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Switch Windows XP licensing type and/or Service Pack with CD
By admin | July 1, 2009
If you install a new copy of Windows XP with a retail CD and later try to feed it a volume license (VLK) serial number, Windows will not accept it. Fortunately, there is a way to switch the Windows licensing type without having to reinstall completely. This method can also be used to switch the Service Pack of Windows XP with a CD.
Requirements
- A Windows XP CD with your desired licensing type and service pack
- A Windows XP computer
Steps
- Insert the Windows XP CD into the computer.
- Restart the computer, booting from CD.
- Once Setup has loaded, press Enter.
- Accept the license by pressing F8.
- Setup will then search for previous (or current) versions of Windows already present on the computer. Once it finds the current installed Windows, select R for “repair”.
- Setup will copy a batch of files, then reboot. After the reboot it will re-configure your computer, in which it may (or may not) ask you for a new serial number (e.g. retail to volume licensing).
- After a long time reconfiguring, setup will reboot into your newly converted XP install.
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If you found this article helpful or interesting, please help Compdigitec spread the word. Don’t forget to subscribe to Compdigitec Labs for more useful and interesting articles!
Topics: Windows | 12 Comments »
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