HOW TO: Change the VLK on a Windows XP SP1-Based Computer

Thanks Anonymous for sending us this article, It appears Microsoft have gone all soft and mushy and are telling pirates how they can change their Volume License Key after they spent a good deal of time blocking 1 or 2 keys from the SP1 code. read on!

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q328874: This article describes how to change the Windows XP product key in a Volume Licensing installation.

Because of changes in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows XP-based computers that use a leaked product key that is known to be available to the general public may not be able to install SP1 or automatically obtain updates from the Windows Update Web site. For example, you may experience the symptoms that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article when you install SP1:

    Q326904 Error Message: The Product Key Used to Install Windows Is Invalid
There are two methods that you can use to change the product key with volume licensing media after installation. You can use either the Windows Activation Wizard graphical user interface (GUI) or a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) script.

The easier method to use is the Use the Activation Wizard method. Use this method when you only have a few computers on which to change the product key. The Use a Script method is best when you have a number of computers on which you have to change the product key.

News source: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q328874

Report a problem with article
Next Article

Lending spammers a helping hand?

Previous Article

The State of E-Commerce Security