- 1). Click the Windows XP "Start" button and select "Run". Enter "regedit" in the text box and click "OK". This opens the Windows registry editor.
- 2). Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents". This lists several Windows XP registry values, including the key.
- 3). Double-click "ODBETimer". This opens a value dialog window. Change or delete the value and click "OK". This removes the invalid license number. Close the registry editor.
- 4). Click the Windows "Start" button again and select "Run". Enter "%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe /a" in the text box. This opens the license configuration manager for the XP machine.
- 5). Select "Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to active Windows now". This skips the step of checking the XP key, which is currently invalid. Click "Next".
- 6). Enter your Windows XP product key, which consists of 25 alphanumeric characters. This is located in your Windows XP installation CD packaging. Click the "Next" button. Microsoft checks the validity of your license key and activates your operating system, so you can now install product updates and security patches.
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