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Ask K5: Activating Windows XP in a Virtual Machine

By MichaelCrawford in MichaelCrawford's Diary
Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 03:55:22 PM EST
Tags: Windows XP, Product Activation, Copy Protection, DRM, Digital Restrictions Management, Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ (all tags)

I have Windows XP installed in a VirtualBox Virtual Machine. It's not wanting to let me log in until I activate it.

It's a legit copy of WinXP - I paid my hard-earned money for it and everything - so I won't have trouble activating it. But what I'm concerned about is what will happen when I try to reinstall it under some other VM.

I'm using VirtualBox because that is the one VM I was able to get to work at all for Ogg Frog. Xen was way to slow, and KVM doesn't support audio. VMware wouldn't even install - its installation was so borked that it took some work to get the wedged installation to uninstall.

If I product activize my XP, am I going to be stuck with VirtualBox, or can I use some other VM down the road? I expect I would need to activate that as well.

Now, lots of these VMs use QEMU for their device emulation, so it's actually possible that I could change the VM without XP even knowing about it.
Thanks for your help.

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Ask K5: Activating Windows XP in a Virtual Machine | 22 comments (22 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

THIS SEEMS LIKE AN EXCELLENT QUESTION (none / 0) (#1)
by Lady 3Jane on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:29:22 PM EST

FOR GOOGLE

8====================================================================D ~~
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8 This is offensive. Fix your site Rusty you have to -- The Honorable Edwin Lister
8 Please enjoy a male chorus, All of us will become human rifles and bombs!
8====================================================================D ~~
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
_ __|_\_ =u__.-.__) - BOW DOWN BEFORE THE TELEVISION MADE FLESH © 2012 /_/

I did ask Google by MichaelCrawford, 10/04/2009 04:49:07 PM EST (none / 0)

i am very confused by Lady 3Jane, 10/04/2009 06:15:59 PM EST (none / 0)

Neither of those showed up in my search by MichaelCrawford, 10/04/2009 07:02:21 PM EST (none / 1)

You'll be screwed for the retail version (none / 0) (#2)
by Del Griffith on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:40:44 PM EST

as the hardware will 'shift' too much.

You should have 'paid' for the VL MSDN version.

Think of virtual box being "based" on qemu, rather then using it.

Usually you can reactivate a few times then that is it.

Pioneering people tend to grab that new fangled XP for Windows 7, extract the vpc VHD file, then convert it to a qcow2 or something more... appropriate.

-------
I...I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. Because I'm the real article. What you see is what you get. - Me

It's the OEM version, not the retail box by MichaelCrawford, 10/04/2009 04:59:23 PM EST (none / 0)

*probably* by Del Griffith, 10/04/2009 07:11:37 PM EST (none / 0)

I can tell you that the Windows 7 XPM by Armstrong Hammer, 10/05/2009 05:57:29 PM EST (none / 0)

It's really simple (3.00 / 4) (#3)
by localroger on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:41:38 PM EST

What will happen when you try activating it under a different VM is it will burn another chance with the M$ activation server, which will eventually stop doing activations for you. Given what you are needing it for my advice is to find a bay full of pirates, snag a copy of XP that is cracked to not require activation, and feel morally superior because you paid for it and you're just using the cracked copy to secure the rights that should be yours as a paying customer anyway, not to do what Microsoft deserves and just steal the damn thing.

And that is what is so great about the internet. It enables pompous blowhards to connect with other pompous blowhards in a vast circle jerk of pomposity. -- Bill Maher

I would be OK if I can activate just a few times (none / 0) (#5)
by MichaelCrawford on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:50:59 PM EST

I don't need to activate just to test if a VM works at all. I would need to activate once I load it into a VM that I'm going to stay with longer than a month.

If I don't activate now, what I would do is just delete the image file, make a new one and then install WinXP afresh. But that would be a big PITA.

Live your fucking life. Sue someone on the Internet. Write a fucking music player. Like the great man Michael David Crawford has shown us all: Hard work, a strong will to stalk, and a few fries short of a happy meal goes a long way. -- bride of spidy

I don't know how the latest xp runs, by current president of the usa, 10/05/2009 02:20:11 AM EST (none / 1)

You could help me with another vital decision: (none / 0) (#6)
by MichaelCrawford on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:54:14 PM EST

I'm hankering for a coffee. Should I brew it myself at home, or go out to Starbucks?

It would cost less to brew it at home, but at Starbucks I could chat up all the cute baristas. Maybe I would even meet someone new.

so you're that creepy guy by Empedocles, 10/04/2009 07:09:10 PM EST (3.00 / 4)

where have you been? by lostincali, 10/04/2009 08:52:49 PM EST (3.00 / 2)

geezus not this again by bride of spidy, 10/04/2009 08:17:41 PM EST (none / 1)

You must not be very old by MichaelCrawford, 10/04/2009 11:19:23 PM EST (none / 0)

Yeah, and you live in California by channel, 10/05/2009 06:59:38 AM EST (none / 1)

One reason I still use Windows 2000 (none / 0) (#7)
by MichaelCrawford on Sun Oct 04, 2009 at 04:57:31 PM EST

It don't need no stinking product activation.

But I do understand the importance of testing under different versions of Windows. That's why I'm also using WinXP, and why I also bought Vista.

I haven't installed Vista yet but I will soon.

And yeah I know about that program that I can pay for, that gets me all the different Windows versions. I probably should have gone for that instead. Not MSDN - there's some other, more limited program which is cheaper than MSDN.

Get Windows 7 $ by Phssthpok, 10/04/2009 08:11:41 PM EST (none / 0)

But the Frog has to run on a 486 w/Win 95. $ by Nimey, 10/04/2009 08:20:17 PM EST (3.00 / 2)

That doesn't mean it can't run on Windows 7 by MichaelCrawford, 10/04/2009 11:18:09 PM EST (none / 0)

Windows XP activation (none / 0) (#21)
by Armstrong Hammer on Mon Oct 05, 2009 at 09:53:57 AM EST

Usually when Windows XP won't activate you have to call Microsoft and they will give you a new activation code or CD-Key.

Chances are a virus stole your CD-Key and it got black listed, or you activated that copy of XP on a different computer or VM and it thinks it is being installed on a different computer. Microsoft does not support activating the same copy of XP on a different computer. Activating XP on Parallels and then later on VirtualBox looks like it is trying to be activated on a different computer.

If you don't want to do the call to Microsoft, the Bit Torrent sites have "XP Activation" programs, but you'll need to run a virus scan right after it is done as most of them have virus infections or are seen as hacktools.

Yeah I know it sucks, you bought a legit copy of XP, and Microsoft just screwed you out of it just because you tried to activate it in a different virtual machine.

Learn about the true liberal agenda in the United States of America.

Ask K5: Activating Windows XP in a Virtual Machine | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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