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- HP Community
- Notebooks
- Notebook Software and How To Questions
- Get Windows recovery key after hard drive failure

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09-22-2024 05:14 PM
Assisting someone with replacing their hard drive after it failed. They were unable to find the product key but I was wondering if it is possible that there was a way to access what the product key is provided I have the product number and serial number.
09-22-2024 06:18 PM
The Windows product key is encrypted in the notebook's BIOS and is not needed to reinstall Windows.
You can use the HP cloud recovery tool to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will reinstall Windows, the drivers and the software that originally came with the notebook.
Here is an info link for how to use the utility. You will need a 32 GB USB flash drive for this:
HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool in Windows 11 and 10 | HP® Support
You can download the software from the Microsoft store.
HP Cloud Recovery Tool - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store
Since you have to use the tool on another PC to create the recovery drive, you will need to enter the notebook's product number in the tool's search window in order to proceed.
The PC's product number is 1G136UA#ABA