Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Manually Change Windows XP Key
• Method 2 of 3: Using Winkey Finder
• Method 3 of 3: Reset Windows Trial Time Counter
• Tips
• Warnings

This article will show you how to activate your trial version of Windows XP either with an official key or through software that will generate the key. Remember, the methods described can only be used if you have a legally purchased copy of Windows XP.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Manually Change Windows XP Key

1. 1 Pinch ⊞ Winand then press R. The "Run" window will open, with which you can access the Windows registry.
2. 2 In the Run window, enter "regedit" (without the quotes).
3. 3 Click on ↵ Enter. The Registry Editor will start.
4. 4 Pay attention to the registry keys that appear in the left pane of the editor. Several folders need to be opened to access certain entries.
   • Remember that the registry contains important system information, so back it up first. To do this, in the upper left corner of the screen, click "File" - "Export".
5. 5 Open the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" section. To do this, click on the "+" sign to the left of the section (do not click on the section itself).
6. 6 Open the "SOFTWARE" folder. Each folder that needs to be opened will be inside the previous folder (for example, "SOFTWARE" is inside "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" and so on).
7. 7 Open the Microsoft folder.
8. 8 Open the Windows NT folder.
9. 9 Open the folder "CurrentVersion".
10. 10 Click on the WPA Events folder. Don't open it. The contents of the folder will be displayed in the right pane of the Registry Editor.
11. 11 Right-click on the "OOBETimer" entry.
12. 12 Click Change.
13. 13 Highlight the value of the "OOBETimer" entry. It consists of several pairs of numbers and a sequence of random numbers.
14. 14 Press the Delete key. The entry value will be deleted.
15. 15 Enter a new value. Enter any characters, but remember to keep the notation format (for example, if you have removed four characters, enter the other four characters).
16. 16 Click OK. This will save your changes.
17. 17 Close Registry Editor.
18. 18 Open the Run window again. To do this, hold down ⊞ Win and press R.
19. 19 In the Run window, enter% systemroot% system32 oobe msoobe.exe / a. The Windows XP Activation Wizard will open.
    • We recommend that you copy and paste this command into the Run window.
20. 20 Click OK.
21. 21 Select phone activation. To do this, check the box next to "I want to call a customer service representative to activate Windows."
    • If the line "Windows XP is already activated" is displayed on the screen, the key cannot be changed manually. In this case, go to the next section.
22. 22 Click Next.
23. 23 Click Change Product Key. This link is at the bottom of the open window.
24. 24 Enter Windows XP product key. Note that you may have to enter several different keys.
    • If you do not know the current version of Windows XP, first find it in the documentation for your computer, and then look for the corresponding keys.
25. 25 Click Refresh. This will create a new Windows XP ID for the computer. After completing this process, confirm the activation of Windows XP.
26. 26 Click Back.
27. 27 Check the "Activate Windows over the Internet" option. This will quickly activate Windows XP.
    • Please note that activating Windows by phone will most likely not work because Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP on April 8, 2014.
28. 28 Follow the instructions on the screen. After activating Windows XP, use the system as usual.

Method 2 of 3: Using Winkey Finder

1. 1 Open the program website Winkey finder. It is a free program that works without installation and finds the Windows XP product key.
2. 2 Click on the latest version of Winkey Finder. As of March 2017, this version is version 2.0.
   • Since the specified version is currently in beta testing, you can download the latest stable version 1.75.
3. 3 Click Download Winkey Finder. This button will appear at the bottom of the page for the selected Winkey version.
4. 4 Right click on the Winkey archive. Find the archive where you decided to download it by clicking on the "Download" button (for example, on the desktop).
5. 5 Click Extract All. This will extract the contents of the archive to the desktop.
6. 6 Double click on the "Winkey Finder" folder. This is the folder that you extracted in the previous step.
7. 7 Double click on the winkeyfinder.exe file. This is the only executable file in the folder.
8. 8 Find your product key. After launching Winkey Finder, it will immediately display your Windows XP product key. You can enter this key in the Windows XP Activation Wizard window, which will open the next time Windows requests an update.
   • Just in case, write down the key.

Method 3 of 3: Reset Windows Trial Time Counter

1. 1 Reboot your computer. To do this, click "Start" - "Restart" or hold down the power button of the computer until it turns off, and then press the button again.
2. 2 Click on F8 after the logo of the manufacturer of the computer or motherboard appears on the screen. Press this button immediately after the first appearance of the logo.
   • Continue pressing the F8 key until the computer start up menu appears on the screen.
3. 3 Use the arrow keys to select the Safe Mode with Command Prompt option. In this mode, you can reset the Windows trial version counter before the system prompts you to activate it.
4. 4 Click on ↵ Enter. Within a minute, the computer will boot into Safe Mode.
5. 5 At the command prompt, enter "explorer.exe" (without quotes).
6. 6 Click on ↵ Enter. A dialog box will open.
   • Perhaps this window will open within a minute.
7. 7 Click Yes or OK. The desktop will appear on the screen.
8. 8 Pinch ⊞ Win and press R. The Run window will open.
9. 9 Enter rundll32.exe syssetup, SetupOobeBnk. This command will reset the Windows trial version time counter, that is, you can work with the system for the next 30 days.
10. 10 Click OK.
11. 11 Reboot your computer. Now log in as usual - it will not require activation.

Tips

• Since support for Windows XP has ended in April 2014, you cannot speak with a support representative.

Warnings

• The keys listed on the website may not work, so use the Winkey Finder to activate Windows XP.
• Manual restoration of the registry will reset the time counter of the trial version of Windows, that is, you can work with the system for the next 30 days.