Windows 7 Recovering a windows product key from a dropped internal HDD

[DClay7]

So last night I dropped my wife's laptop about 8 inches onto the floor. It hit the corner with the HDD and then gave me the blue screen of death. I ran the HP disk check which told me the the HDD was damaged. I bought a new HDD to replace the old but I don't have the windows 7 home premium product key. the windows sticker is worn away so I cannot read the whole thing. Also my wife got this while I was deployed in iraq and never made the windows 7 recovery disc nor did it come with an installation disc.

I don't really want to pay for another widows 7 OS key, so I am looking for help/ suggestions.

I can burn a windows 7 Home premium install to disc or thumb, but I need to recover the product key.

Is it possible to pull the windows product key from the her backup on my external HDD?

Is it possible to recover the files on the damaged drive?

 

[peterbata]

I can only address your question regarding the recuperation of files from the damaged HDD. You might consider installing the damaged drive in a external HDD enclosure. Most connect via USB. If you're lucky you may be able to recover some or all of the information on the drive. The only thing that I can see you running into would be a security issue

 

[Pauli]

Check the one who sold it. If you have any receipt / warranty papers, it can most probably be fixed > it'll go to customer service.

To add, most laptops do not come with installation discs, they come with a separate partition on the HDD, one that can only be accessed through BIOS or a password. It's possible to revive it, even if the disk is badly damaged, but it means $$$.

Hope you get it sorted out.