Default Keys for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Deployment

Overview

In Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 – you can perform a full OS installation without having to manually enter a product key like you had to in previous Microsoft operating systems. This feature makes the installation much easier, and while Windows Server 2008 RTM and Windows Vista were “polite” about asking for the key (and you could simply ignore this polite request and promise to enter it after setup), in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 you no longer need to have the key handy during the installation process.

Where are the keys located

So where does the installation process grab the keys from? How does it know what key to enter?

The answer is simple. It has knowledge of all the keys that can be used, and it takes that information from a simple textual answer file that is used, by default, during the installation process.

You can locate the file, called PRODUCTS.INI, in the installation DVD, in the SOURCES folder.

This is how it looks like in Windows 7:

PRODUCTS.INI

If you open the file, you’ll get the following list of product keys:

List of Windows Server 2008 Keys

HomeBasicN=MD83G-H98CG-DXPYQ-Q8GCR-HM8X2
ServerHomeStandard=BTMWJ-8KHD9-B9BX8-J7JQ9-7M6J2
ServerForSBSolutions=PHYFD-HQ4XW-78PR4-2CXKF-V67KJ
ServerSolutionsPremium=4TMY4-8JG4B-VKY8X-6TVDH-J7XFV
ProfessionalE=3YHKG-DVQ27-RYRBX-JMPVM-WG38T
UltimateE=TWMF7-M387V-XKW4Y-PVQQD-RK7C8
Professional=HYF8J-CVRMY-CM74G-RPHKF-PW487
ServerWinSBV=WQG3Q-VWT72-VX39Q-VRTRD-2RF7K
Starter=7Q28W-FT9PC-CMMYT-WHMY2-89M6G
UltimateN=HTJK6-DXX8T-TVCR6-KDG67-97J8Q
ServerSolution=VVWPG-XFYWQ-4HBR7-DYGCW-TF7XW
ServerSBSPremiumCore=BXQQP-Q6Q6D-TR7TR-3YXQW-VFHKM
Embedded=743Q4-G676P-84RX9-B8HRR-6V73F
ServerHomePremium=YQXDR-G2MBV-63VW2-JX8J2-FVTVG
ServerEssentialAdditional=MDWJ7-3XKWR-P7M89-YXFWX-B3DWD
ServerMediumBusinessManagement=FD499-FD79G-V9D2W-F9WQ6-MD2VC
ServerEssentialManagement=D93YD-6Q3KV-FQFG2-P6D23-PKR8T
HomeBasicE=VTKM9-74GQY-K3W94-47DHV-FTXJY
StarterE=BRQCV-K7HGQ-CKXP6-2XP7K-F233B
ServerSolutionsPremiumCore=4TMY4-8JG4B-VKY8X-6TVDH-J7XFV
ServerForSBSolutionsEM=JR4Y2-WC84X-PBRDJ-QTBTB-TQGGH
ServerEnterpriseIA64=7YKJ4-CX8QP-Q23QY-7BYQM-H2893
Enterprise=H7X92-3VPBB-Q799D-Y6JJ3-86WC6
Ultimate=D4F6K-QK3RD-TMVMJ-BBMRX-3MBMV
ServerHPC=Q7PRR-M2WBM-RJJ99-FG393-MGY3B
HomePremiumE=76BRM-9Q4K3-QDJ48-FH4F3-9WT2R
ServerHyperCore=Q8R8C-T2W6H-7MGPB-4CQ9R-KR36H
ServerEmbeddedSolution=M2KD2-F2333-Q3TJ8-BQMHX-9PWX6
ServerWinFoundation=36RXV-4Y4PJ-B7DWH-XY4VW-KQXDQ
ServerStandard=HMG6P-C7VGP-47GJ9-TWBD4-2YYCD
ServerSBSStandard=YT76W-VD3W9-QDCK4-9QFPX-WQY4J
HomeBasic=YGFVB-QTFXQ-3H233-PTWTJ-YRYRV
ServerEssentialAdditionalSvc=VKP7D-84WCR-YHGQP-TXT76-6283H
