Windows license key from sticker are unreadable

I was looking at the bottom of my T400 today, and I noticed that both the Windows Vista sticker that the machine came with and the Windows 7 sticker that contains the license keys are unreadable. It appears that the license keys have faded the same way that something printed on thermal paper (like an old school fax machine or a cash register receipt) fade over time or when exposed to heat.
Obviously I don't care about the Vista sticker as I upgraded for free to Windows 7. However, if something were ever to happen to the machine and I needed the license key (such as a reinstall) I'd like to know how to go about getting one.
I noticed on the T420 that the sticker is located in the battery compartment, and this sticker shows no signs of fading.
When asking for help, post your question in the forum. Remember to include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help others with the same question in the future.
My TPs: Twist 2HU: i5-3317U Win 8 Pro, 4GB RAM 250GB Samsung 840 | T420 4177CTO: i5-2520M, HD+, Win 7 Pro x64, 8GB RAM, Optimus, 160GB Intel 320 SSD, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT 3.0 | T400 2764CTO: P8700, WXGA, Win 7 Ult x64, AMD 3470, 8GB RAM, 64GB Samsung SSD, BT, Intel 5300 WiFi | A20m 14.1" PIII 500 (retired). Monitors: 2x Dell U2211h IPS 100% sRGB calibrated w/ Spyder3.

nibs wrote:
It appears that the license keys have faded the same way that something printed on thermal paper (like an old school fax machine or a cash register receipt) fade over time or when exposed to heat...
I noticed on the T420 that the sticker is located in the battery compartment, and this sticker shows no signs of fading.
It looks to me that the serials are printed using some sort of laser printer on top of preprinted sticker stock. The fused toner that forms the characters is prone to wear from abrasion such as when you slide the ThinkPad in and out of a sleeve. Print something that has a lot of black on standard paper using a laser printer. Fold the paper over the black and you'll see that the toner has cracked. I believe something similar happens with the stickers on the bottom of ThinkPads.
For the past several years, starting with T60 series, I've always put a layer of standard 3M office tape over the serials on the bottom of every ThinkPad. These serials include MTM, Windows, MAC addresses, etc. All of these serials are as readible today as they were when the ThinkPad was new. This also suggests it's an abrasive wear not thermal degradation issue.
I suspect the stickers got moved inside the battery compartment (or elsewhere like inside the SIM/SD compartment on TPT2) for this reason.
Cheers... Dorian Hausman
X1C2, TPT2, T430s, SL500, X61s, T60p, A21p, 770, 760ED... 5160, 5150... S360/30

Similar Messages

How to transfer license key from Windows to Mac for adobe photoshop lightroom 5?

how to transfer license key from Windows to Mac for adobe photoshop lightroom 5?

You can download from this link and validate with your serial number. You can run LR5 on both machines.
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5856

Retrieve license key from Adobe Acrobat X software install

Hello,
Pardon if this is a simple thing to find. My experience with Adobe is pretty much limited to reader and flash.
I am helping a friend here. He is upgrading his old PC to a new PC. He would like to install his old copy of Adobe Acrobat X on it, but lost the license key some time ago. My question is there a way to find the license key from the software itself?

If you don't have any luck with obtaining it from your friend's Adobe account, Belarc Advisor should be able to retrieve it from the PC
Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit, for software, hardware and security configuration information on your computer.…

XP Pro license key on sticker is not valid

Hi,
I have a HP desktop machine with window XP Pro license sticker on it. System hard disk is not working anymore and i need to reinstall the xp pro on new hard disk.
I don't have any xp installation cd with me, i have tried the xp pro installation cd from my friend but it is not accepting the license key given on the sticker.
What are my options? I have heard that microsof can issue a new license key as long as motherboard has not been changed.

If you do not have the Original OS disc for that computer, you can`t do anything. Every license is keyed to the disc/computer it came with. If you had the disc, then you could call microsoft and ask them for a new License for free, so you could reinstall
on your computer or any computer. But only 1 OS license per computer, This is the only exception to the rule. Example: if my computer stopped working and had to get another computer, or replace the hard drive, I can use My existing XP OS from my original computer/harddrive,
in most cases the license wil not work, that`s why you have to call for a new license for your existing original Legal copy of XP, disc, and license.
So using your friends will not work. Unless you use his license, but that would render his computer usless.

Can my QuickTime Pro 7 for Windows License key be transferred to my new Mac

I have used QuickTime Pro on Windows for the past 8-10 months.
I have now moved from Windows to Mac. However, the Pro registration key is invalid on the Mac because it is Windows-specific.
Will Apple convert my Windows key to a Mac key, or do I need to purchase a separate license for QT 7 Pro for Mac?

