Guest Barry Watzman Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop. BUT ..... The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first 3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of Windows). Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters? (that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as "I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters guessed) to see if it's valid. I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker / cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro OEM on a Toshiba laptop. [if someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can E-Mail directly.] Thanks, Barry Watzman Watzman@neo.rr.com
Guest Malke Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: Product key issue Barry Watzman wrote: > I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed > catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore > CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop. > > BUT ..... > > The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the > COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first > 3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And > while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product > key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was > originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of > Windows). > > Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying > all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters? > (that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as > "I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful > information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known > characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or > even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters > guessed) to see if it's valid. > > I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker / > cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro > OEM on a Toshiba laptop. > > [if someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can > E-Mail directly.] There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call Toshiba and they might be able to help you. Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Guest Barry Watzman Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: Product key issue Well, I have found some additional information. The characters A,E,I,L,N,O,S,U,Z,1 and 5 are not used in Microsoft product keys. So there are only 15,625 possible combinations of the 3 missing product key characters. And I did find a program that will test a Windows XP product key for validity (note: a valid product key might still not pass WGA validation). Unfortunately, the keys to be tested have to be typed in, one at a time. If this program was a bit smarter, it could churn through all 15,625 possibilities in no time at all. Unfortunately, I don't have source code for it. Malke wrote: > Barry Watzman wrote: >> I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed >> catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the >> restore CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop. >> >> BUT ..... >> >> The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of >> the COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the >> first 3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. >> And while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid >> product key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular >> laptop was originally bought outside the US, although it's an English >> version of Windows). >> >> Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than >> trying all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing >> characters? (that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 >> numerals such as "I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that >> alone would be useful information). Ideally, I'd like a program where >> I put in the known characters and I get possible valid values for the >> full product key. Or even a program where I can enter a whole product >> key (3 characters guessed) to see if it's valid. >> >> I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker >> / cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP >> Pro OEM on a Toshiba laptop. >> >> [if someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can >> E-Mail directly.] > > There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call > Toshiba and they might be able to help you. > > > Malke
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: Product key issue I suspect that the cost of the time you have already spent on this issue exceeds the cost of a new CD. Time to bite the bullet. At the same time you might suggest to the client to improve his record keeping approach. He's got a lot of money invested in his software, hence it would make sense to keep a printed record of all his product keys. "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message news:elR0ruUzHHA.988@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Well, I have found some additional information. The characters > A,E,I,L,N,O,S,U,Z,1 and 5 are not used in Microsoft product keys. So > there are only 15,625 possible combinations of the 3 missing product key > characters. And I did find a program that will test a Windows XP product > key for validity (note: a valid product key might still not pass WGA > validation). Unfortunately, the keys to be tested have to be typed in, > one at a time. > > If this program was a bit smarter, it could churn through all 15,625 > possibilities in no time at all. Unfortunately, I don't have source code > for it. > > > Malke wrote: >> Barry Watzman wrote: >>> I am repairing a laptop for a customer whose hard drive failed >>> catastrophically (there was severe physical damage). He has the restore >>> CD, and the Windows COA is attached to the bottom of the laptop. >>> >>> BUT ..... >>> >>> The COA has a tear in it ... and 3 characters are gone. The rest of the >>> COA is intact and clearly legible. The missing characters are the first >>> 3 characters of the last group of 5 characters, if it matters. And >>> while some don't, this restore CD is requiring entry of a valid product >>> key during the installation/OOBE process (this particular laptop was >>> originally bought outside the US, although it's an English version of >>> Windows). >>> >>> Does anyone know of any way to recover the product key other than trying >>> all 46,656 possible combinations of the three missing characters? >>> (that's 36***3 .... if some of the 26 letters and 10 numerals such as >>> "I" and "O" are never used in product keys, that alone would be useful >>> information). Ideally, I'd like a program where I put in the known >>> characters and I get possible valid values for the full product key. Or >>> even a program where I can enter a whole product key (3 characters >>> guessed) to see if it's valid. >>> >>> I understand that if such a program exists, it's most likely a hacker / >>> cracker program, but this situation is legitimate. It's Windows XP Pro >>> OEM on a Toshiba laptop. >>> >>> [if someone has an answer but doesn't want to post it here, you can >>> E-Mail directly.] >> >> There isn't any way to get the number based on the torn sticker. Call >> Toshiba and they might be able to help you. >> >> >> Malke
