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My laptop's HDD has just gone bad. The OS and recovery partitions are corrupted so I can't recover Windows anymore. However I've backed up Windows' license according to this tutorial before, therefore I download a fresh Windows 8.1 ISO to reinstall and intended to restore the license later. But the Windows installer keeps asking for the product key which I don't know because it wasn't printed on the laptop anymore.

So can I get the key from the above license files (data.dat, cache.dat & tokens.dat) or from the recovery partition (where most files are still left intact)?

Kamil Maciorowski
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phuclv
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1 Answers1

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Make sure you're installing the correct OS. If the product key you're backing up is from a computer that (at first) contained Windows 8, then you need to install Windows 8. It will not accept Win 8.1.

In any case the product code is baked into Windows 8 computers and getting that code is rather simple. There's a portable NirSoft tool that can be executed as a GUI or accessed via command line. Then there's this tool that can also be accessed via command line.

Retrieve those tools from whatever computer you're using to post here. Put them on an external storage medium. Simply boot to the recovery disc like you've done before. Choose "Advanced Options" and select Command Prompt. Navigate to the external storage medium and run either executable, or both for verification. Make note of it's product key output and use that during the OS installation.