Transfer Windows Activation Info and Skip The Activation Process
Sunday August 29, 2004
Before you start thinking that maybe you can use this little tidbit to give copies of Windows XP to all of your friends, it will only work as long as all of the hardware is the same. But, if you just want (or need) to reformat your hard drive and reinstall your operating system to get a clean start- maybe after a virus infection or just because your computer is acting up- this Quick Tip will show you how to save your existing activation status so that you don't have to reactivate the product with Microsoft once you reinstall it. Transferring Windows XP Activation Information
Comments
This trick does not work I tried 100 times but no luck, even though I have licenced WinXP I did as it said and still have to activate the Windows If anybody nows what the propble plese let me know.
Same here!
I have tried it also, it realy doesnt work, i think you better use norton ghost instead.
This does not work.
Can anyone provide more detail and/or screen shots? This tip has worked and helped readers for years, but it is an old tip. It is entirely possible that some later update from Microsoft changed some files or that they actually modified things so this workaround will no longer work. I can’t actually determine what the issue is though without more specifics about what doesn’t work or what problems are being encountered.
Apparently nobody ever got back to you about what doesn’t work. Now 4 years later it still does not work.
I followed each step very carefully. First I tried it within a VM using an activated version of XP Pro as source for the wpa files and put them into a new VM installation on the same machine and the “30 days to activate” message still popped up.
I then tried it on a normal hard drive installation. When I booted to SAFE mode neither of the files existed in the Windows folder (I expected to find at least the wpa.dbl file). I copied the files over anyway and it did not work. The “30 days” ballon popped up anyway.
I then went to a dual boot of the same XP Pro on the same computer but on a different hard drive and the required files did not exist.
I suspect that many were trying to do this either for a dual boot or to put it on a different drive or partition.
I will go throught the call-in process of activating again (I have installed XP too many times) and use an Acronis True Image to back it back, so the question may be moot. I would still like to know why it did not work though.
Once I have an image of the installation I will try it again just for kicks and make sure I am using the same drive/same partition for the new install as was used for the old install. Let me know if you are interested in the results.
Don
I would be interested in any results you found or if anyone else has had other experiences.