I'm curious if it's possible to retrieve the license keys of a Windows XP machine from within a LiveCD environment in Ubuntu.

Normally, if I was in Windows, I would just run Magical Jellybean Keyfinder, but is there some way to do this from within a LiveCD environment?

link|improve this question

67% accept rate
Can MJBKF run under wine? – davr Oct 23 '09 at 5:52
feedback

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

The only LiveCD-style way I know of doing this would be using the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, which you can boot into from a floppy or CD. Since the key is stored in the registry, this is the logical way to do it. As for the key's location, see this article.

link|improve this answer
Awesome, I think Offline NT Password & Registry Editor is included in UBCD4WIN (which I happen to have on me) so that's great! Thanks :) – AtomFury Oct 23 '09 at 4:00
feedback

The the Windows Registry files are located at

 %SystemRoot%\System32\config\
  1. From your live Linux distro copy %SystemRoot%\System32\config\ folder to a USB drive.
  2. On another Windows machine create a Windows directory somewhere adn then create a System32 folder insde that to mimic the directory structure of a real Windows intallation.
  3. Copy the config folder on the USB drive to your new dummy Windows\System32
  4. Download and install Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v2.0.1 (MJBKF)
  5. Point MJBKF to the newly-created Windows\System32 you created earlier.
  6. Let MJBKF do it's magic.
link|improve this answer
I was looking for a solution possible solely from Linux, but I'll keep this in mind as well if I ever need it. Thanks for the tip! – AtomFury Oct 23 '09 at 4:02
Sorry not Linux, I meant from a LiveCD. – AtomFury Oct 23 '09 at 4:04
No problem. Whatever works for you is the best solution. ;-) – GeneQ Oct 23 '09 at 4:08
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.