I bought the $30 Quicktime Pro license when I had windows and now I have switched to mac and want to continue to use Quiktime Pro. I put in the license and it didn't work. I later realized why as the user above has, and it makes no sense.
Apple should provide a work-around for this. It is not logical to make people pay more than once if they change operating systems but wish to continue using their online purchase. The download of the Quicktime client is free anyway, it is only the online pro license key which I paid for that costs money. So there is no reason to make people pay twice. That's bad business and while some companies might have this flaw, it is far from the standard for a well organized company.
Normally when you buy a license for software online, whether that be a game or whatever you pay for the account license and then you can download whichever client you need for free. If you switch to mac or windows or whatever, your account is still good. So with apple you can download the right client for free as with others, but if you switch to mac you must pay for the license again because they keys are not consolidated into one system, even though the client is still a free download. This makes no sense economically whatsoever as the user only wants to continue to use what they have paid for at no additional cost to they company.
Apple should either consolidate all the Quicktime Pro keys to one system or the sales department should offer a workaround of some sort. This is just not logical and for the online license key model of business and is just bad business relations as well.

Windows License Key lost

I had purchased a llicensed pre-installed WIndows 8.1 enabled HP laptop. Recently I tried to dual-boot my laptop with Ubuntu 14.01 for educational purpose. By mistake I ended up formatting my entire hard-disk, which meant that even the Recovery folder got erased. I wish to reinstall Windows 8.1 on my laptop, but I don't have the license key of my original Windows copy. I purchased the laptop from a licensed HP vendor, but he says that the company doesn't provide a Windows repair CD. The license key isn't located in the BIOS of the laptop, it isn't even available on any sticker on any external part of the laptop. What can I do to find the license key and re-activate my original Windows? Pease guide me.

Sorry, old pal, but it looks like you will have to buy Windows 8.1 from Microsoft.

Do we have a way to pull the license key from each Oracle Instance?

Dear all Oracle Experts,
I don't remember having to put the license key whenever I create the oracle instance. But is there away to pull it from the instance?

The difference between oracle software and other software such as microsoft, is that you don't need a license key to use the software, it is already open and fully functional. Oracle assumes customers will use the software they are allowed to use according to the license agreement. Customers would not be happy to have a lawsuit on their desktops due to improperly using copyrighted material.
~ Madrid
http://hrivera99.blogspot.com/

Cisco ACS 4.1 Windows License Key Question

How do I obtain the license key for my Cisco ACS Server for Windows software v4.1?

For acs windows, there is no license key. You need to purchase the acs software.
During installation, it does not ask for any key.
Regards,
~JG
Do rate helpful posts

I purchased Lightroom from Amazon. When I go to register, the license key from amazon does not match the fields in the software. I am stuck.

I need help registering Lightroom. Purchased from Amazon. The license key Amazon provided did not match the fields when activating the software. Help!

Maybe Amazon provided a redemption code not a license key:
https://redeem.licenses.adobe.com/getserial

Please tell me there is a fix to keep backspace key from sticking

Backspace key constantly sticks and wipes out most if not all I have types. Has done it twice in last couple of minutes while typing these posts or threads. Also, why is typing so slow or behind on 3G, but not so on the 2G.

I'm having the same issue even after updating to 2.0.2 yesterday. It wiped out a good deal of text. Until they come out with a fix, I have discovered that pressing "Done" when this is happening stops it. It's not a permanent fix, and you have to be fast before it erases a good portion of the text, but it's better than losing everything.

Change License Key from TechNet to Retail

I used my TechNet key to prove if 2012 would work for an NFS backup target. I don't believe I've even activated it yet. It seems to work fine, and now I plan to approach the customer to buy a license for 2012 Standard (2VM license). Can
I change the key to the retail version without starting over?
Thanks!

Adam: Thanks. I've never had the need to do this before on a server.
Tim: We can't sell a customer something we have no idea will work, we won't know if it will work for his purposes unless we try it, and no IT company will duplicate a customer's environment just to see if it will work for them. Normally we would
know if it would work, but this was out of the ordinary. We just need a couple of NFS targets for other servers to back up to. They have 2003 and 2008 R2, but they have problems with large files. Even after two years of us running into it
and learning that "Microsoft is aware", 2003 and 2008 are not fixed. Our initial thought was to just add a couple more UNIX VMs instead of using Windows. While ZFS has compression, it also has many other capabilities that we don't need, and requires
more server resources as a result. NTFS is simpler, more efficient for this application, and we thought that 2012 almost certainly would not have the problem since large VM files are common today. The price makes sense since the license allows
2 VMs, which is what got me to entertain 2012. As we were hopeful, it does not have the issues 2003 - 2008 R2 have, and worked perfectly during the test. As a result, I will try what Adam wrote and see if it will work. If it does, it will
save me 2 or 3 hours by not having to recreate it. Also, customers don't insist about things they don't understand, and have no desire to learn. We're the ones who insist on the licensing. The only things they care about are, how will it
help me, what will it cost, and how well did it work.
Thanks all!

Does the Acrobat for windows license key work for Mac version?

When I try to purchase a Acrobat standard license, it shows only 'Windows" in Platform.
My question is, will the key (if I purchase) work for Mac version?
Thanks

Never have figured out why they do not allow one S/N for both versions, particularly since some folks may have a Windows desktop and a MAC laptop. Unfortunately they do not and you have to purchase a version for each.

License Key from Cisco is NOT Working.

