I was reading the other day a blog on Windows 7 and found a cool utility that is FREE for easing the reinstallation of an existing installation..

The issue many people i know faced when reinstalling their PC, is to find their Microsoft software serial numbers. In most cases ,when acquiring a PC you also purchase your Operating system of choice (XP, Vista and others) and productivity suite (Office). The dealer installs the purchased software, but sometime fails to provide you with the serial numbers for the software you purchased. The thing is that you need those serial numbers if you want to reinstall your PC.

Prodkey, a FREE and easy-to-use utility made by Nir Sofer, helps you to recover your Windows and Office serial number from an existing installation. Prodkey runs on all Windows platforms and is capable to retrieve serial number info for the main Microsoft products:MS-Office, Windows, Exchange Server, and SQL Server.

Usage is quite simple.All you need to do is download and unzip Prodkey Then click on the Prodkey.exe file. The utility will display the list of your installed Microsoft products and their product key information. I recommend that you print the output and keep it in a safe place for further reference.

Note: Always run Prodkey BEFORE reinstalling your system. Otherwise you won’t be able to recover the serial numbers.

Cheers,

-Ivan