As you may or may not know, Thayer2Design offers a variety of PC and Computer Repair Services for Syracuse, Oneida, Rome, and all of CNY. We can help remove those pesky viruses and malware, back up your music and videos, and do hardware installations as well.
Sometime you need to re-install Windows. There are a few reasons you might do this. The first is because new PCs often come packed with programs that you don’t need or will never use. When you first get your computer it might be a good idea to re-install windows so that your new computer is as fresh as possible. Another reason for re-installing Windows is because you have a virus that just won’t go away. The damage is done the quickest option might just be to remove everything on your computer and start over.
To do this you’ll need a unique product key to re-install the version of Windows that was previously on your computer.
How To Find Your Product Key
The key you need is typically in one of three places:
1.) Stored inside your PC: When you or the computer manufacturer installs Windows, your product key is placed in the registry. You can extract this product key and often enter it when re-installing Windows. You’ll want to make sure to get the product key before doing this because once your product key is gone, you might not be able to recover it.
2.) Printed On A Sticker: A lot of computers often have a sticker on them that lists the product key right there. This can be very handy if you don’t feel like writing it down yourself or you can’t find it any other way. For laptops this sticker is typically underneath. For desktops the sticker is either on top of the tower or in the back.
3.) Inside your UEFI Firmware: I know that you probably have no clue what I just said, but that’s OK. This is actually something new that PC’s are using that come with Windows 8. The key comes stored in your computers BIO which means you don’t need to know it. If you’re installing the same edition of Windows you can simply begin installation and it should automatically active and work without hassle.
What If I Still Cant Find It?
I recommend NirSoft ProduKey if you still are having trouble locating your Windows Product Key. Simply go to their website or Click Here. From there you can simply download and run the program and it will provide you with the information you need. Please Note that you want to read the “Product Key” column instead of the “Product ID” column.
Wrap Up
So there you have it! With your Windows Product Key you can now re-install your copy of Windows. If you don’t feel confident in doing this than just give me a call. Its an affordable option to make your PC run as new and typically takes about an hour.