Hello All,
Device: Cisco Wireless Controller 2504 (AIR-CT2504-K9)
We had purchased an Access Point Upgrade License for our Wireless Controller and when I try to upload the key to the WLC, I get a message that there were no valid Licenses found. We purchased the License from our 3rd party Cisco provider and our Rep had sent me 2 PAK numbers the other day for the Licenses. So I went on Cisco's site and entered the PAK Numbers (*there were 2 PAK Numbers) and after I entered both of those the SKUs that came up were: L-LIC-CT2504-UPG and L-LIC-CT2504-1A.
So I chose to download the License files and when I did I received a ZIP file containing one html file with instructions and one .lic file containing the License.
Here is what I see when I try:
        (Cisco Controller) > license install tftp://192.168.x.xxx/Cisco_WLC2504_Licenses/license_file_name.lic
        Transfering licenses from tftp://192.168.x.xxx/Cisco_WLC2504_Licenses/license_file_name.lic
        License installation: No valid license found to be installed
Anyone know why I would be receiving this error? I tried uploading to the WLC from both the Web Interface and the CLI with the same result.
I also tried having them email me the .lic file instead but I get the same thing when I try to upload it.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Matt

Hey Vinod, thanks for the reply!
We had received an Access Point from our Cisco VAR partner and also ordered the License so we could add a 6th AP to the WLC. When we received the AP in the Mail the License was not with it so we emailed our acct rep and asked him for it, which is when they had me run the "show udi" command in order to give them the Serial Number so they could get me the PAK number. Which is I assume what you were talking about with the UDI (Unique Device Identifier)?
The License file itself contains the correct serial number, which is why I'm confused as to why it's not working. We don't have a SmartNet for this device so one of our Techs through our Cisco Var partner is contacting their Cisco Account Rep to find out what's going on. I guess I'll just wait till I hear back from them, and we'll see what they say. I even tried doing the Get Existing option on Cisco.com for the Product License Registration section of the site, which also did not work.
The strange thing is, when I did the Get Existing option and I downloaded the License file again, the Filename was different then it was the first time around... Not sure if this is normal or not, but I just thought that was strange.
Thanks Again for the reply Vinod..!
Thanks,
Matt

I need some assistance on stopping my backspace key from "sticking" on my iPad 2?

I have reset, restored, and rebooted. Nothing is working. My backspace key goes rogue even if I only hit it once. I've had this pad for 3 days and I'm a bit frustrated. I've noticed that the backspace key goes haywire in almost all third party apps but it also happens when I type email, calendar , events, and notes. The only way I can stop this from happening is to hit the spacebar multiple times or any other key on board. I am not new to Apple products as I have had several iPhones, iPod touches, and I had a Mac Book Pro for work. I have searched the communities and saw that this was an issue with earlier iPhones but I have not read anything to iPad 2. Any helpful assistance you can provide is appreciated.

I assume that you know if you hold down on the delete/back space key that it picks up speed and will rapidly delete sections of text as opposed to one letter at a time.
If you have restarted and reset (hold down the sleep and home buttons until the Apple logo appears) and have had no success, I can only suggest closing apps. Go to the home screen and double tap the home button to bring up your recent apps at the bottom. Tap and hold down on any app icon until they all wiggle. Tap the minus signs on the apps to close them. Close every app in the task bar. Tap the screen above the task bar and then restart the iPad.
I have no idea if this will help, but it can't hurt to try it. If your iPad is only three days old, I would also suggest a call to technical support. You get 90 days of phone support when you buy an iPad.
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/contact/

My shortcut keys on CS6 are gone. I get a message to reinstall CS6. I would rather not go through the hell of getting the license key for Adobe. Any options?

I get the message that my shortcut keys have gone missing.... And the message says to reinstall Photoshop CS6. I would rather burn my arms off than go through the hell of reinstall with Adobe's horrible licensing process. Please help me avoid this! I tried system restore on my Windows PC to no avail. Any solutions or downloads I might try?
Thanks for any help.
John

Not sure what you mean when you say "Adobe's horrible licensing process". If you have a valid license key code you type it in and you are done. The program, licensing system, checks that key against the online system and if it is valid and not installed on more than 2 computers at the same time you don't have to do anything else.
If the version of CS6 you are using is an Upgrade version then you will need to type in a valid license key from a qualified previous version. Again once that is done and it is checked against the online license system you are done.
As to your problem with the shortcut keys going away I "Think" that is a problem with your computer more than with Photoshop. Some how the file that holds the default and user edited keyboard shortcuts has become corrupted or you have somehow deleted it. If it became corrupted that is a Sure Sign you have a hardware problem. More than likely some type of hard drive problem, the drive might be on it's last legs, it is failing and will need to be replaced.
One thing I suggest you do from this point forward is make regular backups of your complete system. Like doing it every week if not more. That way when, NOT IF, you have similar problem you can restore your system from the most current backup. And if it is a hardware failure, like the drive going bad, you can restore your system to that state once the hardware problem is fixed.
If you do have a hardware problem, like the hard drive is dying, reinstalling PS won't stop it from happening again.

Windows license key from sticker are unreadable

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for