[geeks] Re: Windows XP?

[Dan Sikorski]

On Fri, 2003-02-07 at 12:57, Kurt Huhn wrote:
> Wait wait wait - "you have to activate service packs"?  Seriously? 

No, you don't.  Apparantly, SP1 has some method or recognizing some
illegal copies of XP, and requires it to be reactivated if found.  I
have install XP Pro, and SP1 using the OEM, Open License, and MSDN
versions.  Of those, only the OEM version from Dell required activation,
and NONE of them required reactivation after a SP1 install.  Those were
all legitimate copies.

Some OEM's even distribute pre-activated copies (never need
activation).  This is done with a node-locking scheme (the intel
processor ID's that everyone bitched so much about).

The only thing i haven't really figured out is when the sysprep utility
will require activation, and when it won't.  I've seen it go both ways
(even when selecting the "pre-activated" option).  Either the Dell OEM,
the Open Licence or the MSDN copies allow you to sysprep a machine
without requiring (re)activation.  (Sysprep changes the SID on the
machine so that you can use third-party disk imaging software (ghost,
etc.) to duplicate installations of windows without having problems.)

	-Dan Sikorski