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What exactly is it that triggers a need to re-authorize XP?

Chuck(G)

Chuck(G)

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I've got a WinXP system here where I've changed just about anything that I could change:

  • Different CPU (Socket 754 to AM3)
  • Different Video card
  • Different hard drive (IDE->SATA)
  • Different motherboard manufacturer

And the darned thing still runs without requiring me to do anything special. What does it take?
 
Are we talking about a legit retail/oem install or one of those media center edition installs that does not need authorized to begin with?
 
My experience has been that a change in MAC address is enough to trigger, typically. There are other ACPI tables that are used by Windows 7 and 10, and there may be triggers there, too.
 
Can't be of any help on that one as my XP is an Enterprise edition and it never triggers.
 
Well, to be frank, I've never run across the "you need to re-register" nonsense on XP, but that's probably because I usually start with a fresh install on a system--but not in this case.
 
I suspect the MSDN version probably won't trigger as easily as the OEM or retail version. That version was designed for developers to use for testing, both software and hardware.

But I did find this for you: http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?234269-Windows-XP-re-activation-triggers

I also seem to recall that MS loosened this up towards the end of XP's life, though I can't recall the details.
 
I was a Microsoft Partner program Action Pack subscriber for many years, and although all the software provided came with keys, I don't believe I ever had to activate any of the software I installed, including any of the XP Pro, not to mention any Windows Server 2003. I always thought the NFR versions were tweaked to not require actually activating with the license key.
 
You would think they would be required to tell people the details of this sort of thing, but no....

I have a genuine unopened Windows 7 package that I have been meaning to install on something for ages, but since I change hardware around a lot I'm genuinely afraid this hardware facehugger will stick its nose up at me one day when I need it most.
 
Doug G said:
I was a Microsoft Partner program Action Pack subscriber for many years, and although all the software provided came with keys, I don't believe I ever had to activate any of the software I installed, including any of the XP Pro, not to mention any Windows Server 2003. I always thought the NFR versions were tweaked to not require actually activating with the license key.
Click to expand...

You knocked something free in my head. There was a Volume Licence type of XP Pro that did not require activation at all (an other MS products like Office and Server for that matter). This is the same type that they sent out in the MSDN and Action Pack subscriptions or to anyone who needed a "test" version of XP. All other types (OEM, Retail and Upgrade of both Home and Pro) had to be activated and/or re-activated when hardware changed past a certain point.

So yeah, there were 3 versions of XP, Home, Pro and Starter (only used in "emerging" markets, not the US or most of Europe/Asia). Then there were multiple types of each, OEM, Retail, Upgrade and Volume Licence (on in Pro). The keys for these type were not interchangeable. A VL key could not be used on a Retail copy or Upgrade, likewise an upgrade key would not work on a Retail or OEM copy. It got VERY confusing as the media never called out what type the media was for.

Windows 7 and beyond does not have this issue, they made the media the same for all types and versions, and it is the key that determines which version/type you get (and in the case of Win 10, it's a digital entitlement that gets tied to the hardware, so in some cases you get a fully activated Windows install without needing to enter a key).
 
SomeGuy said:
You would think they would be required to tell people the details of this sort of thing, but no....

I have a genuine unopened Windows 7 package that I have been meaning to install on something for ages, but since I change hardware around a lot I'm genuinely afraid this hardware facehugger will stick its nose up at me one day when I need it most.
Click to expand...

Windows 7 is far more forgiving on hardware changes, and I doubt you'll ever not be able to activate, though you may get to the point where you have to call them to do it.
 
On a whim, I re-installed Win2K on one of my old P1 systems. I'd forgotten how much I really liked the thing. Runs just fine on 64MB and a 233MHz P1. I note that my 1999 distro copies have the product code printed on the CD, but the 2000 copies just have it filled in on setup. No registration needed. Very similar to Win9x--early copies came with a key printed on paper; later ones just have it filled in.
 
lutiana said:
So yeah, there were 3 versions of XP, Home, Pro and Starter (only used in "emerging" markets, not the US or most of Europe/Asia). Then there were multiple types of each, OEM, Retail, Upgrade and Volume Licence (on in Pro). The keys for these type were not interchangeable. A VL key could not be used on a Retail copy or Upgrade, likewise an upgrade key would not work on a Retail or OEM copy. It got VERY confusing as the media never called out what type the media was for.
Click to expand...

There were far more versions of Windows XP than the three you listed. Two other notable versions were 64 bit edition and x64 professional edition. The former 64 bit edition came first and was solely intended for Itanium machines. It had an integrated x86 emulator because the Itanium couldn't run x86 code natively, it had a horrible internal hardware based emulator which was painfully slow. The latter x64 professional edition was just WS2003 x64 with an XP GUI.

Other editions included MCE200x, Embedded, Red edition, POSReady 2009, Tablet PC, Professional Blade Edition, Home ULCPC and some "pay as you go" versions. Between all of these, there are dozens of sub versions as well, all requiring different media.

Windows XP Red is a bit of an oddball, I only know about it because I acquired a machine that had a product key for it. There was hardly any information on it, other than it was sold only to MS refurb partners for use on older machines. None of my XP media works with it, not even VLK media, so I was never able to install it to see if anything was different.
 
Chuck(G) said:
On a whim, I re-installed Win2K on one of my old P1 systems. I'd forgotten how much I really liked the thing. Runs just fine on 64MB and a 233MHz P1. I note that my 1999 distro copies have the product code printed on the CD, but the 2000 copies just have it filled in on setup. No registration needed. Very similar to Win9x--early copies came with a key printed on paper; later ones just have it filled in.
Click to expand...

040-1234567 is permanently burned into my memory from all that time standing in front of racks installing NT4 :(
 
Chuck(G) said:
Well, to be frank, I've never run across the "you need to re-register" nonsense on XP, but that's probably because I usually start with a fresh install on a system--but not in this case.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you what was a surprise to me, I recently updated the BIOS on a Latitude E6430 which has BitLocker enabled and the BIOS upgrade triggered a BitLocker key check.
 
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