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Which Home ver doesn't need activation ?


Nepali

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OEM and VLK/Corporate do not require activation. (That assumes that the OEM version comes with its own installation disc.)

Retail will always require activation.

VLK or Volume Licensing Program (forgot what the 'K' stands for) is the same as a Corporate version I believe. A Corporate version is basically just using one product key for all copies of Windows XP that are installed. Sometimes this is called a Site License.

The Volume Licensing Program gives companies a bunch of CDs all at once along with the product keys. Whenever an installation occurs, the license needs to be bought. With the Corporate version, I think that there are an unlimited number of installations allowed.

OEM versions usually skip the entering of the product key for XP Home, but not Professional. Given this, there is a product key of some sort that is on the CD which is different than the one on the license sticker on your computer. They do this because making thousands of CDs with different data on each of them isn't practical. You usually don't need activation with OEM versions.

OEM versions also tend to come with their own branded software among other things. There should be a lot more functionality in an OEM version.

Retail's the same as an OEM version except that nothing is unattended, including the activation process.

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Home isn't offered in an way that doesn't require activation.

And OEM, as it is offered from M$, does require activation and a unique CDKey. However, many OEMs use several methods to bypass the user needing to activate. Large OEMs like Dell use the system BIOS in their scheme. They may bypass the need for a CDKey with their CD, as mentioned, but they still must maintain a unique CDKey per installation.

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Corporate / VLK is usually sold to big corporations. They can install unlimited copies on many different computers within the corporation. There is also no activation.

Retail is a store bought copy that is sold in a box with the manual and other accesseries. It does need to be activated.

OEM is just like Retail but it does not come in a box with the manual and is supposed to be purchased with a peice of hardware. For instance you could buy an OEM copy of windows with a new HardDrive or preloaded on a computer. OEM disks do require activation. If they have been preloaded sometimes you do not need to activate it because it has been allready activated by the manufacture.

There is also an Upgrade disk that is the same as a Retail/OEM disk except that it is sold cheaper for someone who owns a previous version of Windows. You can install it on top of Win2000 for instance... or you can clean install it... but it will ask you for a valid copy of windows to install. It too needs activation.

The only version that does not need any activation is Corporate/VLK (Volume License Key).

;)

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Both of my OEMs have keys and requires activation... I have a copy of Professional and Home... OEM... and they need to be activated or 30 days... ur messed up... but likewise with other people there is no CORP/VLK version of Home....

Edited by lostincyberspace2007
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@asin

OEM and VLK/Corporate do not require activation. (That assumes that the OEM version comes with its own installation disc.)

@inthewayboy

And OEM, as it is offered from M$, does require activation and a unique CDKey.

i am confused

is the HOME edition OEM or any version which doesn't prompt for activation

Edited by Nepali
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Your questions have all been answered in the above posts. But perhaps in more detail than you wanted?

If you own OEM XP Home edition then activation was very likely done by the maker of your computer at their factory. It may need to be reactivated by you if you make substantial hardware changes to your computer.

The details about Retail, Professional, and VLK's (Volume License Keys) are then not pertinent to your situation.

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As i format my PC one a month,, so its not possible to telephone my M$ vendor and ask for activation. also every time internet connection is also not possible.

i have came to know that there is one file which is for registration .some thing calle wpa.dbl

can it be backup for future and just replace the file for whenevr asked for activation.

or can it be placed in $oem$\system32 in unattended so that it won't ask for activation after installation.

Edited by Nepali
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Yes...you can place the wpa.dbl in the $OEM$\$$\System32 and it will work...of course, it will only work on the computer that created it, so don't go thinking you can use it on other PC's. Here's a link:

http://unattended.msfn.org/intermediate/activate.htm#backup

And just to be clear:

1. THERE IS NO VERSION OF WINXP HOME THAT CAN BYPASS ACTIVATION

2. WHEN YOU SEE AN COPY THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE ACTIVATION, IT'S BECAUSE THE OEM DID IT IN ADVANCE, USING ANY OF SEVERAL METHODS. OR IT'S HACKED AND ILLEGAL.

Edited by InTheWayBoy
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As said above there're two versions of OEM Windows XP home.

1. An OEM Windows XP Home can be bought with a hardware(graphics card, floppy disk, motherboard, e.t.c.) at a store like the retail but it is not in a special box.Sample OEM package | Sample Retail Package

2. An OEM Windows XP Home is installed with a copy of it along with the PC that it came from. Many usually doesn't require validation since its activated by the vendor so that its easy on for you and the vendor. Also, the recovery disk provided by the vendor cannot be modified if unless you've special ways to, and using it will also recover the B**S*** programs that you'll never use provided by the vendor (which just makes the PC slower :realmad: ).

Activation:

Even if you use the same hardware to reinstall Windows XP Home OEM again using the one that came with your PC using the WPA.DBL that has been already activated, some PCs will need to be activated again. In my case, it never works even following the extensive how-to's of activation e.t.c. for WPA.DBL stuff.

SO there are Retail, OEM (with a piece of hardware), OEM (with a brand PC) which requires activation. And VLK with no activation.

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