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'Bout Computers
The Online Web-azine for Computer
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contents page for this issue
Reinstall Windows 2000 and XP Without Being Asked for the Product
Key
~~Vic
Ferri, WinTips and Tricks
If you find it annoying that every time you do
a clean reinstall of Windows 2000 or XP, you need to enter the product key,
here's a way to bypass setup's serial check. I tested this on Windows 2000
Pro but it should work with all full versions of Windows 2000. The procedure
for XP is different and I did not test it, but it should work too.
Note - this is not
something that can be used on trial versions to bypass a Product Key. This
is only for convenience if you already have a full version of Windows 2000
or XP installed.WINDOWS 2000
Copy your Windows 2000 Setup CD to your hard drive and then look for the
file SETUP.INI which should be in the i386 folder. Remove the read only
attributes and open it. You should see something like this:
[Pid]
ExtraData=646E47635A6F6D79626A1D94099595
Pid=51873000
Now simply replace the 000 at the end of the Pid= value with 270 and save.
ie
Pid=51873270
Now burn the copied Windows 2000 files with the edited setup.ini file, to a
new CD and you are done.
You can now run Setup from the new CD without being prompted to enter a
product key.
WINDOWS XP
I haven't tried this on XP but according to MS-MVP Mike Kolitz, you can
make this work on XP by creating a
WINNT.SIF file like this:
;SetupMgrTag
[Data]
AutoPartition=1
MsDosInitiated="0"
UnattendedInstall="Yes"
[Unattended]
UnattendMode=ProvideDefault
OemPreinstall=No
TargetPath=\WINDOWS
[GuiUnattended]
EncryptedAdminPassword=NO
OEMSkipRegional=1
[UserData]
ProductID=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
FullName=""
OrgName=""
[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP
[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=Yes
In the above, make sure to replace the xxxx's for ProductID with your actual
product key and then copy and paste the whole thing into a notepad document
and save as WINNT.SIF Place the file in the i386 folder on a hard drive copy
of your XP CD and then burn to a new CD. If it works, then you will no
longer be asked for your serial key during setup since XP will automatically
detect it from the winnt.sif file you created and placed in the i386 folder.
<<<back to contents
Vic Ferri owns the very popular
WinTips and
Tricks and
Registry Answers. Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and Registry
Tips. He is also in charge of the
Printing Tips pages at Linda's Computer Stop. Vic has also created a program
which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.
Read more and get the free demo here. And, he now offers a service to
convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on
computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.
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