hi guys i have a laptop with windows vista installed but i cannot read the product key from the sticker underneath. the hard drive recently decided to give up so i had to install a new one so i have no way of finding it.
is there any other way to get the key?
many thanks in advance
What media did you use for the reinstall?
If you used the proper manufacturer's media, then you should not have needed to enter any key at all during the install, as it comes pre-configured.
If you used the recovery disks from another manufacturer, or a Retail disk, then you should have been asked for the Key during the install.
I suspect that you bypassed that and used the Default (Keyless Install) Key.
If you try and activate by telephone, and sweet-talk the operator on the other end, they will sometimes (depending on which side of bed they got out of, it seems) issue you a new Key, or at least sell you one <g>
telephone activation.
Click on the Start button
in the Search box, type
SLUI 4
and hit the Enter key
follow the instructions - but when asked which service you require by the telephone ansafone, do NOT reply - this should force an operator to respond, who can deal with you.
If they won't/can;t be helpful, then your only hope is to acquire a set of the manufacturer's Recovery media, or purchase a new Full license for WIndows (would have to be Windows7) and reinstall with that.
