Need to find ACTUAL Windows 11 product key for clean install


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Mark Phelps

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Windows 11
Before anyone tells me otherwise -- yes, I know that (1) I don't need a product key and (2) Windows will automatically re-activate once the clean install is done and I reconnect to the Internet...

Problem is, I went through this last November and BOTH of these proved untrue. Windows did NOT reactivate, despite my having a Retail license (which I confirmed using the slmgr command) and I had to resort to calling MS to get it fixed. They had me hunt down an old Win7 Retail Pack and use the product key from that -- because I upgraded to Win11 from Win10, and to Win10 from Win7.

And yes, I know I could do that again -- but I'm looking for a way to find the ACTUAL product key on my PC, not the GENERIC key that all the commands and ShowKeyPlus present.

Can anyone help?
 
Windows Build/Version
22000.675 Pro 64-bit Retail

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Ryzen 5600X16GBEVGA GT 710
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom built
CPU
Ryzen 5600X
Motherboard
ASRock Steel Legend
Memory
16GB
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GT 710
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
23",24", 19" - flat panels
Screen Resolution
1920x1200
Hard Drives
None - only M.2 SATA and NVMe drives
PSU
750W
Case
Antec
Cooling
stock Wraith cooler
Keyboard
Corsair gaming
Mouse
Logitech M720
Internet Speed
1Gb
As far as I know, if you have a digital license for 11 (as from an upgrade), the key is not present on your machine.

It's also inaccessible from the MS activation servers.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 26200.8728Amd Threadripper 7970X128GB (4 X 32) G.Skill DDR5 6400 (RDIMM)Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    OS
    Windows 11 26200.8728
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D Rev. 1.0
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) G.Skill DDR5 6400 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Innocn 32" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 1500W
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    SilverStone Technology XE360-TR5, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Cherry KC 500 MX LP (mechanical)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    2000/250 Mbps (down/up)
    Other Info
    xFinity gateway

  • At a glance

    windows 11 26200.8728Intel I9-13900K64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Operating System
    windows 11 26200.8728
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 27" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Cherry Streaming (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
Mark Phelps said:
Before anyone tells me otherwise -- yes, I know that (1) I don't need a product key and (2) Windows will automatically re-activate once the clean install is done and I reconnect to the Internet...

Problem is, I went through this last November and BOTH of these proved untrue. Windows did NOT reactivate, despite my having a Retail license (which I confirmed using the slmgr command) and I had to resort to calling MS to get it fixed. They had me hunt down an old Win7 Retail Pack and use the product key from that -- because I upgraded to Win11 from Win10, and to Win10 from Win7.

And yes, I know I could do that again -- but I'm looking for a way to find the ACTUAL product key on my PC, not the GENERIC key that all the commands and ShowKeyPlus present.

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...
As @bobkn says, you do not have a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key.

You upgraded from Windows 7 so got a digital licence and a generic key - you never had a new key, so you cannot find one.
All Windows 7 upgrades to W10 worked like this.

I cannot say why you had an issue - that is rare.

All you can do is install, skip key entry, and if necessary re-enter W7 key.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Mark Phelps said:
I upgraded to Win11 from Win10, and to Win10 from Win7.

And yes, I know I could do that again -- but I'm looking for a way to find the ACTUAL product key on my PC, not the GENERIC key that all the commands and ShowKeyPlus present.
Click to expand...
There is no ACTUAL key. The upgrade from Win7 to Win10 would get the generic key, and a digital licence linked to the hardware ID of the PC would have been stored on the MS activation servers. The upgrade to Win11 would also keep the generic key and activate from the existing digital licence.

Problem is, I went through this last November and BOTH of these proved untrue. Windows did NOT reactivate....
Click to expand...
There are two possible reasons for the generic key not to activate from the digital licence.

The first would be installing the wrong edition. The digital licence is for only one edition, and a digital licence for Home will not activate an install of Pro.

The second is a significant hardware change. A new motherboard will change the hardware ID sufficiently for activation to fail. Usually the Activation Troubleshooter can sort this out, made easier if you had already linked your digital licence to your MS account.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
As others have stated, you are asking the impossible. You have two product keys - the Windows 7 product key, and the generic product key for the matching edition of Windows 10/11. None others.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Mark Phelps said:
Before anyone tells me otherwise -- yes, I know that (1) I don't need a product key and (2) Windows will automatically re-activate once the clean install is done and I reconnect to the Internet...

Problem is, I went through this last November and BOTH of these proved untrue. Windows did NOT reactivate, despite my having a Retail license (which I confirmed using the slmgr command) and I had to resort to calling MS to get it fixed. They had me hunt down an old Win7 Retail Pack and use the product key from that -- because I upgraded to Win11 from Win10, and to Win10 from Win7.

And yes, I know I could do that again -- but I'm looking for a way to find the ACTUAL product key on my PC, not the GENERIC key that all the commands and ShowKeyPlus present.

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...
To find out your Windows Product key that's injected in your computer's motherboard:

Download the latest portable version of RWEverything and launch it as admin

Click on ACCESS > ACPI Tables

Then go to the MSDM Tab:

e6OG3UV.png
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel Core Ultra 9 275HXSK Hynix 64GB DDR5-5600MHz RAMGeForce RTX 5090 24 GB GDDR7 VRAM
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 G635LX
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 64GB DDR5-5600MHz RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 5090 24 GB GDDR7 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Dolby Atmos-powered speakers - 2 tweeters and 3 downward firing woofers
    Monitor(s) Displays
    INNOCN GA27T1M 27' 1440p 320Hz Mini-LED Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    QHD (2560x1440)
    Hard Drives
    2x WD_BLACK SN850X 8TB SSDs (RAID 0)
    PSU
    380W AC Power Adapter
    Cooling
    Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut + IETS GT600 Cooling Pad
    Keyboard
    ROG Strix Scope II 96 RX Wireless
    Mouse
    ROG Chakram X Origin
    Internet Speed
    1 GBPS Down / 882 MBPS Up
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationAMD Ryzen 9 27016GB LPDDR5X 7500 RAMnVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 8GB GDDR7
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA403UH
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 270
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5X 7500 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 8GB GDDR7
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14' ROG Nebula Display 3K OLED 120Hz
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 PRO 4TB SSD
    PSU
    Rectangle Conn, 200W AC Adapter
    Cooling
    Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
    Mouse
    ASUS ROG Chakram X Origin Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1 GBPS Down / 875 MBPS Up
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security
Y'all do realize the last post in this thread was 3 months ago, right? And the OP, Mark Phelps never made a single reply in it.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
An option for reading Windows is the free Belarc Advisor, gives in the Software Licenses section.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz12GB
    OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz16GBOnboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA a...
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
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