April 2002
Beginner
640 pages
27h 54m
English
Content preview from Windows XP in a Nutshell
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Name
Activate Windows —
\windows\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe
Synopsis
The copy protection scheme in Windows XP (see Figure 4-4).
To Open
Start → Settings → Activate Windows
Command Prompt →
\windows\system32\oobe\msoobe /A
Description
Product activation is a new and somewhat controversial feature in Windows XP. Intending to curb software piracy, Microsoft now requires that each installed copy of Windows XP be activated. This involves contacting Microsoft, either over the Internet or with a telephone call, to obtain a special key to unlock Windows. If Windows is not activated within a certain period, it will expire and refuse to load.
Figure 4-4. Once you’ve activated Windows XP, you probably won’t ever need to again
The sequence of steps to install and activate Windows is as follows:
During the installation of Windows, type the 25-character CD Key provided with the Windows XP installation CD. The CD Key distinguishes one end-user license of Windows from another.
Windows then generates a 20-digit product ID based on the CD Key and the Windows version.
You, the user, transmit the “Installation ID,” comprised of the 20-digit product ID plus an 8-digit hardware ID, to Microsoft. The hardware ID, a unique number based on values obtained from hardware in your computer (see below), distinguishes one computer from another.
Microsoft responds with a 42-digit Confirmation ID, which is fed into Windows ...
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I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.