blog.adamjcooper.com

In the process of installing a bunch of VMs for our test lab, I couldn’t remember if I’d activated the XP machines or not. Normally you go to Start… All Programs… Accessories… System Tools… Activate Windows, but Activate Windows wasn’t there--which I now know means that activation has (likely) already happened.

But if a missing Activate Windows program icon isn’t enough to convince you that, indeed, your copy of XP is activated, here’s how you can really check:

There is an executable that lives in C:\Windows\system32\oobe called msoobe.exe (I believe OOBE is for “out-of-box experience”). You need to run that with the /a option (I’m guessing for “activate”). When you do, the activation program will start let you know if you’re already activated.

The easiest way to do this is via Start… Run…, typing this into the box:

oobe/msoobe /a

If activated, you should see this: