Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
I activated Windows XP on an old machine one week ago. After two days of trying to figure out why almost everything Internet-related was not working (browsing, windows update, activation), it turns out the date was wrong and set to 2004.
With a Windows XP SP3 Home or Professional disc, you can press Next when asked for the Product Key. After the install has finished, you will be prompted for the product key when you activate Windows. Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.
Magic Jelly Bean Keyfinder works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 family of products. and while you're at it, backup your XP activation files, AFAIK the latest WinKeyFinder features this option, if not, here'a a tutorial.
The trick is to first remove the current Product Key with slmgr /upk, then the OEM key can be entered and activation works flawlessly. This idea comes from Clean install Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 from OEM key , which also describes how to get the OEM key using RW Everything (including video tutorial!).
As noted above: Windows XP mode is a feature of Windows 7. It is essential an XP VM, designed to be run by Microsoft Virtual PC. VMWare enters into the picture with their support to load this XP VM into VMWare workstation/player, etc. The line xpmode.enabled = TRUE is from the .vmx configuration file that defines a VMWare VM.
The kid's computer is infested with viruses, and I want to wipe it clean and reinstall XP. I can't find the XP CD and box with the key sticker anymore. I have an installation CD from MSDN but for correctness reasons would like to use the original personal license. Is there a way to find out the activation key for the currently installed instance?
Then used a key finder tool to pull the key off the live machine. I go through the whole phone dial in process, give it the system ID, and either: They give me back an id that is not accepted by the activation screen or; They do not give me a key, saying my product id cannot be found; I can boot from the XP CD to the recovery console, if that ...
It allows you to print or save your keys for safekeeping. It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 family of products. It also has a community-updated configuration file that retrieves product keys for many other applications.
Moving the windows install disk to another motherboard will invalidate this install and key recovery won't work. If the motherboard is still HP or Dell, your best bet is to call them and ask for reinstallation media, which is usually a fraction of the cost of a new Windows disk.
Here's a blurb on changing hardware and activation, from Microsoft's site under "Myths About Activation": Product Activation keeps users from changing or upgrading their hardware. Not true at all. Users can change or upgrade their hardware. One of the forms of piracy that Product Activation guards against is hard disk imaging.