NOTE: This will only work if you have a legit Volume License key, the correct version of Windows XP and you have already installed Windows XP using the leaked Volume License key. OEM and Retail installation keys cannot be changed. However, you can reactivate your installation if you changed your hardware or PC. That is a different matter though.

Links

List of leaked Windows XP Professional leaked volume license key
How to change the Volume Licensing product key on a computer that is running Windows XP SP1 and later versions of Windows XP

You bought pirated copies of Windows XP (leaked Volume License keys) before, installed and running on your PC. Currently, you are feeling guilty of being a thief. So, you bought a licensed copy of Windows XP (Retail/Volume licensed with the same Service Pack/edition as your pirated copy). However, you encounter one big problem, I DON'T WANT TO REFORMAT MY DISK, I GOT SO MANY IMPORTANT FILES AND I HAVE NOT BACKED UP THEM YET.

SO, HOW DO I STAY LEGAL?
Easy, just copy and paste these lines into your text editor. Save it as ChangeVLKey.vbs somewhere (the name can vary but keep the extension .vbs). Then open your Windows CMD, CD to the directory you saved the ChangeVLKey.vbs file (click on spoiler below).

ChangeVLKey.vbs


Then, Run either one of these the commands



or




Example command line if your VL key is abcde-fghij-klmno-pqrst-uvwxy



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To make the script easier to run, make a Windows batch file and include your license key in it. Run this batch script instead of running the command above.

ChangeKey.bat
An example batch script if your key is abcde-fghij-klmno-pqrst-uvwxy
Make sure you save this batch script at the same location you saved the VBscript file e.g. if you save the VBscript file in C:\, save the batch script in C:\ too... GET IT?


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You should not get any message after running that command. If you did, that means either you're not logged in as an Administrator of the PC, the key given is invalid, or wrong service pack version/edition of Windows XP.

Please take notice of your Windows XP product ID in your System control panel. After running the script successfully, you should see the product ID changed into a new one. Next, validate your Windows copy at Microsoft Website or using Windows Genuine Advantage tool.

P/S: I am not responsible/liable for any mishaps/losses that you encountered for following this article.

This post has been edited by dopodplaya: Jun 15 2007, 09:58 AM