How in the Tech

Retrieve your license keys before reinstalling Windows with License Crawler

By Adam Myers ⋅ March 2, 2010 ⋅ Tags: Windows

On March 1st 2010 the release candidate of Windows 7 that Microsoft made free available last year began it’s gradual push towards expiration – every 2 hours your computer will shutdown. Your procrastination will now cause you a little bit of pain or at the very least, annoyance. Unfortunately, you’re only recourse at this point is to either downgrade to XP or purchase and install the retail version of Windows 7. Either option will require a format and reinstall, generally. I’m a firm believer in doing a full wipe and reinstalling Windows rather than performing in-place upgrades. So, even if there are random workarounds to avoid a complete reinstall, I advise against it.

Two key points should be made before reinstalling, one of which is hopefully logical at this point; check that you have all your files safely backed up! The second point may be overlooked however; ensure that you have the media and serial number of any software you require post-Windows install. With digital download available for a lot of purchased software, the idea of having the license number on the back of the CD/DVD jewel case doesn’t apply. Instead, you must keep the key in a safe place and ideally a place you can remember a year or more down the road. But what if you have misplaced the serial number necessary to reinstall? One of your recourse’s is contacting the vendor or manufacturer and hope they have a record of your purchase. This is often a time consuming ordeal so today I’ve found a better option.

License Crawler is a free Windows utility that can be a great aid in recovering serial numbers for currently installed applications. The software works by scanning through your Windows Registry, looking for keywords that ideally return the serial number you are looking for. Many applications stored their registration information in the Registry, and while License Crawler isn’t uncovering any magic you couldn’t do manually, it certainly speeds up the process. Logically, if the application does not store the serial number in the registry, License Crawler isn’t of great use. In those situations you may find a file in the installation directory of the application that contains the information you seek.

Download License Crawler