with a program that would search your pc and display registration info for every installed program.
More often than not it's the registration info for purchased downloaded programs that gets lost rather than the retail boxed stuff. On top of that since chances are that you rarely log into the account, it's easy to forget account login (and possibly what retailer you purchased from) that would allow you to retrieve the registration from.
Also, online retailers as well as manufactuters can go out of buisiness, and some reg info is so buried that even a registry search comes up empty (or perhaps the reg info is stored elsewhere), so then you're out the money spent on a program you can no longer use.
Hopefully I spoke too soon, as the site suggests that the program looks for more than just the usual keys, and they also have another program called "Game Key Revealer", though they may not cover everything it sounds like they've got more covered than other key revealers I've tried.
I used Belarc for quite some time. However, SIW (System Information for Windows) does a far better job. (http://www.gtopala.com/)
Perfect timing thank you r.schifreen.
Phylis thanks for the Belarc reminder.
Does not look like it works on 64 bit operating systems.
Belarc Advisor shows keys as well but they are a bit different. Each showed a program the other one didn't. I like that it saves a text file of the results.
Doesn't pick up MS Office 2010.
No, you're right, it doesn't appear to pick up Office 2010. I have Office 2010 and, as you can see from my screen shot, it's not listed.
i'm using product key finder and licensecrawler but i have to try this one... thanks!
Ummm... I'm gonna' go ahead and ask this rather than research it on my own first...
...though not so much because I'm lazy (although this method IS easier) but, rather, because I'll bet someone else asks this, so I figure it might as well be me...
Doesn't Belarc Advisor kinda' do this, too? And maybe better?
Just askin'.
And, by the way, even if the answer's "yes" to both questions, that still wouldn't mean that this new product shouldn't have been posted. It's definitely cool. But I'm just askin' how it compares with Belarc.
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Gregg DesElms
Napa, California USA
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