How To Disable Windows Activation In Xp
I must state from the beginning that this article is not about cracking activation engine because we don't want to break our Windows EULA, do we? This article tries to show you ways to bypass Windows XP product activation for those emergency situations.
I will explain in details below.Let's suppose that you have a licensed copy of an Windows XP but lately you have installed-activated/uninstalled it for several times. At some point the Microsoft Activation Server just get bored and says 'OK, if you want me to activate your license then please pick up the phone and call me!' .What if you get bored (or you are just lazy) to call Microsoft and to justify yourself and to ask them 'Please, can you activate the copy that I bought legally? Yes, I have an invoice, in fact I have 10 invoices because it happens that I bought more copies than I'm using right now. No, I'm not a software theft, I cross my heart and hope to die!'
Well, in that situation (let me make myself clear: when you both have the legal right to use that piece of software and you don't break the EULA) you could just try to exploit one of the Windows XP weaknesses. In fact you could try to exploit more than one, I'm sure about that (someone might think that I did it in the past; maybe they're right).You could find yourself in one of the following situations:. the 30 days has expired so you cannot access the Desktop anymore. you are within those 30 days time limit but you want to get rid of this issueYour 30 days has expiredSo you've got a message like the one below.
Let's activate Windows - click WinKey+uBy pressing simultaneous ' key' and 'u' (WinKey+u) you will open a window called 'Microsoft narrator' where you can click on some hyperlink called 'Microsoft web site' which in turn will open your default web browser (hopefully IE otherwise it works but with one more step; we get to this soon).Note: if by pressing +u it opens another window named 'Narrator' then, in order to get the 'Microsoft narrator' window, you have to right-click that window's title-bar and to choose 'About narrator' pop-up menu.So the ' narrator' window should look like this. Click the 'Microsoft Web site' linkAt this point the idea is to get the IE browser opened because the browser has 'an issue' that we are going to exploit it. In case that your default browser is /Chrome/Opera/etc we should do some extra steps in order to open your IE browser because finally the IE is the one we are going to hack.
If your browser is just IE then skip the steps below and go to the 'IE browser opened'. Non-IE browser opened. enter 'C:' in your browser address bar; your browser should show the content of C: directory. navigate to the C:WindowsSystem32 directory then click 'taskmgr.exe' to download it; after it have downloaded just run that application (taskmgr.exe). on choose File-Run then enter 'iexplore.exe' and hit OK; that will open your IE browser; finally you can use it (see below)IE browser openedIn the address bar enter 'C:' then hit OK.
If you are not using IE8 then that command should exploit a weakness of IE7 (or earlier) which in turn will 'crash the Windows' in that way that it will load the Desktop, the task bar, everything.Note: for some reasons keeps locking itself every 30-60 seconds so you won't be able to see the Desktop nor the task bar. If that is happening just repeat the step mentioned at the paragraph above (enter 'C:' in IE browser URL bar). Hacking is not always an easy job, isn't it?So, you have gained a time frame for 30-60 seconds of fully functional system, period when, hopefully, you will be able to launch whatever program you want even if 30-60 seconds later the Windows will lock it again (your application is already up an running so you are happy; Windows has closed its Desktop, he think it's clever, it's happy too; everybody is happy now, right?).:. I've seen that if you keep that ' window opened, then the Windows Desktop doesn't lock automatically after those 30-60s. So for example I have had the IE opened and it has remained opened for an undefined period of time, but when I closed (chose OK button) the 'Window Product Activation' window then the Windows automatically logged me off so I had to begin the whole process from the beginning. I think it's good to know this 'tips' upfront.
If you start your in 'Safe mode' then the Windows Product Activation does not appear any more (regarding the safe-mode). Some interesting info ( before check ).This trick just helps you to use your Windows copy in these emergency situations; I would not recommend anyone working like this on the daily basis because it could just prove to be a nightmare. You are within those 30 days time limitIn this situation you are reminded (frequently enough) that you have only 30 (or less) days left for activation.
