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Activation after using sysprep

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by mrg68

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Hi
We have the SLP (System Locked Pre-installation) activation agreement with dell computers. The below article explains the SLP license agreement further.
Successfully implemented, SLP uses information stored in an OEM PC's BIOS to protect the installation from casual piracy. No communication by the end customer to Microsoft is required and no hardware hash is created or necessary. At boot, Windows XP compares the PC's BIOS to the SLP information. If it matches, no activation is required.
Every single piece of hardware could be changed on a PC with SLP and no reactivation would be required - even the motherboard could be replaced as long as the replacement motherboard was original equipment manufactured by the OEM and retained the proper BIOS. In the unlikely scenario that the BIOS information does not match, the PC would need to be activated within 30 days by contacting the Microsoft activation center via the Internet or telephone call - just as in a retail scenario.
With the agreement we have with Dell we have found that we are unable to use Sysprep without having to activate the OP with Microsoft after restoring a image on a Computer.
So we would create an image then run sysprep on the image. The act of running sysprep appears to wipe out the activation. So if the computer was activated before running sysprep, after running sysprep the PC will have to be activated again. Is there a way around this, (a step we need to do, a reg hack etc....) so we don't have to activate after using sysprep.
Thank you,

3 replies

by beermonster

Hi,
There is a hack for product activation, but using it would invalidate both your licensing AND any support agreement - it's also probably illegal. As such i'm not going to describe it here, although a search around the newsgroups would, i'm sure, turn it up quite quickly. To my mind the answer to your problems would be the volume edition of XP. This is a corporate edition that doesn't require activation, and is designed specifically for rollouts where activation on a large scale is impractical. I have no idea if you would qualify to receive a copy, but it can't hurt to ask Microsoft about it. Good luck...

by mrg68

Anything illegal or voids the agrement with Microsoft is out of the question. We are aware of the fact that volume licensing would probably resolve our issues, but that's out of the question as well due to the cost. We need a work around for what wehave. If anybody knows a fix send it my way , Thank you,

by timwalsh

Since your SLP agreement is with Dell, I would opt for talking with Dell about how to do what you are trying. Anything other than a Dell-approved solution may void your agreement with them.

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