Can I create a Windows XP Setup CD that doesn require me to re-activate Windows after installing?
WARNING: the following procedure may not work for you. As always, use it at your own risk. It all depends on flavour of XP that you have currently installed. To avoid re-activation, your existing Windows system must have the following files: • c:\windows\system32\oembios.bin • c:\windows\system32\oembios.dat • c:\windows\system32\oembios.sig • c:\windows\system32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}\oembios.cat Copy the various OEMBIOS files into the c:\XPSETUP\i386 folder (if you’re following my folder naming system from the article), and carry on making the ISO as per normal. If all goes well, after you install, you won’t have to re-activate Windows. But note: you will still need the Windows licence key, or you won’t even get past the installer. Before you ask, these files tie a particular Windows XP setup disk to a specific machine. That means that your setup disk can only be used successfully for the machine you created it from. The files are the reason why when you buy a