The trick to bypass Windows XP product activation is the simplest and the most effective one. Activation reminder - 30 days left. open (Start-Run then enter regedit and push OK button). open the registry key at the location HKEYLOCALMACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWPAEvents. edit the OOBETimer key value and set its value to 'ff d5 71 d6 8b 6a 8d 6f d5 33 93 fd'.
right-click on the same key WPAEvents and select 'Permissions'. select SYSTEM group/user and check all DENY options (we won't allow XP to mess with us anymore, in fact we deny it firmly:o). click Advanced button then uncheck 'Inherit from parent the permission.' , press OK, when prompted at next step just answer with 'Copy'. in 'Permission entries' select the SYSTEM then choose 'Edit.' ; check all the 'Deny' permissions the OK+ApplyIt should not ask you anymore for software activation.
In fact you could run Start-All Programs - Activate Windows and you should get an response message like 'Windows is already activated'. If not working then just try again, maybe you have missed something on the way.If you are interested on /7 license activation you could read also.!
WARNING !I would not recommend to anyone to try this procedure in order to gain the access to use an unlicensed copy of. In fact, when dealing with licensed software (like Windows), I would strongly recommend you to contact your software provider to ask it if you are allowed to do something like that or not. I wrote this article only for myself for research/educational purposes so that in case of emergency to be able to rescue my licensed system. When I have refereed the pronoun 'you' or 'we' I meant 'I'.Now, if you think that this article was interesting don't forget to rate it. It shows me that you care and thus I will continue write about these things. JI bought a second hand Windows XP to dual boot on my mac computer.
I would love to buy a brand new copy but of course it is far too old.It installed and worked fine. The product key worked during installation. However it won't let me activate it and now it says I need to activate it in 2 days to keep using it. This is despite having followed your methods above.
All I can think is I accidentally left the computer connected to the internet and it did an auto update or something. It is really frustrating that I payed for a copy of windows xp and now it has stopped working and I lost all my installed programs. I can't get windows 7 or 8 as the programs I want to run won't work and I don't even know if windows 7 or 8 would work well on my mac.Any help would be much appreciated. AnaHi Eugen. Thank you for the information. I tried your method before the 30 days were up. The only thing that was unclear was the part with 'edit the OOBETimer key value and set its value to 'ff d5 71 d6 8b 6a 8d 6f d5 33 93 fd'The existing value had 2 lines with 0000 in front.
I deleted everything and I was left with a line of 0000. While imputing the new value, it started generated numbers that I could not delete.I inputed the value you mentioned and clicked saved. And continued to the next steps, without a problemAfter restart, the windows activation message prompted me again to activated.What do I do now? Wait for the 30 days to be over and see if it works? I see you confirmed this in a message above, but can I do something to verify that it won't block access to my windows in 2 days when activation period expires?Thank you!Ana. Post authorThat screen is divided in three columns:- the 1st is read-only and is automatically calculated by Windows- the 2nd is where you can input values in format- the 3rd is the ASCII representation of those hexadecimal values (it may be manually edited although not recommended)So just ignore the columns in the left and just enter the correct values into the 2nd column, as described above.
I hope that you also have set the permission to that registry key (namely WPAEvents) as described in the article, otherwise XP will still prompt you with that alert message. By setting the permissions as described in the article we don't allow Windows to control/alter that key anymore so it will be unable to protect itself.
Why do you bother using Windows anyway? Linux is free and believe me, it's faster, need fewer resources, and all the software you need it's usually also free.
If you are novice then start with Ubuntu Linux. It's a 'next-next.-finish' installation, it auto-updates automatically (just like Windows) and ships with many applications by default (although you will be able later to install tons of whatever apps you need).
SethHi Eugen - I used your procedure with 28 days left on a fresh re-install of my totally legal XP-Pro-SP3 32-bit OS as a brute-force solution to frequent blue-screens. Microsoft is not activating XP at all these days, though I was able to accomplish it online just a couple of months ago. I use XP on this old-but-good PC as a simple server for my old-but-good printer and scanner, and as a music server (juke box 🙂 to my old-but-good vintage stereo system. As for me, I'm just old! I use Win 7 - 10 64bit on a newer machine for everything else, and Office Pro etc., so Microsoft is still getting its pound of flesh from me. Back to activation and not being adept at working with the registry, I ran into the same issues/questions as 'Ana' above.
