Vista - Windows Activation and repair

I have two questions;

First is I want to repair my Home Premium. I have had problems with the
hardware and fixed those. However, I think that there may be issues with
the OS now,caused by the hardware. I tried repairing by using the
installation (upgrade) disk and started the install process. It asked for
an installation key and I cant find that right now. If I continue without
inputting the activation key will it overwrite what I have currently and I
will be out of luck in 30 days? I checked the microsoft website and it was
a little vague about this situation and I did not want to proceed without
knowing for sure.

Second is can I find the key somewhere in the system? I looked in the
properties and it gave me a 20 digit number which is wrong and I searched
the registry but could not find a continuous 25 Alphanumeric sequence.

Thank you

Jim

Jim Easton wrote:Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit should give you what you want.
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html