Preserving OEM Pre-Activation when Re-installing Windows XP

[Navid]

I have an OEM XP Pro that I bought from a store.
I re-install sometimes because I want a fresh install. I know that many don't like that and don't think that re-installation is necessary. But, my question is not about that.

I saw this.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/oempreac.mspx

I re-installed and entered the key given on that page. But, still after the installation was finished, it asked me to activate.

Reading that page, I thought that I would not need to activate. Otherwise, why bother. I can use my original key and activate.

So, my question is what is the point of that web page or what did I misunderstand from that page?

Thanks

 

[MrChad]

You misunderstood.

Certain large OEMs (HP and Dell are two that I know of) ship their PCs from the factory pre-activated. There are a few files on the XP setup disk (OEMBIOS.xxx) that instruct XP setup to pre-activate Windows during installation based on the presence of special BIOS codes.

OEM keys from these major vendors became a large source of piracy for Microsoft, so they ended up blacklisting a lot of the keys that were pre-filled on pre-SP2 OEM setup disks from Dell, HP and others. As an alternative, customers reinstalling with a Dell or HP CD can use the key provided in that article you mentioned to reinstall their operating system and preserve the pre-activation process.

Off the shelf OEM discs are not pre-activated and therefore that article does not apply to those discs.

 

[Navid]

OK Thanks