Guest steve7132@yahoo.com Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: Product key issue I am wondering if microsoft can help, if he gave them the numbers and letters in the original COA not including the missing numbers/letters and the owners name and information, they might be able to authorize a new cd key... Does anyone else agree with this... this is for inside the U.S. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS Outside the U.S. http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx
Guest steve7132@yahoo.com Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 RE: Product key issue http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/home.to
Guest Malke Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: Product key issue steve7132@yahoo.com wrote: > I am wondering if microsoft can help, if he gave them the numbers and letters > in the original COA not including the missing numbers/letters and the owners > name and information, they might be able to authorize a new cd key... > Does anyone else agree with this... > > this is for inside the U.S. > > http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS > > Outside the U.S. > > http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx No, because Microsoft would rightly say that the license came from Toshiba. Your link in your second post to Toshiba support is the way for the OP to go. Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Guest Barry Watzman Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: Product key issue Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine, not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers. I probably will call Microsoft, and see what they say. Malke wrote: > steve7132@yahoo.com wrote: >> I am wondering if microsoft can help, if he gave them the numbers and >> letters in the original COA not including the missing numbers/letters >> and the owners name and information, they might be able to authorize a >> new cd key... >> Does anyone else agree with this... >> >> this is for inside the U.S. >> >> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS >> >> Outside the U.S. >> >> http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx > > No, because Microsoft would rightly say that the license came from > Toshiba. Your link in your second post to Toshiba support is the way for > the OP to go. > > > Malke
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: Product key issue On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:11:02 -0400, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote: > Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from > Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an > upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine, > not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can > see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a > contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy > quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers.\ Most of us call those "generic" OEM copies. "Generic," in the sense that they are not specifically Dell, Gateway, etc. The term "retail OEM," as you say, is a contradiction, and is very confusing. By the way, you say "a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an upgrade," but let me point out that OEM copies can do clean installations only, and *not* upgrades. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Barry Watzman Posted July 25, 2007 Posted July 25, 2007 Re: Product key issue Ken, an OEM copy can be purchased as a type of upgrade. That's not the same thing as an upgrade install. If a laptop comes from the maker with XP Home, I can buy a "retail OEM" copy (what you call a "generic OEM" copy), wipe the hard drive (totally), and install the OEM copy. The computer has been, in a sense, upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro, although it was not an upgrade installation. That is what happened in this case. Granted, the wording can get confusing. Ken Blake, MVP wrote: > On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:11:02 -0400, Barry Watzman > <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote: > >> Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from >> Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an >> upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine, >> not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can >> see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a >> contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy >> quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers.\ > > > > Most of us call those "generic" OEM copies. "Generic," in the sense > that they are not specifically Dell, Gateway, etc. The term "retail > OEM," as you say, is a contradiction, and is very confusing. > > By the way, you say "a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an > upgrade," but let me point out that OEM copies can do clean > installations only, and *not* upgrades. >
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 25, 2007 Posted July 25, 2007 Re: Product key issue On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:11:24 -0400, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote: > Ken, an OEM copy can be purchased as a type of upgrade. That's not the > same thing as an upgrade install. If a laptop comes from the maker with > XP Home, I can buy a "retail OEM" copy (what you call a "generic OEM" > copy), wipe the hard drive (totally), and install the OEM copy. Yes, you can. > The > computer has been, in a sense, upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro, although > it was not an upgrade installation. That is what happened in this case. OK, but you are using the word "upgrade" in a very unusual personal way. That it is not the way most of us understand it. > Granted, the wording can get confusing. If you want to call that "upgrading" from XP Home to Professional, that's of course your privilege. But I caution you that that's not the way most people will understand the term, and you run the risk of being misunderstood, just as if you use the term "retail OEM" for what others call "generic OEM." You can say it's just semantics if you want, but to ignore semantics--what words mean to others--is to be misunderstood. > Ken Blake, MVP wrote: > > On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:11:02 -0400, Barry Watzman > > <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote: > > > >> Actually, I now believe that this machine originally had XP Home from > >> Toshiba, and that a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an > >> upgrade, and that is this sticker that is on the bottom of the machine, > >> not the one from Toshiba (which appears to have been removed .... I can > >> see where it was). By "retail OEM" (which is, by definition, kind of a > >> contradiction in terms), I mean the kind of OEM copies that you can buy > >> quantity 1 from Newegg and other computer parts dealers.\ > > > > > > > > Most of us call those "generic" OEM copies. "Generic," in the sense > > that they are not specifically Dell, Gateway, etc. The term "retail > > OEM," as you say, is a contradiction, and is very confusing. > > > > By the way, you say "a "retail OEM" copy of XP Pro was purchased as an > > upgrade," but let me point out that OEM copies can do clean > > installations only, and *not* upgrades. > > -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
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