Forum Discussion
Where do I find Windows 10 Pro product key?
Alright, let’s chat about diving into the Windows Registry to find Windows 10 Pro product key. While it might sound like a cool techy thing to do, there are definitely some downsides to this approach. Trust me, I’ve been down this road, and it can get a bit messy.
When you’re in the Registry Editor, you have access to a ton of system settings. If you accidentally modify or delete a key, it could impact your system stability or cause software issues. I’ve seen friends lose their minds over little mistakes made in there, leading to unwanted blue screens or performance issues.
If you bought Windows 10 Pro from someone, the product key should be linked to the hardware (motherboard) if it was a digital license. If it's a retail key, it should have been provided to you, either in an email or a physical card.
You can try using a key retrieval tool like ProduKey or check the Windows registry to find your key, though these methods may not always work for digital licenses. If it's linked to your Microsoft account, logging in might activate it automatically. If these don't work, you may need to contact Microsoft support for assistance.
Where do I find Windows 10 Pro product key? | Microsoft Community HubYour answer is not helpful.
Observations: The OP is almost certainly re-installing over the old disk. They are not experts and may not have another computer. It is extremely advanced to read the registry of a disk from another computer.
What they needed to do (and it is too late now).- Before the reinstall, get the key using the command line method. This might mean attempting a repair from installation media and dropping to X: (edit: good luck with this) Most people doing this are stuck in boot loops and have no chance in hell of using regedit.
- Use a NEW disk for the re-install.
- Find the original media, in many cases this is a Windows 7 product key.-
- Above all else, have a full disk or at least full partition backup less than a month old.
- Not everybody has a Microsoft account, they are a lot of trouble. It is July 2025 and the 2FA mess at the moment does not bear thinking about. I have over 20 Microsoft accounts and I would prefer to have none.
At the point of having written over you previous install, you can elect to declare you are re-installing. This may or may not work, and may or may not be possible.
