How to deactivate XP license?
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Nettlebay -
Nettlebay -
Hello,
I bought a second-hand PC on which I installed an official XP with a license. Unfortunately, the PC has no sound and I need to return it for an exchange...
On my new PC, I will also need to install XP, but since it has already been activated on the first PC, I am likely to encounter problems...
Question:
Before returning the faulty PC, is it possible to officially deactivate the installed Windows XP so that I can reactivate it on another machine?
Maybe someone has already faced this issue? Thanks for any future help.
I bought a second-hand PC on which I installed an official XP with a license. Unfortunately, the PC has no sound and I need to return it for an exchange...
On my new PC, I will also need to install XP, but since it has already been activated on the first PC, I am likely to encounter problems...
Question:
Before returning the faulty PC, is it possible to officially deactivate the installed Windows XP so that I can reactivate it on another machine?
Maybe someone has already faced this issue? Thanks for any future help.
Configuration: Windows XP Internet Explorer 7.0
10 réponses
Hello,
It needs to be a retail version and not an OEM version. And just disabling the license is not enough; it needs to be uninstalled because the version contains its own specific code. Even if disabled, it can still go online, and even if not activated, there could be an issue with reactivation on the next computer.
So, if the CD was expensive, that's fine; if it cost something like 100€....it's trash....
It needs to be a retail version and not an OEM version. And just disabling the license is not enough; it needs to be uninstalled because the version contains its own specific code. Even if disabled, it can still go online, and even if not activated, there could be an issue with reactivation on the next computer.
So, if the CD was expensive, that's fine; if it cost something like 100€....it's trash....
I think it should work because, in any case, when I install my XP after my frequent formatting, I always reuse the same one and it goes perfectly. But hey, I'm just saying, I'm not insisting...
Each PC has its own identifier. When activating Windows, a file called "Wpa.dbl" located in C:/Windows/System32/... is created. This file, which is derived from a mix of an algorithm based on the PC's configuration and the original key, generates the activation code (the key has nothing to do with the activation).
By saving this "Wpa.dbl" file, one can reactivate Windows without having to go through the activation process again....but this is only on the same machine.
As soon as you change Windows to another PC, Windows, in order to activate, will send its activation code along with the new Wpa.dbl file to Microsoft, which will notice that while the activation code is legal, the Wpa.dbl file has already been registered with another activation code and will invalidate the copy and refuse activation.
QED!
It only works with a retail version. The OEM version is FOR ONE MACHINE ONLY!
That being said, at Microsoft, if you call them, they are not always as thick as that. My first copy of XP, I installed it on an old PC. Two weeks later I installed it on another one. I called an MS technician who asked me how many PCs it would be installed on. I guaranteed him only one, and since it was only two weeks later, he gave me a new activation code. But that was over the phone. Through the internet or via the phone's voicemail, forget it....
By saving this "Wpa.dbl" file, one can reactivate Windows without having to go through the activation process again....but this is only on the same machine.
As soon as you change Windows to another PC, Windows, in order to activate, will send its activation code along with the new Wpa.dbl file to Microsoft, which will notice that while the activation code is legal, the Wpa.dbl file has already been registered with another activation code and will invalidate the copy and refuse activation.
QED!
It only works with a retail version. The OEM version is FOR ONE MACHINE ONLY!
That being said, at Microsoft, if you call them, they are not always as thick as that. My first copy of XP, I installed it on an old PC. Two weeks later I installed it on another one. I called an MS technician who asked me how many PCs it would be installed on. I guaranteed him only one, and since it was only two weeks later, he gave me a new activation code. But that was over the phone. Through the internet or via the phone's voicemail, forget it....
July 2010
Hello,
I don’t know if this will be listened to since this post is from 2008...
But here it is, I bought an OEM XP Pro (on Pric.Min..) about 3-4 years ago and I installed it on a custom-built PC (is that how you say it?). The PC has died (motherboard in a tropical environment...) and it’s too old (the PC!) to bother with a repair.
I reinstalled my OEM XP Pro without any issues on my Eeebox and in a slimmed down Nlite version. A real dynamo! (14 seconds at startup!) No issues with activation with Microsoft...
Hello,
I don’t know if this will be listened to since this post is from 2008...
But here it is, I bought an OEM XP Pro (on Pric.Min..) about 3-4 years ago and I installed it on a custom-built PC (is that how you say it?). The PC has died (motherboard in a tropical environment...) and it’s too old (the PC!) to bother with a repair.
I reinstalled my OEM XP Pro without any issues on my Eeebox and in a slimmed down Nlite version. A real dynamo! (14 seconds at startup!) No issues with activation with Microsoft...
I might have another possibility: keep the hard drive and put it in the new machine? It will be totally identical, brand, model, but of course the serial number will be different.
I'm not sure if that will work either, or maybe with a bit of luck...
More than a year ago, I changed the hard drive in a machine by making a full copy. Upon reboot, Windows detected a new component, requested activation, and everything happened on its own. I was a bit scared... Now, if we keep the hard drive while changing the machine, I don't know if that will be alright.
I'm not sure if that will work either, or maybe with a bit of luck...
More than a year ago, I changed the hard drive in a machine by making a full copy. Upon reboot, Windows detected a new component, requested activation, and everything happened on its own. I was a bit scared... Now, if we keep the hard drive while changing the machine, I don't know if that will be alright.
I can't believe it, but I have to say there is a small chance... as long as it is EXACTLY the same material...
The mere act of replacing a motherboard on a computer with another of the same model can result in the loss of activation... so..... :-(
The mere act of replacing a motherboard on a computer with another of the same model can result in the loss of activation... so..... :-(
Hello,
I installed my XP on the new machine and oh surprise, the activation happened by itself, without any problems!
There might have been two installation permissions???
I installed my XP on the new machine and oh surprise, the activation happened by itself, without any problems!
There might have been two installation permissions???
As soon as Windows XP is installed on the same hard drive with the same username and company name, you can change your motherboard as well as all other components without any issues. The OEM license key for XP Home remains the same, and this also applies to license keys for programs like Kaspersky or Internet Download Manager.
So I'm stuck...