Migrating software from Pro 2 to Pro 3

[nbfnj]

Hey,
I was having trouble finding the answer to this online and maybe some forum members can help me out here. I have a Surface Pro 2 that I pre-ordered when it was available, and have been using it for school (OneNote, word, excel, etc...) and now will be looking forward to getting the Pro 3 which I also pre-ordered as soon as it was available. My issue is I have a decent amount of software on my pro 2 that I want to transfer over to the pro 3. Most of the software I have cd's and the keys for, however I remember I just purchased an office 2013 key because the pro 2 came with office already installed that just needed to be activated....However a considerable amount of time has passed and I misplaced the key. I'm not sure how to find the key in order to wipe the pro 2 (to sell on ebay, in order to help bring down the bill on the credit card from the pro 3) and use the key on the pro 3. From what I understand it is allowed to take the software with you provided it is only installed on a single device. any suggestions?

 

[Yonic Boom]

You can get the key from the registry. Nirsoft has a free utility that should be able to grab it for you:

ProduKey - Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Windows/MS-Office/SQL Server

Test that it validates before you wipe your system.

 

[Yonic Boom]

Also if that doesn't work you can just get it from the registry yourself.

Windows Key+R
regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft Office > 12.0 >Registration

Open the ProductID Key

 

[TSCLegend]

also i think the keys are online if you log into 365. and you can remove the key that is on your SP2 and move it toward SP3

 

[pavvento]

So Windows 8.1 backs up everything from my Pro 2 but not the "real" software I've installed (firefox, SmartBoard software, etc.). What is the best way to copy it from my Pro 2 to my Pro 3. I know some of the programs I can just re-download, but some I cannot.