Finding Windows 8 key .... Sticker just shows Windows Logo

[DaveLembke]

A friend of mine told me that their Windows 8 laptop crashed and they didnt create the recovery set for it. They were going to borrow another friends Windows 8 disc to install clean and use the key that their system would normally have on it like all prior versions of Windows had and surprise, no alpha numeric key, just a Windows Logo sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

They haven't attempted the install of Windows 8 clean yet as for without a key, how would you successfully install it. He asked me if the key was hidden in the BIOS somehow similar to how some of the older HP /Compaq computers use to have a piece of data in the BIOS that a recovery set verified before allowing to use the recovery set on that system, so that you couldnt use a HP/Compaq recovery set on a Dell that also had a similar motherboard and specs etc.

This was beyond my knowledge of Windows 8. I suggested that he contact the laptop manufacturer Samsung and see if they can send him or sell him a recovery set. But the question still stands... where is the Windows 8 key???

[Geek-9pm]

Hard to reach an old d fog  new tricks. 
Windows 8 moves to BIOS-based product keys

Product keys for Windows 8 computers aren't printed on a sticker. They're encrypted in the BIOS. How might that affect you?

[DaveLembke]

Thanks for the info Geek... gonna give him a call and relay this info. Hopefully the Windows 8 installation disk finds it in his BIOS.

[venkee]

during installation win8 takes product key from bios itself....  anyhow if u want to know your product key softwares are available to read bios information and for extracting product key......(might be tedious)

[patio]

The Post above can safely be ignored...

[Geek-9pm]

Andre Da Costa  ia MVP Wiki Author Community Moderator .
In November of 2012 he said,:

... utilities... which will may display your product keys if they are still there:
...  http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

[patio]

If UEFI is turned off prior to install it doesn.t go to the BIOS at all...

[Geek-9pm]

If UEFI is turned off prior to install it doesn.t go to the BIOS at all...

UEFI refers to new firmware standards that  apply to Windows 8.1 but not earloier vrsionsn of Windows.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/what-uefi

UEFI ( Interface) is a standard firmware interface for PCs, designed to replace BIOS (basic input/output system). This standard was created by over 140 technology companies as part of the UEFI consortium, including Microsoft. It's designed to improve software interoperability and address limitations of BIOS. Some advantages of UEFI firmware include:

The advantages of UEFI are unimportant. Security among other things.
More more, just search:
Unified Extensible Firmware
It is not  a real new idea. Just nan idea whose time has come.

[Salmon Trout]

There are Windows 8 product key recovery utilities that you can use, such as Belarc Advisor, but only if both of these things are true: 1. Windows 8 is installed and running 2. You have manually entered the product key using the keyboard at some time in the past. In other situations "your friend" needs to call Microsoft and request a replacement key.