How to find Arma 2 CD KEY?

okay, before anyone asks yes i have read and looked everywere for this information and well, i'm going to start a fresh install on my computer because i belive there is a virus messing everything up that i cant find. but i do own a legit copy of arma 2 and i installed it using a cd key when i bought the game at best buy, now i have a 3 year old neice who got ahold of my arma code and destoryed it i figured it's fine w/e then i realise oh crap i'm gonna start over on my computer so the issues is how do i find my cd key for arma 2 in my computer?

thanks.

no idea where to find it on pc but im sure others will help you. =)

They didn't gave you the CD-KEY in the back of the game case?

He clearly states that his niece got ahold of the manual and destroyed it thus destroying the cd key that was printed on the back of the manual. I'm guessing it's somewhere in the registry although I can't find it.

Is there some reason someone should not be made aware where their cd key is located on their own HD? I don't see how giving out the location of the cd key on your own hard drive is going to cause an issue.

export your a2 keys from registry and keep them safe till u format then reimport them

the 2 keys are

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Bohemia Interactive Studio and

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Bohemia Interactive Studio

Okay i looked through everything and i found my key's in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Bohemia Interactive Studio but i didnt find a Bohemia file under Local i exported them to my desktop and all i seen was..

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Bohemia Interactive Studio]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Bohemia Interactive Studio\ArmA 2]

"Player Name"="James"

when i hit edit, i mean that's what i see.

now i see Default which is binary 0 0 0 0

then james which is 1 and 0's

but is there anyway i can see my key in full? because i am going to get a fresh type hard drive install

If you have Windows Vista or 7 you can find your cd key here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Bohemia Interactive Studio\ArmA 2

ok now that i have the key how do i decript this? should i just write all of this code down letter by letter, space by space and type out my own hkey when i get arma 2 installed back on?

well i should say the file says it's a Key=HEX" numbers and letters"

not gonna reveal the numbers or letters but yeah.

In any case if you're unable to retrieve the CD Key from your hard drive, the last ressource would be to contact Placebo (Head mopderator) and ask for advice if you have a legit copy as you state he surely can help you out.

regards

Edit: I see you already retrieved it, sorry was a bit late.

Man this is like pulling teeth. Surely if one knows where the key is in the registry they know it's in a format that you can not read. Can you give a little more info.

the only info i can give you was that i found it where cyborg told me and in that folder i found 3 hkey's

Default

James

KEY

and the Key i found

"KEY"=Hex:xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx

and i'm assuming it's under a coded format how do i uncode this?

the x's stand for numbers and letters so its like 2e,43,x7.. etc.. <- not real code

Im pretty sure you cant reverse encode this to make a code that the Arma Setup accepts. What you can do however, is copy your Arma files to your new install (be sure to scan it for the virus ofc) and run the .reg file afterwards. This works if you installed the game in the same dir as before. Otherwise you have to change it in the registry.

is it possiable to transfer this information over to say, a flash drive then after fresh install manually input the reg?

Yes, select the ArmA 2 entry, File > Export, set Range to Selected branch and save.

Then all you need to do on the new installation is to double-click the file and confirm import.

Or you just simply wait till BIS/publishers are going to release the "Ultimate A2 + OA Combat Edition" including maps, compass and a duck tape. :cool:

well, seems like i've got to buy another copy..

i just reformatted and evidently the registry didnt make it, i'll just wait for OA combo pack to come out or something..

thanks for trying to help yall.

although i did write down and keep the coded cd key, now i guess if i wanna try and play it i gotta somehow find a converter.

Erm... I might be wrong but the solution to this was simple.

Install game with another key

Replace registry key with previous saved one

Job Done. Why do you need to "reverse engineer" the key? It's there already, you should of exported it and imported it once you had reinstalled. You would of had to use a key from a friend/other source to get the initial install.

Erm... I might be wrong but the solution to this was simple.

Install game with another key

Replace registry key with previous saved one

Job Done. Why do you need to "reverse engineer" the key? It's there already, you should of exported it and imported it once you had reinstalled. You would of had to use a key from a friend/other source to get the initial install.

Or just make a backup of the Arma2 directory and all relevant registry keys, reformat the computer, restore Arma2 from the backup, restore the reg keys from backup and there you are. Always works for me.