Windws 7 Woes

[wolfeking]

I am looking to reinstall windows 7 on my HP laptop (and giving it to sis, as I am getting a DV7 Quad core for me B-Day). I have an unreadable Product key on the bottom of the laptop. The HP restore disk asks for the Product key as soon as it starts. So... If I buy a system Builders pack for Windows 7_64, will it install ok from the new disk using the included COA? Also, would I be able to use my drivers disk from HP on the System builders pack?

 

[JHM]

You need Rogah da hakah to help you out. He knows where in the registry to look to find the stored "Product Key" but I don't.

 

[wolfeking]

It doesn't have a stored key in the registry. Windows 7 has been wiped by XP pro 64, but the HDD failed. Now to reload to factory, I need the key that was on the bottom of the laptop (happens to always be where it sits on my leg, so rubs off easily). That key is unreadable.
Buying a new key from Microsoft is just as expensive as buying a copy of windows off of newegg.