I must state from the beginning that this article is not about cracking Windows 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!'.
I threw out a Windows XP machine a while ago (the motherboard failed). I kept the hard drive and the XP installation media. Problem is the license key was on a sticker on the machine - doh! The original manufacturer has gone bust (Evesham) and I suspect that Microsoft will be of little help. Serial key for Windows XP Professional sp3 can be found and viewed here. We have the largest serial numbers data base. If you have your own working serial number for Windows XP Professional sp3 and you want to share it with public, press 'Share my serial' button below. A workaround to XP installs when the product key is missing by John Sheesley in Microsoft on May 19, 2003, 12:00 AM PST How the simple hacker tool ViewKeyXP can identify a product key. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 Final Key:VHGJJ-6WK8X-JT2DH-BK6JV-PVFQ4 9775. Microsoft Windows XP Slipstream Sp1 Corporate SN:3KFB7 X2Q3M 6MWFX W2Y7V C7M9D 9758. Microsoft Windows XP Corporate Ed. SP1 (c) Microsoft SN:3KFB7 X2Q3M 6MWFX W2Y7V C7M9D 9752.
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:
Free Windows Xp Product Key
- 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 issue ASAP
Your 30 days has expired
So you've got a message like the one below:
Windows Product Activation - before log in
You could also get a message like the one below, I meet that situation several times in the past, unfortunately I haven't tested to see if the trick works also for this particular situation, I guess/hope it does:
Anyway, so you either have exceeded those 30 days after the period when you have been supposed to activate your copy of Windows or, lately, you have changed the hardware such that the Windows has started to annoy you with the Windows Product Activation dialogue.
No matter in which situation you are just press the Yes button, like you are willing to activate your copy of Windows. A new window like the one below will be shown:
Let's activate Windows - click WinKey+u
By pressing simultaneous 'Windows 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 WinKey+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 'Microsoft narrator' window should look like this:
Microsoft Narrator - click the 'Microsoft Web site' link
At 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 Firefox/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 URL 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 Task Manager 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 opened
In the URL 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 Windows 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 Windows 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?).
Notes:
- I've seen that if you keep that 'Windows Product Activation' 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 Windows in 'Safe mode' then the Windows Product Activation does not appear any more (regarding the safe-mode).
- Some interesting info here (before check this website alert).
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 limit
In 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.
- open Registry Editor (Start->Run then enter regedit and push OK button)
- open the registry key at the location HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows 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+Apply
It 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 Windows Vista/7 license activation you could read also an article I wrote about this.
[!] WARNING [!]
I would not recommend to anyone to try this procedure in order to gain the access to use an unlicensed copy of Windows. 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.
The following two tabs change content below.Eugen Mihailescu
Founder/programmer/one-man-show at Cubique Software
Always looking to learn more about *nix world, about the fundamental concepts of math, physics, electronics. I am also passionate about programming, database and systems administration. 16+ yrs experience in software development, designing enterprise systems, IT support and troubleshooting.
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Changing the product key that you used to install Windows with might be necessary if you find out that your current product key is... well, illegal, and you've purchased a new copy of Windows to solve the problem.
While it's probably less common these days, many people still use product key generators or other illegal tools to get product keys that work to install Windows only to find out later, when they try to activate Windows, that their original plan isn't going to work out.
You could completely reinstall Windows using your new, valid key code, but changing the product key without reinstalling is considerably easier. You can change the product key manually by making certain registry changes or by using a wizard available in Control Panel.
The steps involved in changing your product key differ considerably depending on which Windows operating system you're using. See our article What Version of Windows Do I Have? if you're not sure.
How to Change the Product Key in Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista
Since some versions of Windows use slightly different names for some menus and windows pay close attention to the differences that are called out in those steps.
- Open Control Panel.
- In Windows 10 or Windows 8, the quickest way to do that is with the Power User Menu via the WIN+X keyboard shortcut.
- In Windows 7 or Windows Vista, go to Start and then Control Panel.
- Click or tap on the System and Security link (10/8/7) or System and Maintenance link (Vista).If you're viewing the Small icons or Large icons view (10/8/7) or Classic View (Vista) of Control Panel, you won't see this link. Simply open the System icon and proceed to Step 4.
- In the Windows activation area of the System window (10/8/7) or View basic information about your computer window (Vista), you'll see the status of your Windows activation and your Product ID number.The Product ID is not the same as your product key. To display your product key, see How to Find Microsoft Windows Product Keys.
- Next to the Product ID, you should see an Activate Windows (Windows 10) link or Change product key (8/7/Vista) link. Click or tap on this link to start the process of changing your Windows product key.If you're using Windows 10, an extra step is required here. In the Settings window that opens next, choose Change product key.
- In Windows 10 and Windows 8, enter the product key into the Enter a product key window.In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, the key should be entered into a screen called Windows Activation.If you're using Windows 10 or Windows 8, the key will be submitted once all the characters have been entered. In Windows 7 and Vista, press Next to continue.
- Wait on the Activating Windows... message until the progress bar is complete. Windows is communicating with Microsoft to make sure that your product key is valid and to reactivate Windows.
- The Activation was successful message will appear after your product key has been validated and Windows has been activated.
- That's all there is to it! Your Windows product key has been changed.
Tap or click Close to close this window. You can now also close any other windows you opened in the above steps.
How to Change the Windows XP Product Key
A completely different process is required to change the Windows XP product key code because you have to make changes to the Windows Registry. It's important to take great care in making only the changes described below!
It's highly recommended that you back up the registry keys you're changing in these steps as an extra precaution.
If you're uncomfortable making registry changes in order to change your Windows XP product key, using the popular free product key finder program called Winkeyfinder is another option. It's an excellent alternative solution to changing the Windows XP product key code manually.
Prefer screenshots? Try our Step by Step Guide to Changing the Windows XP Product Key for an easy walkthrough!
- Open Registry Editor via Start > Run. From there, type regedit and click OK.
- Locate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder under My Computer and click on the plus sign (+) next the folder name to expand the folder.
- Continue to expand folders until you reach the following registry key:
- In the results that appear in the window on the right, locate OOBETimer.
- Right-click on the OOBETimer entry and choose Modify from the resulting menu.
- Change at least one digit in the Value data text box and click OK. This will deactivate Windows XP.
- In the text box in the Run window, type the following command and click OK.
- When the Let's activate Windows window appears, choose Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows and then click Next.
- Click the Change Product Key button at the bottom of the window.Don't worry about filling anything out on this screen. It's not necessary.
- Type your new, valid Windows XP product key in the New key: text boxes and then click the Update button.
- Now reactivate Windows XP by following the instructions on the Activate Windows by phone window, which you should now be seeing, or via the internet by clicking the Back button and following the instructions on that screen.If you'd rather postpone activating Windows XP until a later date, you can click the Remind me later button.
- After activating Windows XP, you can verify that activation was successful by repeating steps 9 and 10 above.
The Windows Product Activation window that appears should say 'Windows is already activated. Click OK to exit.'
Buy Windows Xp License Key
Click OK and you're done!