Your explanation to her ultimately clarified my own procedure, although your terms like 'That screen is divided into 3 columns.' Left me uncertain as to what screen and how to access it. It would have been helpful to lead me by the hand to right-click on 'OOBETimer' and so on. Respecting the power of the registry, I took my time and slowly proceeded to follow what I inferred to be your intent. However, there were various differences in the details all along the way. For instance, at WPAEvents - Permissions - Advanced, TWO 'SYSTEM ' lines appeared, the original one as well as a new one I just apparently created by the access denials. I grabbed myself by the hoo-hoos and deleted the original, pre-denial line.
Windows Xp Activation Bypass
Somewhat to my surprise and definitely to my satisfaction, it works so far, in reporting that it is activated. I'll see what happens in 28 days to seal the deal. Now I can use this old PC as preferred, again. I did take note of your enthusiasm for Linux.
I've intended to learn about it since I'm a blank slate now. My really, really old-but-good PC would be a great test bed for this well-regarded free alternative OS, and I think I'll go for it.
Thanks very much for your contributions to the horde of IT-challenged enthusiasts like moi! You rock!Seth.
Derrick RichardsHi, been trying to log on for 3 days, get activation screen, click yes, brings up another screen, click yes again, says I am already activated. So, I spent the last 3 days trying to fix this problem and nothing worked. So, I called up a buddy at Microsoft finally yesterday, and he told me Microsoft is well aware of this snag and has been for a decade. There is no way to get around it, he said, and TBH, the above op's post didn't work at all. I think why a few people got away with it is because they were accessing the registry stuff etc for the first time. Once you have tried to get around it, there is a builtin blockage, from what I have been told, and final note, Microsoft doesn't work with XP anymore, so that is their escape policy, my 4 cents, DR.
Iand MeThanks EugenI've reinstalled XP Pro and tonight applied the regedit method: key icon now gone. Crossing fingers! ☺Here's a weird one back at ya. Previous installation was done over win 98 and I never had a problem. This install has led to frequent Bad Memory Pool BSOD. What stops that from happening is to have the XP (OEM) install disk in CD drive. Could it be the lack of floppy as in your article I recently glanced at?
I was able to install several times without a floppy—trying various methods for overcoming BMP BSOD.Time for me to run through a few reboots and see if the key icon reappears.BTW folks. You'll find product key (of OEM faik) if you look at bottom of XPOEMCDi386data6.cabunattend.txt. Post authorI have used Windows for decades (literally). Started with Windows 3.x (probably the most people don't know what it is) then '95.
As far as I know BSOD was always related to hardware-software conflicts (what you call Bad Memory I would call bad memory driver or just bad kernel, thus BSOD). Probably with older version of Windows using a non genuine license key (like those randomly generated but still valid as keys) it triggers an software exception that is unintentionally handled,which for you as end user will look like BSOD. The lack of floppy should never trigger such error. It will only be a pain in the ass if you have to install the Windows on a SCSI/RAID system (which means you have to have floppy drive; if you don't then you can't install, unless you were lucky enough to ).The BSOD problem it's mostly generated by two things: bad drivers OR bad hardware OR Windows just found out that somehow you managed to hack it and it generates a software exception. When the cause of BSOD is the latest then I suggest you reinstall the Windows (just take it easy, follow each step as described, don't hurry because the order of steps matter). Why are you still using Windows XP anyway?
Nowadays you can much user-friendly and of course, free (no licensing whatsoever). Iand MeI also have used used MS Windows OS for decades. On my shelf of old software I see Win 3.0 along with multiple boxes of other DOS software. I began learning programming when Gates and crew were also still in school. I didn't stay in the art except as a hobbyist. On the more recent OS shelf I see Win 95, 98, 98SE, W2K pro, XP Pro and Win 7 - all in official MS packages: CD, manual, etc. And here are 3 versions of the Posix based Linux and beside these sits two versions of early BeOS.
