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My neighbour's have asked me to transfer a program from one of their computers, to the other. The particular software is 'Cashflow Manager 7'

I have transferred all the files used by the program onto a USB, but running the software on my computer (when testing) results in the product trial being initiated, because I don't have the product key (which, unsurprisingly, neither do they).

I've run three different 'Product Key finders' which are supposed to extract product keys from the registry, but none of them found the key (in fact, all of them only found the OS product key. This could be related to the hard drive in this computer failing, which is why the software need be transferred).

I also found some registry files related to Cashflow7, but they weren't the product key, since copying the files and adding them to my own registry did not yield an unlocked version.

What else can I try?
Is there a way to get the key, or will they have to buy another copy (which make my efforts utterly futile)?
How feasible is backing up the entire registry?

Is there a general location for product keys in the registry, which I could save the entirety of?


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Why the downvote? –  Anti Earth Jan 2 '13 at 3:19
No idea about downvote. Also, there's no general location, be it in the registry or elsewhere. Why don't they have the key? if they purchased it online, perhaps they have the order details/mail or can contact the product company? Full reg backup is useless as it will mess up the destination system. If only the HDD on the same PC is being swapped, the old drive can be imaged. It might be possible to use Process Monitor to see what files/reg keys the program tries to open on startup, but it's a really long shot. –  Karan Jan 2 '13 at 3:20
That's a good idea, I'll ask them. To be honest, they're completely technologically illiterate and it's impossible to get any information out of them whatsoever. –  Anti Earth Jan 2 '13 at 3:21
I don't mean this to sound offensive; have you asked the software company's support how to do this? –  K.A Jan 2 '13 at 3:21
I've emailed them now (after snooping around the client software for the 'Member ID', which I need to contact without fee incursion. What a charming company...) –  Anti Earth Jan 2 '13 at 3:30
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