Backup Windows Product Activation (WPA)

Have you ever wanted to reinstall windows XP on a particular computer but chose not to because you went sure what you'd encounter when it came to windows product activation (WPA)?

Well, there’s no need to be concerned because information about the current activation is stored in an encrypted database file named Wpa.dbl, which you can backup and then restore once you've reinstalled XP. Keep in mind this technique allows you only to reinstall XP on the same computer - it isn’t a hack to pirate the OS

Here’s how to backup your Wpa.dbl file:

1. Insert a blank, formatted disk into the floppy disk drive.

2. Using windows explorer, navigate to the C:\Windows\System32 folder.

3. Right click on the Wpa.dbl file and select Send to > 3 1.2 Floppy.

4. You can then reform the hard disk and reinstall XP, once the installation procedure is complete, follow these steps to restore the Wpa.dbl file:

5. Restart the computer.

6. Press [F8] when you see the message “Please select the operating system to start”.

7. From the bootup menu, select safe mode.

8. Then using windows explorer, navigate to the C:\Windows\System32 folder.

9. Rename the new Wpa.dbl to Wpa.new.

10. Insert the disk that contains the backup into the floppy disk drive.

11. Copy the Wpa.dbl file from the floppy disk to the C:\windows\system32 folder.

12. Restart the computer.

Since you’re using the exact copy of XP that was previously installed the original Wpa.dbl will be accepted and you won’t have to go through all the hassle of re-activation.

may i have one question:How to deal with the renamed file" Wpa.new",delete it ?leave it?
i am confused...

this little tip will save your install happy sanity !
and its a lot smaller than making a disk image

Im a little supprised this hasnt been posted in the guide section before .. like back in july of 2001 or so
cuz it was one of the first really usefull tips for making your life easier in xp ..

still its better late than never

Thanks M8

stiff

I think you should leave it in case you mess up or something.

Good guide, Colin-uk

thx mstx.

good work,Colin-uk .

Leave it if you want, it wont do anything except use a tiny ammount of hard disk space. You can delete if but it might come in handy if you ever need to replace the new one for whatever reason. The point is that the file wpa.new does not mean anything to windows, you could rename it to wpa.old if you want or (probably) anything else.

Thanks to all those who liked my guide

Thank you. This is exactly what I have been needing!

Thanks m8.

good to know... but im building my new PC.. and this won't work...

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Off-topic comments removed, title changed

This isn't classified as any sort of crack because it doesn't circumvent anything. While I don't recommend doing this, it certainly does not bypass activation. Now can you all please keep the "OMG crack!!!" posts out of here?

This is awesome! I was hoping that there was a way for me to do this so that when I install Windows XP AGAIN on my laptop after I get it back from the shop, It'll save me a little time... NOW... if I have a dual-boot OS (Windows XP Pro and SuSE Linux) will it still work?

Thanks, mate, for a handy guide. The only other way I knew before of avoiding activating every time I reinstalled was to activate by phone the first time and then keep all the code numbers written down. Then, when I needed to reinstall, I would say I was activating by phone and just typing all the billions of numbers in from the last time. Your way sounds much easier!

Seems broken in SP2 oem

just tried before.

can anyone confirm this?

Nice tip. Thanks.

is their a way of replacing the file using a script, if so could someone post how,

I want to put this on my unattended windows xp cd

i knew this from techtv. i learn somethiing off them

Just what I have been looking for. Can anyone confirm this still works with SP2 ?

Yeah that doesnt work on my machine.

Didn't work for me as well...but perhaps somehow my configuration has changed enough not to warrant an update but to conflict with the original.

Mike

This guide/tip/whatever is horse pucky----well, sort of. It began as a tip to help people under very specialized conditions, but over time it has spread over the internet as some universal cure for activation.

It does not work because product activation is not simply a snapshot of hardware, but a snapshot of hardware and specific installation....

Hate seeing this bogus thing keep popping up....

For those who care, here is an excellent article WPA and why this does not work except under very limited circumstances (windows repairs)

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

id rather use the vlk version i got from mah college

never mind

this doesnt work with SP2

Hassle? It's pretty painless, except on the odd occasion where I have to speak to a representitive because my hardware is substantially different than the previous activation ...

didn't work for me. still had to activate.

Does not work for me as well - Windows XP SP2 (retail).

Happy belated 3rd birthday to this thread (or at least the second last post)

I don't see what's so hard about clicking Activate and letting it do it, then clicking OK?
This seems a lot more time consuming.
Either way it doesn't affect me, I'm on OEM XP.

oh noooo its aliveeeee!!!!!..... somebody kill this thread pls!

Isn't it faster to just click activate than to go through this process?

Does this work in Vista too? I've never checked to see if the file is there.....

Thank you very match

BUMP