Verify XP Activiation Key?

[swiftson]

I've run into a problem that probably has a fairly simple fix, but I'm not sure how to take care of it.

I work for two different companies, both of which have volume licenses of Windows XP Pro. It's occasionally a part of my job to reformat machines at both places, and I thought "Hey - what a great time to play with and get to know this whole slipstreaming thing!" I essentially started the process on both discs - adding SP2, then SP3, then WMP 11. I didn't have much luck adding IE7, so I tried HFSlip for that particular step. I kept each step in a different directory, labeling them every step of the way.

I hit the last process with the disc from company 1, and I tried it out on a company 1 computer - no luck. The key didn't work. On a whim, I tried the key from company 2 - bingo!

By guess is that I just got my directories confused somewhere down the line, but I'm not sure where. These processes have taken quite a long time, and I'd hate to have to redo it all.

To make a long story short, is there any way to test out a key without installing the disc?

I doubt it's an actual issue with nLite, but on the off chance that it was I thought I'd post here.

Thanks, in advance, for whatever help you can give.

[mara-]

Read nLite EULA. You are allowed to use nLite only for personal use, not corporate.

I'm not sure how can you check the keys, maybe someone else can help.

Cheers

[swiftson]

Does it help if they're schools?

Apologies if I broke the EULA - I'll pack it in and stick with the original discs.

Thanks for the help.

Edit: I'm an id*** who can apparently type long strings of characters accurately, but can't read the right line of them. The discs work fine - well, the ones with nLite. The HFSlip ones don't, but that's another story. For the record, Office keys don't work on XP.

Edited January 26, 2009 by swiftson

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

Apologies if I broke the EULA - I'll pack it in and stick with the original discs.

that might be a little drastic IMO. you know that nlite is just a GUI used to manipulate the XP source. most of the things it can do can be done manually.

Guide:

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

Forum:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showforum=70

SP3 FAQs

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...mp;#entry785966

[submix8c]

FYI - pre-SP2 cd's have a different set of OEMBIOS.xxx, PIDGEN, DPCDLL, and SETUPP.INI files that preclude using the old keys. You have to manually "swap" the originals into the "slipstreamed" install. (At least this is what I've read somewhere and can't remember specifically which; maybe just PIDGEN and DPCDLL, since the other items are not replaced(?).). This was intentionally done by MS to prevent pirating (note - if the keys are pirated, they will fail anyway when going to MS Update/validation).

Corrections anyone?