This time I did not input the product key while slipstreaming. I entered the product key during the installation. Moreover I didn't mean to keep the final product for good. I meant to create various combinations for testing. I burnt it on a CD-RW disc. I was trying to do an in-place repair of an XP Home system and I didn't seem to be able to get to the page that allowed me to do it. So I supposed I might need a CD with SP3 because the system in question already had SP3 installed. Later on I changed my mind and installed the system from scratch and then I found the problem. By the way, would entering the product key during installation make any difference? I meant to say the installation process did not take any VALID and LEGAL product key, not nLite. I tried its own product key. Failing that I tried product key of other CD of the same operating system of the same type, i.e. OEM. None of them worked.