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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

Steps

  1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the computer.
  2. Restart the computer, booting from CD.
  3. Once Setup has loaded, press Enter.
  4. Accept the license by pressing F8.
  5. 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”.
  6. 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).
  7. 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 | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Switch Windows XP licensing type and/or Service Pack with CD”

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