[nLite and Dell OEM XP, Automatic Activation]

And now I realise where I went wrong in the nLite process... I must have removed the key that nLite took from the WINNT.SIF file, as it was absent from the nLite'd version. Thanks for pointing me to where I buggered it!

[nLite and Dell OEM XP, Automatic Activation]

The only out-of-place files I can find on the Dell OEM XP Pro CD are in a folder called $OEM$. They seem mostly concerned with adding a "DELL" folder to the root of C upon installation and copying a Dell graphic there, along with a Dell link and a couple of EXE files and registry mods that change the Wake-on-USB settings of the PC.

Will try making an nLite'd installation CD with a minimum of changes, see if it's something I'm removing that's breaking it.

Thanks for the SLP link - at least I know what isn't working now...

[nLite and Dell OEM XP, Automatic Activation]

Not having problems with nLite as such - have used it before and got great results. The problem is with retaining the automatic registration/activation on Dell PCs with Dell OEM CDs.

I've been trying to make a cut down image to put on a large number of PCs. Usually, when you install from a Dell XP Pro CD you are not asked for a Windows key or to activate once installed. I'm assuming there's something Dell puts in the Windows setup that recognises a Dell PC complete with XP licence. This is very convenient - it means I can just roll out an image to hundreds of PCs (all with separate OEM licences of XP rather than a single site licence) and not worry about typing in hundreds of key codes.

The problem is that nLite seems to remove this auto activation, so a key is requested during install and XP then has to be activated.

Does anyone even know what I'm talking about, and does anyone know of a way around it?

Thanks