Old HP Hard Drive Replacement - Need to Recover Win Prod Key

[MikeP1969]

HP Envy M4 - hard drive is completely gone. I am trying to install a new hard drive and re-install the old operating system that came with the original laptop. Is it possible to get the installed Windows OS Product Key from HP or am I out of luck?  Again, the hard drive is no longer readable.  Thanks

[WAWood]

@MikeP1969 

As to your question -- no -- because HP keeps no records of individual product keys associated with individual PCs.

But if you reinstall using HP Recovery Media, that will automatically read the product key embedded in the firmware of the system board so you will not have to enter it.

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities.

In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update".

If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Support.

USA/Canada HP contact info: https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp