Most software that you purchase for you computer comes with a product key. This personalized key is paired with the software disc and is necessary to install the software. If you do not have the product key, you will not be able to install the software. To find the product key, you may have to look in several places, depending on how you purchased the software.
Recover lost CD keys for Windows and 9000+ major programs - including products of Adobe, Symantec. Download links are on the bottom of this page. Nov 21, 2009 Lost the product key to Front Page 2003 I have the full version of Front Page 2000 with it's product code, and an upgrade disk of Front Page 2003. Unfortunately, I can't find the product code for 2003. They are on an old computer I am planning to wipe and sell.
Step 1
Check inside the product box if you purchased the software in-store. There should be a product key card label inside the disc box with the product key printed on it. You may also locate the product key on the disc slip if the disc did not come in a hard-cover case.
Step 2
Check for a sticker on your computer if the software was preinstalled. When a computer is shipped with software preinstalled, such as the Windows operating system, a sticker or certificate of authenticity will be included on the side or back of the computer or bottom of the laptop for you to use if you ever need to reinstall the software.
Check the product confirmation page for downloaded software. Before you download the software, you will be brought to a confirmation page that includes the download link as well as the product key. If you have lost this page, contact the company you purchased the software from to receive a replacement code.
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Losing a product key is common, but let's be honest, it's probably guaranteed to be lost after all this time, considering how long ago these versions of Microsoft Office were popular.
Office 97 came out in 1996 for goodness' sake! Even the newest edition I talk about in this tutorial, Microsoft Office 2003, came out in - you guessed it - 2003. That was a long time ago.
So, no judgment here. Old things get lost. Fortunately, so long as this old version of Office is still installed, or at least was recently, you may be in luck.
All of these versions of Office stored their product keys in the Windows Registry, in a specific registry key. The stored product key is encrypted, but a key finder program can handle that issue, providing you with the actual key you can use to reinstall Office.
![Find windows 7 product key in registry Find windows 7 product key in registry](https://img.raymond.cc/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/recovermypassword1.png)
This process works for any of the various Microsoft Office 2003, XP, 2000, or 97 suite editions, as well as if you only have one or some of the suite's programs installed, like Word, PowerPoint, etc.
How to Find Your Office 2003, XP, 2000, or 97 Product Key
- Download Keyfinder Thing. This is a free program that will automatically find, and decrypt, the product key to your older version of Office.Most free key finder programs will find the product key to any of these older versions of Office, but I've found Keyfinder Thing to be the most consistent. Plus, it's very easy to use, easier than some of the others in the list I just linked to.
- Open the ZIP file you just downloaded and then run the file called KeyFinderThing.exe (it's the only one in the archive) to start the installation.
- Walk through the installation, clicking Next when necessary and accepting the license agreement when asked. Also be sure to choose Custom installation (advanced) if you're given the option, deselecting all of the extra, unnecessary stuff that comes alongside Keyfinder Thing.
- Choose to start Keyfinder Thing once the installation is done and then accept any confirmation prompts that might pop up asking if you're sure you want to launch the program.
- Wait while Keyfinder Thing scans the registry, locates the product key for your version of Microsoft Office, and then shows those keys to you.
- Your Microsoft Office product key will be clearly listed and will be 25 characters long.
- Record the product key somewhere where you won't lose it again. You can use the File > Export Keys > Text File menu option to save the key to a TXT file for the easiest backup, but there's also an option to save the MS Office key to an HTML file. Another option is to copy the product key to a safe password manager program so that you'll remember where it's at.
Tips & More Information
If Keyfinder Thing didn't work, by all means, try another free key finder program. These programs change and update on a regular basis, and considering how old some of these Office versions are, support may be dropped.
Other than that, though, you're left with buying a brand new copy of Microsoft Office. You'll no doubt have to choose a newer version of Office because your older version probably isn't available anymore.
Also, as tempting as they may be when reading about them elsewhere, please don't use a free Office installation key you might find on some websites, or download one of those malware stricken key generator tools. Both options are illegal.
Newer Versions of Microsoft Office
While the procedure above should work fine for Microsoft Office 2010 or 2007, there's another program that does a better job.
See How to Find Your Microsoft Office 2010 or 2007 Product Key for that tutorial.
Microsoft Office 2016 and 2013 are different animals completely. Microsoft quit storing the entire Office product key in the registry starting with Office 2013, making finding a lost product key for Office 2016 or 2013 a bit more challenging.
See How to Find Your Microsoft Office 2016 or 2013 Product Key for help doing that.