Prevent Windows Activation after Reinstall
People who use Windows XP for some time all know that their computer gets slower in time. The reasons are also known, we install software, sometimes de-install it again, we store more and more files on our hard disk, and sometimes remove those again. The result of daily computer use is that the registry grows and is polluted with old and obsolete data. The same is true for the hard disk, files are fragmented and unused files take up valuable space.
There are quite a few solutions to this problem, mostly existing of tools to clean up your PC, speed up your PC and defragment your hard disk. Unless you know what to do by hand, these tools are quite handy and help you to speed up your PC again.
It can reach a point where none of the tools seem to help anymore, your PC speed is not reaching its original performance. And yet it is the same hardware… So the only thing left to do is to reinstall Windows XP. A common problem during a reinstallation of Windows XP however, is that it needs to be reactivated.
This can be prevented by keeping a few files before you start the fresh Windows installation:
- Open the Windows Explorer and browse to the Windows\System32 folder on your system disk.
- In this folder, locate the files called WPA.DBL and WPL.BAK.
- Copy these files to a safe place. Best option is a USB drive or a second hard disk.
- Now reinstall Windows XP on your computer.
- After the Windows installation is complete, start your computer in Safe Mode. Press F8 during the boot, and pick Safe Mode in the startup menu.
- In Windows Safe Mode, open a Windows Explorer and again browse to the Windows\System32 folder on your system disk.
- Next, copy the WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK from the safe location to this folder. If the files are already present, you should rename them first. You can delete the renamed originals after you have ensured Windows XP is activated properly.
- Finally restart your computer and check if Windows is properly activated.
This will make the installation of Windows XP a lot easier, so you can reinstall Windows XP more often if your PC is slow again.
@Guillermo – There is a method to use the Windows XP CD and then the Repair function. During the repair you need to press Shift+F10 when the Devices are being installed. That will give you a command prompt, where you can typ NUSRMGR.CPL. This will start the user manager, where you reset the password.
Anthony
I forget may password,administrator XP Profecional.