XP: Reinstall XP without Microsoft's Product Activation

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From the computer of: winslow (7 recipes)
Created: Oct 10, 2003     Updated: Jul 01, 2005

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After reinstalling XP, often you will be asked to reactivate your software. The tip keeps the user from having to reactivate.

After you have activated your XP software for the first time, you never need to do so again. Each time you reinstall XP, keep a copy of your wpa.dbl file. This file can be found in your \windows\system32 folder.

After reinstallation replace the wpa.dbl back into the windows\system32 directory and forget about reactivation.

Further information about the structure and uses of this file is discussed in this article: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1151566,00.asp