How to Find the Serial Number of a PC in Windows

It's good to have a record of the serial number of your Windows PC. If the machine becomes damaged, you'll be able to get help faster if you can provide technicians with the serial number; and if the computer is stolen or you need to make an insurance claim, the process will be much faster with access to the serial number. Obtaining the serial number for your PC seems technical, but it's an easy process.

Things You'll Need

• Computer running Microsoft Windows
• Pen and paper

Instructions

1. On your Windows PC, activate WMIC (Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line). Open the "Start" menu and choose the "Run" option. In the dialogue box that is opened, type "wmic." If this is the first time you have used WMIC, Windows will install it automatically.

2. Type the serial number request into WMIC. When installed, WMIC will display a command prompt, into which various commands can be typed into. The command to retrieve your PC's serial number is "bios get serialnumber."

3. Note down your PC's serial number when is provided and keep it in a safe place.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have already installed WMIC, you can simply type "wmic bios get serialnumber" into the "Run" box.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to find computer serial number
• Microsoft TechNet: WMIC