Dan-O.... YUP, this does work like a champ... I found this while trying to Upgrade a Win2K installation using a Full XP version.. DOH, dammit if you don't need the Upgrade! Yep, they won't let you upgrade Win2k to XP Pro unless you have the upgrade CD. So, since we purchased 15 copies of full, I simply used an upgrade CD and went around changing the Product Keys to the new ones that were on our CD sets... Tideous, yes, but worth it not having to reinstall all software and user settings...
This is if you OWN XP PRO.... When you get to the point of calling Microsoft, press 0, then # and you'll get to a person instead of having to speak to a voice recorded operator (cool, but long).
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents
In the right pane, right-click OOBETimer, and then click Modify.
Change at least one digit of this value to deactivate Windows.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK.
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows, and then click Next.
Click Change Product key.
Type the new product key in the New key boxes, and then click Update.
This is if you OWN XP PRO.... When you get to the point of calling Microsoft, press 0, then # and you'll get to a person instead of having to speak to a voice recorded operator (cool, but long).
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents
In the right pane, right-click OOBETimer, and then click Modify.
Change at least one digit of this value to deactivate Windows.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK.
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows, and then click Next.
Click Change Product key.
Type the new product key in the New key boxes, and then click Update.
