# Where does Windows XP Store WiFi Passwords? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778 "2017-06-12T15:48:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/1 "2017-06-12T15:48:13Z")
I’m at a vacation resort I’ve been to in the past, along with my girlfriend. The guest network is abysmally slow and ~3 years ago on our first visit, the maintenance tech who came by took pity on us and signed us both in to the staff network. My companion’s laptop is an XP machine; I’m on a different laptop than the one I had back then and I don’t have the staff network’s password stored so I’m stuck for the time being with the guest network. She, on the other hand, is logged in to the staff network automatically because XP still has that password memorized. Eventually, maintenance is supposed to drop by and help me out, but if I knew where to look on her XP box, could I perhaps read the password in plain text and therefore know what to enter on my own machine? On a Mac it would be the “Keychain”. Does XP have an equivalent password-storage utility program or other human-readable mechanism? If so, where does it hide and how do I use it? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/2 "2017-06-12T16:01:14Z")
IIRC Windows XP didn’t have native/built-in WiFi support, so it’s likely to be handled by the WiFi chipset manufacturer’s driver and/or support application. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/3 "2017-06-12T16:07:24Z")
Did you try [this?](https://kb.netgear.com/20046/How-do-I-check-the-wireless-passphrase-network-key-saved-on-my-computer) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/4 "2017-06-12T16:10:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Click the “Start” button on the lower left-hand corner of the computer screen. This will open the Start menu. > Click on the “Run” option. The Run command window will appear. > Type “regedit” into the Run command window. > Click the “OK” button. This will launch Windows XP’s Registry Editor. > Expand the “HKEY\_CURRENT\_USER” registry listing. > Scroll down and click on the “Software” entry. The “Software” entry will expand. > Scroll down and locate the “Microsoft” label. > Scroll through the Microsoft label to locate the “WZCSVC” label. > Expand the “WZCSVC” label. > Find and expand the “Parameters” label. > Click on the “Interfaces” label. > Find the WEP/WPA key within the “Interfaces” registry. > Write down the WEP/WPA key and keep it recorded in a secure place for future use. Like this? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/5 "2017-06-12T17:23:31Z")
The WPA key (that’s what the dialog is asking for on my own computer, a WPA-2 key) appears to be represented as a 32-character alphanumeric string enclosed in curly brackets and into which dashes are interspersed. I tried entering that same string as 2 chars (no dashes) and then when that didn’t work as displayed on XP, with the dashes (haven’t tried including the curly braces). No joy yet. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/6 "2017-06-12T17:33:57Z")
… as **32** chars, not as 2 chars. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/7 "2017-06-12T22:17:17Z")
That’s the encrypted password. I have used WirelessKeyView to decrypt these and access a network. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/8 "2017-06-12T22:22:06Z")
If you have a flash drive handy… [How to Save Wireless Internet Settings to USB](http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/save-wireless-internet-settings-usb/) ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/9 "2017-06-12T23:29:23Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > If you have a flash drive handy… > > [How to Save Wireless Internet Settings to USB](http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/save-wireless-internet-settings-usb/) Thats windows 7 though, not XP. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/10 "2017-06-12T23:33:44Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > That’s the encrypted password. I have used WirelessKeyView to decrypt these and access a network. I’m apparently too stupid to use WirelessKeyView. I have the 32-character string. I don’t see WTF to paste it or type it in in order to click some kind of non-obvious button or invoke some non-obvious menu item that would provide me with the characters I’m supposed to input as the password to join the ^@!#@!! network. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/11 "2017-06-12T23:36:42Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’m apparently too stupid to use WirelessKeyView. > > I have the 32-character string. I don’t see WTF to paste it or type it in in order to click some kind of non-obvious button or invoke some non-obvious menu item that would provide me with the characters I’m supposed to input as the password to join the ^@!#@!! network. In WirelessKeyView, copy the hex, not the ascii ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/12 "2017-06-12T23:39:38Z")
Never mind… oddly, it was preserved in the MacOS Keychain even though (for unknown reasons) it was not auto-entering it. ETA: thanks everyone!! I appreciate your willingness to help! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-windows-xp-store-wifi-passwords/788778/13 "2017-06-13T00:14:40Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Thats windows 7 though, not XP. ☹ Glad you got it working! But for anyone coming in later, this also works for XP.