Users who reformat their hard drive and perform a clean installation of the operating system will find that they need to reactivate the product. But, as long as the new installation is on the same system and there won't be any hardware changes, it is possible to transfer the existing product activation and skip having to go through the product activation process again.
Follow the steps below to save the activation status information in Windows XP and restore it once your system is rebuilt. (We also have instructions on how to change the in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.). Double-click My Computer. Double-click on the C drive. Go to the C: Windows System32 folder. (You may have to click on the link that says Show the contents of this folder.).
Microsoft’s Windows Product Activation (WPA) for Windows XP has become one of the most hotly debated topics online, in IT departments and in the computer media. Copy your original 'wpa.dbl' and 'wpa.bak' files from your floppy disk, CD, or DVD into the C: Windows System32 folder. Restart your system. (If you followed the directions in starting Windows XP in SafeMode, you may need to go back into MSCONFIG to turn off booting into SafeMode).
Find the files 'wpa.dbl' and 'wpa.bak' and copy them to a safe location. You can copy them on a floppy drive or burn it to a CD or DVD. After you have reinstalled Windows XP on your reformatted hard drive, click No when asked if you want to go ahead and go through the activation process. (You can either press F8 as Windows is booting up to see the Windows Advanced Options menu and select SAFEBOOTOPTION=Minimal. Double-click My Computer. Double-click on the C drive.
Go to the C: Windows System32 folder. (You may have to click on the link that says Show The contents of this folder.).
Find the file 'wpa.dbl' and 'wpa.bak' (if it exists) and rename them to 'wpadbl.new' and 'wpabak.new.' .
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Copy your original 'wpa.dbl' and 'wpa.bak' files from your, CD, or DVD into the C: Windows System32 folder.