IF00185
Reinstall XP Without Going Through The Product
Activation Process (again).
If you need to format your hard drive and reinstall XP, but you don't want to go
through the product activation process again, this simple procedure can save the
day. The process involves saving the activation status info and then restoring
it after you reinstall the operating system. Here's how:
1. Before reformatting, go to My Computer, double-click the drive letter on
which you installed XP, and then navigate to the WINDOWS\System32\ directory.
2. If necessary, click on the Show The Contents Of This Folder link.
3. Copy the following files to a floppy diskette, USB drive, CD/DVD, or network
location: wpa.dbl and wpa.bak.
4. After reformatting and reinstalling XP, select No when asked if you want to
activate Windows now.
5. Restart in Safe Mode.
6. In My Computer, open the WINDOWS\System32\ folder and rename the existing
wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files.
7. Now copy your old wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the System32 folder.
8. Restart and you should not be requested to activate again.
Note: This only works when you reinstall Windows XP on the same computer and the
hardware remains unchanged.
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