How to effectively change the Volume Licensing product key on a computer that is running Windows XP.
Deactivate Windows XP
- Click Start, and then click Run.
- In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
- In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry key:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software \Microsoft \WindowsNT \Current Version \WPAEvents
- In the topic pane, right-click OOBETimer, and then click Modify.
- Change at least one digit of this value to deactivate Windows.
Reactivate Windows
- Click Start, and then click Run.
- In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK: %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
- Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows, and then click Next.
- Click Change Product key.
- Type the new product key in the New key boxes, and then click Update.
- You should now receive the message: Windows has been activated.
- Click OK to exit.
