Need Windows 7 product key for activation

[whegardt]

I'm running Linux on an Z240 workstation. I want to use the Windows license that came with this workstation to run Windows 7 in a virtual machine inside my Linux host OS. I no longer have the original contents of the hard drive. Unlike a notebook PC, there does not seem to be a sticker showing the Windows product key that I need for activation. I read there may be a Digital Product Key in the BIOS, but I have searched the menus without finding it.

I had written down what I thought was the Windows Product Key before erasing the hard disk, but it turned out to be the Product ID instead.

Any ideas?

[mdklassen]

> Unlike a notebook PC, there does not seem to be a sticker showing the Windows product key 

Every PC (All-In-One or Desktop or Notebook) originally shipped with Windows 7 should have that sticker.

Have you searched on eBay for the "retail" version of Windows 7 ?

To be "legal", the seller must provide both the DVD-disk and the sticker.

[whegardt · Accepted solution]

I will answer my own question. It appears that with Windows 7, this cannot be done. Even if I take an activated Windows disk image and run it on a VM, Windows 7 recognizes that the hardware has changed and reverts to an unactivated state.

I also tried saving the product key from the BIOS and restoring it to the VM copy, but the activation still fails.