5 new PCs, 5 WinXP Pro (with SP1a) OEM copies.
I installed one copy on the first PC, activated the key, made an image of this WinXP.
I restored the image on the second PC, I have to change the key which belongs to the first PC to a new key.
I tried the registry editing solution ( change WPAEvents value in registry ...), but when i run MSOOBE.EXE, it always says "Windows is already activated, click ok to exit" and it wont show me the activate window at all.
So this turns out to how to change the key when it is already activated.
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.
Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
thank you guys.
I did some reseach and here is the results.
1. If WinXP has been activated, its product key can not be changed
2. Do the image BEFORE activating the key. Then deploy this image on other PCs, and you can always change the key in the activatation window. (do your reseach, this is easy)
If someone thinks i am wrong and can give me a solution without reimaging the system, i will give the points out.
thx
techcity,
These two URL's should help you with your quest:
http://home.planet.nl/~bra
http://home.planet.nl/~bra
Dew,
I read your links and tried all the utilities listed there.
Actually before i post this question, i tried all the similar solutions in your post. They work for XP Corporate Edition, but not for XP Pro Sp1a.
What i have found is XP Pro SP1a can not be deactivated if the key has been activated already.
thx for your time,
Hi,
I'm behind a firewall and I can't check what the two links that Dennis points to. But here's a site that can help you change the product key. I've used it and it worked.
http://www.subvers.com/tec
Don't worry about the version of XP or which type of license you have because I've used it or both types of product keys (corp or oem).
Even though MSOOBE.EXE tells you that Windows is already activated, you can still change the product key. It will still tell you that Windows is activated. It will not tell you to reactivate at all.
Your new product key will be attached to your machine so you don't have to worry about licensing problem.
The only way that I know of that you can run the activation process is by running sysprep.
So to make it short, this way will let you change the key but will not let you re-run the activation process.
Hope it helped...
Minh Nguyen
TO: Drew and "CleanupPing" and all the other people who contribute to my question
First of all, I really appreciate your comments on my question, I know it takes your time and a lot of thinking and researching. However, no one's answer(s) fixed the question.
Dew, i appreciate your links posted on "09/19/2003 07:12AM PDT", but just like what i replied after your post, i tried the similar solutions before i read your links and i also tried your links, neither works.
After a lot of researching and trying, i believe my conclusion posted on "09/19/2003 03:13AM PDT" is correct. Which means there is no way to change XP1a Professional's key after it is activated.
Thanks again.
And posting your e-mailadress to solve problems is also illegal here at EE => http:/help.jsp#hi99
techcity, as I said in my first comment, as long as you have valid licences for all of them, and everything is running fine, there's no need to change the product key.
LucF
TO: Senad
I really appreciate your kindness and your attitude willing to help others in any possible way. However, i have to follow the rules in this forum.
Thanks again and have a nice day
--------------------------
TO: LucF
I am a reseller, I always make everything valid and legal. I guess i have to explain what i was trying to do again.
Basically, my posted question is regarding WinXP SP1a deployment.
We have 5 PCs to build and we have to install XP Pro SP1a in all of them. Of course, the five copies have different product keys and they are valid licenses.
Imagine, if we load XP on the 5 PCs one by one, that's gonna take a lot of time. What about if we sell 100 PCs in the future? Do we have to load OS 100 times? Terrible!
Do we have a simple way to load OS on all the PCs very quickly?? Definitely!!
step 1:
We loaded XP on one PC first, and remember DO NOT ACTIVATE IT!!!
step 2:
we use "Drive Image" to make a image of this PC and save it on a CD
step 3:
use this image CD to restore the image on the rest of PCs
step 4:
change the product key on the rest of PCs (we all know how to do this already)
step 5:
activate all the 5 PCs
DONE!!
Unfortunately, my problem was i activated XP on the first PC stupidly in step 1.
So after i restored the image onto the rest of PCs, all the 4 PCs had a activated copy. And i could not change the keys. That was why i posted my question. And no one can fix it.
After keeping trying for a while, we found the solution and it is the step 1 ~ 5 which was summarized on above.
So i fixed my problem by myself.
Thanks again. And i posted my solution in here to share with you, and hopefully it is worth the time you spent on my question.
eecomputings
I am strongly opposed for a refund (and for similar future cases as this)...
Here is why:
When you do a "ghost" image of your drive and install it on another computer
you do exactly as suggested. 100% copy of the first PC!
(Including serial and everything else).
To do this,to my knowledge is against the law in the States.
Is only legal for backups.Not for new PC's.
To install another serial on this new cloned PC requires deactivation and new activation
of new serial.Hacker style but can be done.However illegal.(read eula).
His original question :
"how to change the key when it is already activated"
has been answered...first by Dew then by techcity.
His"self-answer" :
"change the product key on the rest of PCs (we all know how to do this already)"
is a piece of nonsense and is his original question.
Nowhere does he mention HOW!
So please give Dennis the points as those links were perfecttly OK:
Hello Experts,
here is my way to bring a new ProductKey into a cloned and still activated XPpro system.
0. Set IDEdriver to "standard dual PCI IDEcontroller" (this is basic to get it booting on all chipsets).
1. By connecting and booting the harddisk in an other, different PC, the "activation" is reactivated.
2. Select "activation by telephone" and on the next window You find a "CHANGE THE PRODUCT KEY" Button...
3. Repeat step 2 on the target-system. :O)
After MS-Hotlines let me know that there is no chance, and reading these threads, I found my way.
