Windows 7 was released back in July, 2009. 6 years down the line and this version of Windows is still the most widely used Windows Operating System. The predecessor of windows 7 was windows vista and the successor Windows 8. After Windows 8 then recently came Windows 10, which is a great Improvement from Windows 8 but still most people tend to prefer Windows 7. Microsoft supports an Operating System for around 10 years, which means Windows 7 will still be supported up to around January 2020.
After installation or re-installation of Windows 7, Microsoft gives you up to around 30 days to activate your version of windows. After that time, some features of Windows cannot be accessed. You need to have a Windows 7 product key in order to activate Windows.
In this article, I will show you various ways of working around with windows 7 product keys, for various editions of Windows 7, most primarily Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Professional.
Structure of Windows 7 Product Key
Windows 7 key is a combination of 25 characters, both Numeric and Alphabetical. These characters are split into 5 sets.
Example. XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
This product key is usually required during install. For upgrading windows, you can just paste if you have it copied to your clipboard, otherwise you can just type it. If you don’t have the key during install you can just choose next and skip. Activation will be required later on.
Windows 7 activation error: invalid product key
It might happen that you get the above error during a Windows installation. This can happen in certain cases such as:
You wrongly typed your product key. Please try again
You may be using a product key that isn’t compatible with the edition of Windows 7 that is installed. E.g. Windows 7 ultimate key can’t be used to activate a windows 7 Professional Operating System.
You might be using a Windows 7 upgrade product key, while there was no previous version of windows installed. In that case, you may need to install a previous version of Windows then upgrade to Windows 7 so that your Windows 7 upgrade key may work.
How to find your Windows 7 key
To find your product key, check for a sticker inside the package that came with the disc. If you bought it online, you can check in the email that was send to you by Microsoft after the purchase.
If you can’t find it, then you may need to buy a new one. However, many of the windows users find it hard and uneconomical to buy a new product key or copy of windows every time they need to install Windows.
If you lost your Windows 7 activation key, I shall try to help you. Your Windows key is usually still stored in your Computer. To see your product key,
Open Windows Run. (Win+R)
Type Regedit
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Go to SOFTWARE
Open MICROSOFT
Go to WINDOWS NT, Current Version then DefaultProductKey.
You can see it, can’t you? However, it’s in Binary form. Don’t worry. I will provide you with various Windows 7 keys that you can use to for Activation or Re-activation of your version of Windows.
However, sometimes a key may not work for you. That shouldn’t worry you either. I will still provide another solution. You don’t have to buy an original Windows 7 Product Key from Microsoft.
Below are methods and keys that can help you activate your version of Windows.
Free Windows 7 Product Keys
Before using below product keys, it is very important to note that a product key only works for a specific version of Windows. A key meant for a 32 bit version of Windows 7 cannot work on a 64 bit Windows 7 Operating System. Neither can 64 bit key work on a 32-bit platform.
Additionally, a product key meant for Windows 7 that has Service Pack 1 (SP1) can’t be used to activate Windows 7 that doesn’t have SP1. Therefore, you may try hard before you get your accurate product key.
However, you should turn off Windows update from the Control Panel. Microsoft usually uses that path to trace pirated copies of Windows. If they detect that your copy is not genuine, they will expire your license.
You should also note that Microsoft continually blocks Pirated Product keys such that they can no longer activate Windows. Some of the keys above might have been blocked before you got your hand on them but most of them are bound to work.
Win 7 Activation without a Product Key
However, you don’t have to use a product key in order to activate your windows. Actually, this method I’m going to show you is way far much better than cracked product keys because Microsoft will still give you updates without detecting that you are using a fake product key. Yea, key. Though I said that you don’t have to have a product key.
This software inserts its own product key to your BIOS system and makes your windows look genuine. Moreover, it works with all Versions of Windows 7. Awesome, Huh? I’ll show you how to do it.
The name of the software is Windows Loader. Open http://dazloader.com/ in order to download this software.
Installation Procedure:
The first thing you need to do is disable your Antivirus program.
After you have downloaded your program, unzip it and run.
After installation, it will ask you if you want to reboot your PC. Click OK.
Enjoy Permanent activation.
Conclusion
All the Windows 7 Product keys tricks and procedures given here have worked before and can still work on your PC. However, pirated software can lead to Security compromises or data loss, hence risking your digital life. It is advisable to use a genuine copy of Windows 7.
