Product Key - License Number ???

[willdwilly]

When I run Belarc on a customers box,I get a 20 digit string folowed by ,in brackets Key : a 25 character of letters and numbers. Which is the product key and which is the software licence. Kelly

 

[bcastner]

The Product Key, which is what you enter during installation of XP, is a 25 character string.

 

[willdwilly]

Ok, but why then, does MS tell you to look for the Key which is shown as a 20 digit string as found iu My Computer > properties > registered to :??? Kelly

 

[bcastner]

There is not in the native XP GUI, nor in the registry, a plaintext display of the Product Key.

The 20-digit number you are looking at is the Installation ID, a combination of the hardware hash and the Prduct ID. It is a completely different number than the Product Key which is used for activation.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...et/prodtechnol/winxppro/evaluate/xpactiv.aspl

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

 

[willdwilly]

Thanks ,bcastner. Kelly