(I told it MS-Germany - lets see if they take it in their KB)
Keep in mind, that UNTIL these steps the mother-system is a "backup" without a license to run ;o)
best greetings
ingDS
GHOST BAD!
i work for a government agency and we routinely have to re-do groups of pc's, around 50 have to be IDENTICAL and pushed out very quickly. Using a straight GHOST image worked for a long time, but here is why i recommend AGAINST GHOST:
it does not change the SID!! ie, if you have a network (espically with WINS) you WILL come up with problems later. Our network is over 200+ subnets, easily over 100 servers and at least 2500 pc's....you would not believe how something simple such as the SID will f*** you over in the long run.
This can be allievated by using sysprep, but hmm why not use RIS?
for my ris machine i use a dell GX1 (350mhz, w/ 60gb hd, 256mb of ram)
HARDLY server worthy BUT it's on a cart with a monitor and gbit switch...each pc takes about 2 - 5 minutes, and i can do 4 - 8 pc's at a time without ANY user intervention...and guess what? built right into w2k. Our network is being migrated to AD right now, so my RIS machine is totally seperate and just clones them....but after they are ris'ed we rename and join to the domain. Done deal!
I had the same problem, and found the true solution for it.
The problem was described as:
1. Installing windows XP on computer A with computer A's product key
2. Activating windows XP on computer A
3. Ghosting an image off computer A
4. Loading the image to computer B
5. Now, we want to change computer B's product key.
The actual activation information is saved in a file called WPA.DBL (also backed up as WPA.BAK) residing in c:\windows\system32 (or wherever you installed windowsXP in computer A
you need to rename these two files (WPA.DBL -> WPA.DB_ and WPA.BAK -> WPA.BA_) and then reboot.
after the system loads, windows is deactivated. this simulates a big hardware change which requires reactivation.
Now you are free to use any reactivation utility and MSOOBE.exe to change the product key.
Hope this helps!
-BenBen
OK Well We just had a Simalar problem with imaging and SID's doing an XP rollout what you will find is that all the IMaged computers will be exactly the same Security wise and ID wise which is a huge problem in a secure network enviroment.
We Have Dell PC's and tried the microsoft sysprep and loading the OEM # after the reboot WONT TAKE! why cause its an OEM copy serial # and MS sysprep wont accept it its made to take only retail version serial #'s
SO! here is what we decided to do activate XP load all your programs set the security setting, user rights, eyc till the Host/First image/pc is completely setup the way you want.
there is a program out there called NewSID and it works great what it dose is removes all your old SID's with new random ones so that every computer on your network will actully be diffrent and not look as if it the same user/unit.
Things to have NOT set in the image are the actual Domain & Computer Name you want to use/have, leave this alone and unset or bogus and on workgroup till after you run the NewSID program on the final deploy.
so after your image loads
1. Run NewSID reboot
2. Add to Domain reboot
3. Change "Computer Name" reboot
I realize this is sort of off-topic, but I'd have to disagree regarding installing on each machine taking too much time. It's possible to make preinstall CD's that automate the entire process (right down to installing most software during the setup requiring little else expect cleanup and sysprep afterwards). My preinstall of Windows XP SP1 for work installs DX9, WMP9, .Net 1.1, Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, Adobe Reader, Tweak UI and Google Toolbar (would have installed AVG 6 FE as well, but free version won't preinstall). The entire process takes less than 20 minutes. And if I slipstreamed the hotfixes in, I wouldn't even need to do Windows Update afterwards. Just install AVG, set the background to our preinstalled one (oeminfo and oemlogo already copied over during setup), install any additional software like Nero or PowerDVD (since not all machines get them), run burn-in and sysprep it. Longest part would be burning in the machines before giving them to the customers. Not counting that, you're looking at 45 minutes top. Maybe still longer than ghosting each machine, but if there's any problems with the system you're more likely to detect it during an install of Windows than just by Ghosting it over.
I'm not sure if this issue has been resolved or not but I have an idea that may help this person.
I've recently been fighting Dell serial keys for XP Pro and a number of systems my ghost image is being applied to. After ghosting the systems with my standard image, the computers wanted to reregister with MS and each time it would say the XP Key was invalid. My initial thoughts were "If its invalid, why the heck does Dell put it on the side of the case?"
The answer took at bit of digging but aparently it works great. Because this is an OEM key taken directly from the side of the computer case, it does not need to be registered with Microsoft.
Microsofts website states that if you are using an OEM installation, the key you are using has been preactivated with MS therefore there is no need for you to do it. Here is the site - http://www.microsoft.com/t
Basically, what you need to do is setup the system any way you want to. When you run sysprep's setup manager, it will ask you for a CD key. If you are using an OEM setup like Dell, use MVF4D-W774K-MC4VM-QY6XY- R38TB for Windows XP Pro. This will save it in your sysprep.inf file and will be applied during future setups.
When you run sysprep.exe, you will need to use the mini setup wizard option and do not check the box for reset activation grace period. Since I've done this, I have ghosted a few systems to test it and it works perfectly. I join the systems to the domain and no longer am I asked to register Windows with Microsoft.
GL and I hope this helps you guys.
What do you see this doing to the already installed base of systems using that key? They updated that site I posted in April of this year so certainly they wouldn't yank that from under us after recommending that we do it that way in the first place. Right?
Thanks for the reply. It is a good thought and something to consider.
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: LucFPosted on 2003-09-19 at 01:30:57ID: 9391934
If MSOOBE.exe sais that you don't have to reactivate the other computers with an activation key as long as you've got the licences to use it on multiple computers.
LucF