Which media was used to install Windows 7

I need to find out if a deployment of Windows 7 to a network was done with OEM, Retail, Volume or VL (VLK) media.

I need to know which product was used in case it is what is causing some licensing problems that I'm experiencing.

Where does this information exist in the registry?


I've managed to find the location. It's in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Setup\PID
  • 270 means Volume Licence media was used for install
  • OEM means OEM Media was used for install
  • 296 means MSDN media was used for install
  • 335 means Retail media was used for install

There are others I believe, but those four should be the most common.


You can use a free program called Keyfinder by Magic Jellybean on one of the working computers. This will grab the licensed used to activate it. You can then look at that license and see whether it's OEM, retail, Volume, etc..

It'll also grab other licenses for Windows products, like Office. It's a nice little program.