Here's VB and C from MS—ALL LEGITIMATE! How many times have you enjoyed COMDEX?Put your paranoia back in your pocket. I had gone through multiple cycles of install and was still going against the problem. Now that problem is solved, XP activated, No CD required. Next steps kept to myself.Did you not not notice the sideways shot I made in my side topic comment?All I really wanted was a way to temporarily shoot down the annoying nag. Back to reading one of my hundreds of books, not the Linux command manual next to SQL manual and a pile of other software manuals—you do know that an OS is software right? Loop de loop.
TylerThanks for the tutorial. I have been trying to run a copy of windows XP on a Virtual Machine for a little while, and no matter what I tried it wasn't recognizing my product key, and I couldn't get it to activate at all.
I followed your tutorial, and it seems to have worked with one minor glitch. Whenever I log on to the virtual Machine, it still brings me to the activation screen, but the first screen that pops up says 'This copy of Windows is already active, Click OK to exit', so I click OK, and it promptly logs me off. Any suggestions?. SmokeThanks for this. As you can tell, XP is sooo not supported anymore, but I keep it for the Elder Scrolls series, Dawn of War series, Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, you get the picture. (I also still have a DOS computer and a 98se beta computer. 😉 ) I knew there was a regedit activation process, but forgot what key to mod.
How To Disable Windows Activation In Xp Windows 10
I have looked everywhere, and I have finally found it again. Needless to say, not only am I saving this this time, but I am also printing out several copies for my files, to hang on the wall, and I'll laminate one and use it for a mouse pad. Thanks again. KenThanks from me as well, just trying to keep just one of a number of computers in the house and office running, this one is my old business machine that I am just using for some storage and access to my old accounting software.
I get bothered by Microsoft and their on going protection of this old software. This issue just appeared one day, I have not changed anything of note in the last year or so, but this just cropped up one day. I have licenses on every copy on all my machines, including two new ones, After spending over and over, it's painful losing valuable time fixing these issues.Hopefully this problem is permanently sorted nowCheers. Gogu Motociclistustart narrator (windowskey - U)select the link where it says 'microsoft web page'it will start internet explorer - write the address 'c:windowsexplorer.exe'click on start - run - regeditremove everything related to oobe and wpaevents, all keysrestart windows, boot with hirens boot cd to access drive Cgo to c:windowssystem32oobe, replace msoobe.exe with c:windowsexplorer.exerestart windows xpsometimes it will prompt you for 30 days activation. When click on the prompt, an error message will say there's no such /a path.This works if you make significant hardware changes (a new motherboard) on the same windows xp system.voila, no more trial activation.
Phil PI recently installed an old, entirely legal copy of Windows XP in a virtual machine, and it refused to activate via the internet, so I tried the registry hack described above. As others here have said, it only prevents the activation prompt at start-up without actually activating Windows.
After 30 days, it still stopped working. I used telephone activation in the end, which wasn't as painful as I expected it to be.Out of curiosity, I thought I'd test the hack more thoroughly. My Windows installation disc is a Service Pack 1 version, so I decided to make multiple installations (5 of them): XP SP1 with no updates, XP SP2, XP SP3, and XP SP3 with all automatic Windows Updates (the ones that happen in the background when you enable automatic updates), and finally XP SP3 with every possible update, including optional ones: notably Windows Genuine Advantage.I applied the hack to each of these installations (making absolutely sure I followed each step), and left them unused for 30 days. They.all. stopped working after that 30 day period.If this hack ever worked (which I doubt), it must have been patched in Service Pack 1.
Phil PYou said in a reply above (Sep 15, 2015) that you tried this a long time ago and don't remember all the details, but can you remember whether your version of XP was earlier than the Service Pack 1 release? Did it definitely continue to work for you after 30 days?