# MS Office 2000 CD Installation Key Lost



## gspal (Jan 23, 2004)

I have lost the MS Office 2000 "Premium" version CD Installation Key. Currently, the same is installed on my PC but would need the key in future for reinstallation. I do not remember as to if I had registered the same with Microsoft on installation about 2 years back. How can I get the CD key from my PC System with OS of Win98SE?
RandyG in replying to a similar message of "borgward" in August 2001 had mentioned to get to the same by : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion. If that is so then How do I get to HKEY............. I am unable to get to it via the "Run" command in Windows. Or am I supposed to go through Set Up on booting the machine or.....?

Regards
G Pal
India

Machine:
HCL BusyBee 2000 : Pentium III 450
224 MB SD RAM 100 FSB
OS : Win98SE


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## Miz (Jul 2, 2002)

That "HKEY_Local_Machine" etc., stuff is part of the registry. You can get into the registry by going to Start>Run, typing in "regedit" (without the quotes) and clicking OK.

Be careful in there...messing up the registry enough will result in a complete reinstall of Windows. Look around all you want but refrain from deleting stuff.


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## gspal (Jan 23, 2004)

Thanks Miz. I got to my destination that displayed Microsoft Office 2000 Premium. However, other than Product ID# that comes up when one runs any of the Office 2000 product, I did not come across any "Product ID/Key". The GUID that got me there is copied below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{00000409-78E1-11D2-B60F-006097C998E7}

Is a part of this GUID the Product Key?
If not, then is there some freeware that will dig out the Product Key from Office 2000?

This is the first time in 20 years on computers that I am searching for a Product Key. So please excuse if my questions seem a little stupid.

Regards,
G. Pal
India

HCL BusyBee 2000 Pentium III 450MHz
Win98SE


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## shadowboss (Jan 13, 2004)

I believe you can find the product key by opening any MS Office App. Simply Click Help>About.

A small window opens that displays the version info, copyright dates, and a small section will contain your Product ID.

This should be the same for all apps. At least it was on my Office 2k install.


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## Miz (Jul 2, 2002)

Nope, that's not it, gspal.

You need to be in HKey_Local_Machine_\Software\Microsoft\Windows\*Current Version*. Looks like you ended up in "Uninstall."

Once you locate the above entry, click on the "Current Version" folder in the left-hand pane and scroll in the right-hand pane to an entry called "ProductKey." The number to the right of that is what you need.

Shadowboss, I thought that the number in Help>About was the number needed to install, too, but that turns out not to be the case. At least, when I compare the number in Help>About in any Office applications to the actual key for my Office 2K, they aren't even vaguely similar. Maybe it was the case with Office 97 and that's where I got the idea.


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## gspal (Jan 23, 2004)

Well Mix I went just as far (and not beyond) as HKey_Local_Machine_\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version. Some details of what is given in the right-hand pane in order are detailed below :
leakHelpString : This is a customized version of Internet Explorer
Plus! VersionNumber : IE 5.5.50.4522.1800
Product ID : 15502-OEM-0078686-0258
Product Key : GXDRG-..................
Product Name : Microsoft Windows 98
RegisteredOrgainz.. : HCL
Registered Owner : Pal
RegistrationExtDLL : OEMREG.DLL
Version : Windows 98
VersionNumber : 4.10.2222

Well definitely my Office 2000 Premium is not an OEM version. The Win98SE was an OEM version preloaded by HCL (who have branded the machine) along with a media CD of Win98SE. The Product ID matches that of my IE on the machine, and so does the version number of Win98SE.
Any other ideas?
Shadowboss, I agree with Miz. The Product ID is definitely not the Product Key. The Product ID is all numeric while I remember that the Product Key was alph-numeric.


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## stranglehold (Jul 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by shadowboss:_
> *I believe you can find the product key by opening any MS Office App. Simply Click Help>About.
> 
> A small window opens that displays the version info, copyright dates, and a small section will contain your Product ID.
> ...


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

you can usually find it in one of the ini files


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## Mullarkey (Feb 5, 2004)

hello all, I'm having the same problem as gspal and have followed the instructions, but same as gspal, have got a product key, id and then it states w98. I've also tried the app/about and have that OEM number, but it's apparently 5 digits short - is there anyway to check whether a key is the O/S or the app?. I got 15999-OEM-0079624-85021


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

don't post the numbers edit them out of your post,op sys key


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

look in the ini files you should find it in one of these


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## Bman (Apr 3, 2002)

This *free* program will give you more information than you ever needed (as well as what your looking for!) Download Aida32 . It does NOT need to be installed. It is self contained, if you download the zip version, extract it to an empty folder, then click on the '.exe'. Navigate the folder tree... go to 'Software' then to 'Licenses'. It should show you a list of all product 'keys' on your PC. HTH

B


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2004)

Try this:- *CD key removed by moderator; this is illegal behavior and is grounds for termination. Sorry. Please don't do it again.*

Hopefully this will help :up:


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## jbcalg (Oct 29, 2001)

note: with Aida32 - get the enterprise edition, the personal edition doesn't have the licenses info

another good one is (but NOT for Office 2000):
magical jellybean keyfinder 
_It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Office 97, and Office XP. _


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## gspal (Jan 23, 2004)

The way to the product key for Office 2000 is as follows:

Type: Office 2000 in Find.
Look up text files dates of last installation or re-installation if you remember, else you would need to go through the whole lot of them.
Usually, the text file has an extension: MsiExec that opens in WordPad, and is of size about 140kb.
Now browse through it. You will come across the under-mentioned and the PIDKey, that is the Product Installation Disk Key. Please keep it in your backups or in a diary.
No need to bother or pay Microsoft unless one has deleted all Temp files.

Property(C): Manufacturer = Microsoft Corporation
Property(C): ProductCode = {xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx}
Property(C): ProductName = Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
Property(C): ProductVersion = 9.00.2720
Property(C): DiskPrompt = Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
Property(C): InstallMode = Custom
Property(C): ODBCDSNKEYEXISTS = C:\Program Files\Common Files\ODBC\Data Sources\

Then way down you would come to:

Property(C): PIDKEY = xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Property(C): COMPANYNAME = xxx
Property(C): ErrorDialog = ErrorDialog
Property(C): USERNAME = xxxxxxx
Property(C): ReInstallRepair = -1
Property(C): _BrowseProperty = INSTALLLOCATION
Property(C): ProductID = xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I thank you all for interacting, thereby, kicking into action my grey cells. Well Bman and jbcalg, I will download the "enterprise" version of Aida32 for future reference. Thanks.


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2004)

Sorry about that,was not aware of it,will keep this mind henceforth


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## Miz (Jul 2, 2002)

An easy way to find the product key for an installed MS Office is to download and run Keyfinder. It will give you the product key for both MS Office and the version of Windows installed.


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## gspal (Jan 23, 2004)

But Miz, the "Keyfinder" is not suitable for Office 2000. It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Office 97, and Office XP.


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## jbcalg (Oct 29, 2001)

as mentioned on first page


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