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Get Windows license key from your hardware in Linux

bgstack15

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If you are running on hardware that originally came with a licensed Microsoft Windows operating system, you should check to see if you can get the license key from your hardware.

sudo hexdump -s 56 -e '"MSDM key: " /29 "%s\n"' /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM


MSDM key: 12345-09876-ABCDE-FGHIJ-ZYXWV (obscured, of course)

Or another way:

sudo cat /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM | strings

I never came across this tidbit until today! Apparently it is well-known throughout the Internet.

References

Weblinks

  1. Found it first at https://solus-project.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8663
  2. Strings method https://superuser.com/questions/637971/how-do-i-get-out-my-embedded-windows-8-key-from-a-linux-environment#638033

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