How to Retrieve Windows 10 / 11 Product Key?

There are situations where you may need to reinstall Windows from scratch, whether you’re troubleshooting system issues or installing a fresh copy of Windows after replacing your SSD.

You can download the official Windows ISO files directly from Microsoft:

• Windows 10: Download Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft

• Windows 11: Download Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft

Depending on your installation and license, you may need your Windows Product Key during the installation process.

If you have an existing, genuine Windows 10 / 11 installation, there is a simple way to retrieve the product key stored on your system before performing a clean installation.

Follow the instructions below to retrieve your Windows Product Key.

Open the "Command Prompt" as "Administrator".

On the prompt, type the command below.

wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

You should now be able to retrieve your Windows 10 or Windows 11 Product Key and proceed with a clean installation using an official copy of Windows downloaded directly from Microsoft.

Note: This method retrieves the Windows Product Key stored in your computer’s BIOS or UEFI firmware. In other words, it displays the original Windows license key embedded in the device by the manufacturer.

Updated as of September 2026.

Adobe Creative Cloud's "Loading Creative Cloud" Issue

Installing Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Premiere Rush or InDesign on Windows usually works well but there are cases that you would encounter issues like Creative Cloud App not loading and you're stuck with the "Loading Creative Cloud" screen. To fix this issue, you could do the following.

Repair Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime

Go to "Add or remove programs".

Select each "Microsoft Visual C++ xxxx Redistributable".

Click "Modify".

Click "Repair".

Once all the repairs are completed then restart the computer.

Give Full Permissions to Adobe Folder for your user account.

Go to the following folders.

C:\Program Files\Adobe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe

Right click on each folder then click "Properties" then select "Security" tab.

Click "Edit".

Give "Full control" to your user account by clicking your username above then clicking the checkbox under the "Full control" below. Click "Apply" then try to load Creative Cloud App again.

Updated as of September 2026.