How to Backup and Restore WinRAR License Key

WinRAR is one of the most powerful archiving utility available for the Windows computers. The software comes in the form of shareware which means that you can use WinRAR for as long as you want albeit it will show a nag window every time you use it. Like me, if you like the software very much and want to get rid of the nag then you can pay for the WinRAR software and register it using the registration key they send you. You may want to backup this registration key for later use as WinRAR registration works across various version upgrades in the future. For example, if you paid for the WinRAR 4.0 then the license key will work for the version 5.0 too.

In order to backup/restore the license key for WinRAR, you can follow these steps-

  1. Open the WinRAR installation folder. Usually it is C:\Program Files\WinRAR, but it could be different for you. One way to find the installation folder is by right-clicking on the WinRAR shortcuts and selecting Properties from the context-menu. In the Properties window, you can see the Target full path name to find the folder where WinRAR is installed.WinRAR Backup License
  2. In the WinRAR installation folder, locate the file named rarreg.key and copy it somewhere safe to create a backup of the license key. This file contains all the registration data and backing it up is the only thing you have to do.WinRAR Backup License
  3. Later on when you have to restore the license, you can just copy this rarreg.key file to the WinRAR installation folder. And if you have to install a fresh copy of the WinRAR in your PC, you can copy the rarreg.key file from the backup in the same folder as the WinRAR setup file – now if you launch the setup installer, WinRAR will automatically use the rarreg.key and install the license in the appropriate folders.WinRAR Backup License

Conclusion: If you have paid for the WinRAR archiver, then it makes sense to keep a backup copy of the license file for future use and it is very easy to backup or restore the license key for WinRAR.

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