HomePremium=RHPQ2-RMFJH-74XYM-BH4JX-XM76F
HomePremiumN=D3PVQ-V7M4J-9Q9K3-GG4K3-F99JM
ServerDatacenterCore=7X29B-RDCR7-J6R29-K27FF-H9CR9
ServerWeb=YGTGP-9XH8D-8BVGY-BVK4V-3CPRF
ServerMediumBusinessSecurity=YQ3V7-79DM4-42PVW-BYRH8-69VXK
ServerSBSPremium=BXQQP-Q6Q6D-TR7TR-3YXQW-VFHKM
ServerWebCore=YGTGP-9XH8D-8BVGY-BVK4V-3CPRF
ServerEmbeddedSolutionCore=M2KD2-F2333-Q3TJ8-BQMHX-9PWX6
ServerEnterprise=7P8GH-FV2FF-8FDCR-YK49D-D7P97
ProfessionalN=BKFRB-RTCT3-9HW44-FX3X8-M48M6
ServerMediumBusinessMessaging=YVYC7-KVQ8G-XF6K4-9MG8M-QXFC2
ServerSolutionEM=WF9T8-VT7D2-GD629-WTKGH-3WBJT
ServerEnterpriseCore=7P8GH-FV2FF-8FDCR-YK49D-D7P97
ServerEssentialManagementSvc=YJXJC-Q227R-YBMG7-7VF8K-H24QY
StarterN=D4C3G-38HGY-HGQCV-QCWR8-97FFR
ServerDatacenter=7X29B-RDCR7-J6R29-K27FF-H9CR9
EnterpriseE=H3V6Q-JKQJG-GKVK3-FDDRF-TCKVR
ServerWinSB=RBY6X-FDBHT-P86CY-MVFV8-4W43X
ServerStandardCore=HMG6P-C7VGP-47GJ9-TWBD4-2YYCD
EnterpriseN=BQ4TH-BWRRY-424Y9-7PQX2-B4WBD
gvlkServerHPC=TT8MH-CG224-D3D7Q-498W2-9QCTX
gvlkServerEmbeddedSolution=736RG-XDKJK-V34PF-BHK87-J6X3K
gvlkServerStandard=YC6KT-GKW9T-YTKYR-T4X34-R7VHC
gvlkProfessionalE=W82YF-2Q76Y-63HXB-FGJG9-GF7QX
gvlkServerDatacenterCore=74YFP-3QFB3-KQT8W-PMXWJ-7M648
gvlkServerWeb=6TPJF-RBVHG-WBW2R-86QPH-6RTM4
gvlkProfessional=FJ82H-XT6CR-J8D7P-XQJJ2-GPDD4
gvlkServerWebCore=6TPJF-RBVHG-WBW2R-86QPH-6RTM4
gvlkServerEnterprise=489J6-VHDMP-X63PK-3K798-CPX3Y
gvlkProfessionalN=MRPKT-YTG23-K7D7T-X2JMM-QY7MG
gvlkServerEnterpriseCore=489J6-VHDMP-X63PK-3K798-CPX3Y
gvlkServerDatacenter=74YFP-3QFB3-KQT8W-PMXWJ-7M648
gvlkEnterpriseE=C29WB-22CC8-VJ326-GHFJW-H9DH4
gvlkServerEnterpriseIA64=GT63C-RJFQ3-4GMB6-BRFB9-CB83V
gvlkEnterpriseN=YDRBP-3D83W-TY26F-D46B2-XCKRJ
gvlkEnterprise=33PXH-7Y6KF-2VJC9-XBBR8-HVTHH
gvlkServerStandardCore=YC6KT-GKW9T-YTKYR-T4X34-R7VHC

Summary

As you can see, the list (which is identical on a Windows Server 2008 R2 installation DVD), contains many keys that are valid for the various versions of the Windows OS. These keys cannot be used to activate the OS installation, for that you’ll need to obtain a valid and genuine product key that fits the version (or SKU) of the OS that is installed on your computer.

By the way, if you’re wondering about what product key is used by an existing OS, you can always use one of the freely available key grabber tools found on the web. A nice link to start looking for such a tool is this place:

13 Free Product Key Finder Programs
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/productkeysactivation/tp/topkeyfinder.htm

Note: I strongly recommend that you manually run a virus scan on these tools, you can never know what else is included in “free” stuff that can be downloaded from so called download repositories… The above link is provided for your reference only.