How to change windows xp product key
Level of difficulty: Easy
No matter how careful you are, software does get installed in your computer without giving indication or asking for permission. So it is quite natural that you have to reset your XP product key to keep your operating system in good condition.
Materials Needed:- Specialized software
Step 1
Supposing you have a pirated version of XP on your computer but later on, you want to install a legal one. It could also happen that you could have purchased an additional retail license for XP but in order to install it, you need the original CD. The only solution to these problems is changing the Windows XP product key.
Step 2
A good way to determine whether you have a pirated version of XP installed in your computer is to install Service Pack 1.
Step 3
Install it and if you get an error message saying that the product key which you are installing is invalid and you have to contact the system administrator or the retailer from whom you purchased it, in order to get an valid product key, then you will know that it is a pirated version of Windows XP.
Step 4
Another way to check the computer’s operating system is by right clicking on My Computer, then going to Properties, from there to General tab. The product will be registered.
Step 5
There are two ways of changing windows XP product key; one is by editing the registry or using WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation scripts. This method works on Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home and Windows XP Corporate Edition.
Step 6
Whichever of the two methods you use to install Windows XP product key, keep a back up of the data before you change the product ID as an unexpected error might take place which will make the machine unbootable and you might have to reinstall Windows again
Step 7
If you want to change the product key on many machines, then do it via the WMI method.
Step 8
When using the Windows Registry Editor, you must follow the instructions very carefully, if not, it will cause problems and you might have to reinstall you operating system again and loose your important data on the computer.
Step 9
Using this software is entire on your own risk.