Skip to main content

PKeyConfig

Overview​

  • PKeyConfig files contain product key ranges and other data necessary for product key validation.
  • They are designed to be used alongside the pidgenx.dll library.
  • Microsoft introduced this method starting with Windows Vista build 5048 (originally named pkeyconfig.xml and later renamed to pkeyconfig.xrm-ms in build 5259).
  • Prior to this, key ranges and BINK data were hardcoded into binary files such as pidgen.dll and MSO.DLL, which made them difficult to maintain and update.

Location​

Depending on the Microsoft product, pkeyconfig.xrm-ms files can be found in different locations on your system:

  • Windows Vista:
    C:\Windows\System32\licensing\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms

  • Windows 7 and later:
    C:\Windows\System32\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms

  • Microsoft Office 2013 C2R (64-bit):
    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office15\pkeyconfig-office.xrm-ms

  • Microsoft Office 2016 and later C2R (64-bit):
    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\pkeyconfig-office.xrm-ms

  • Microsoft Office 2010 MSI (64-bit):
    C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE14\Office Setup Controller\pkeyconfig-office.xrm-ms

  • Microsoft Office 2013 MSI (64-bit):
    C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE15\Office Setup Controller\pkeyconfig-office.xrm-ms

  • Microsoft Office 2016 MSI (64-bit):
    C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE16\Office Setup Controller\pkeyconfig-office.xrm-ms

File Structure​

A pkeyconfig.xrm-ms file is essentially an XML file that contains a digital signature and encoded configuration data.

The core data is stored within an infoBin XML node named pkeyConfigData. The content inside this node is a Base64-encoded string. To read the actual key configuration data, you need to extract this Base64 string and decode it into text.

Once decoded, the resulting string is another valid XML structure containing the following vital nodes:

  • Configuration: Defines details such as ActConfigId, ProductDescription, EditionId, and ProductKeyType.
  • PublicKey: Contains cryptography details like GroupId and AlgorithmId.
  • KeyRange: Outlines the valid key ranges, including Start and End sequence limits, PartNumber, and EulaType.

Extract pkeyConfigData​

Here is a quick PowerShell code example demonstrating how to read and decode a pkeyconfig file:

# Path to your pkeyconfig file
$filePath = "C:\Windows\System32\spp\tokens\pkeyconfig\pkeyconfig.xrm-ms"

# Read the file as XML
[xml]$xrm = Get-Content -Path $filePath -Raw

# Locate the node containing the base64 encoded data
$binNode = $xrm.SelectSingleNode("//*[local-name()='infoBin' and @name='pkeyConfigData']")

# Decode the Base64 string to an XML string
$bytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($binNode.InnerText.Trim())
$xmlStr = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($bytes)

# Parse the decoded string as an XML object
[xml]$pkeyConfigXml = $xmlStr

# Now you can explore the configuration data!
# For example, let's output the first Configuration node:
$pkeyConfigXml.SelectNodes("//*[local-name()='Configuration']") | Select-Object -First 1

PKeyConfig Reader​

To make it easy to read and extract information from these files, PKeyMaster includes a PKeyConfig Reader option.

Using the reader, you can select a single pkeyconfig file or an entire folder of them. The tool parses the files and exports all the internal configuration and key-range data into structured CSV files for easy viewing.

The exported CSV files are automatically saved to your desktop under the Desktop\PKeyMaster-Logs\PKeyConfigs\<timestamp>\ directory.

PKeyConfigs Collection​

PKeyMaster also includes a comprehensive collection of pkeyconfig files for various Microsoft products (Windows, Office, Visual Studio, SQL Server, etc.).

  • PKeyMaster\BIN\PKeyConfigs folder contains pkeyconfig files, and these files are taken from the original installation media of the corresponding Microsoft products.
  • The only exception is the file Pre-Vista Custom Made\Pre-Vista (Windows 98 to XP - Office 2000 to 2007 - etc)\pkeyconfig-custom-made.xrm-ms which is custom made.

Feedback / Troubleshooting​