Avoid Re-Activate Windows XP After a Reinstallation

Whenever you first install Windows XP, you have to activate it over the Internet or by calling Microsoft customer support on the phone. So if you ever need to re-install Windows XP because of some type of system failure, then at a later time you would have to re-activate it again.

To avoid having to do this, all you have to do is backup a single file before destroying your old copy of Windows off your hard drive. Then after you finish installing a new copy of Windows XP, all you have to do is restore the file that you had backed up.

• Copy the following file (c:\windows\system32\wpa.dbl) to some type of removable media (i.e.: floppy, USB drive, CD , or DVD).

Note: If you change any of your hardware before copying this file back to your new installation of Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows.