TSGL: Help - CANNOT change an XP Pro product key

[Michael Sweeden]

In case anyone is interested, I kept digging and found a "windows product
key update tool" by Microsoft that did successfully change the product key.
Hooray! Apparently it is intended for use by folks who have used the "Get
Genuine" route to get a valid license and allows the key change without
reinstalling Windows. Why this program works where others failed is beyond
me but I'm sure glad it did!

-----Original Message-----
From: list-bounces at tsgserver.com [mailto:list-bounces at tsgserver.com] On
Behalf Of Michael Sweeden
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 3:09 PM
To: 'Tech Support Guy Mailing List'
Subject: TSGL: Help - CANNOT change an XP Pro product key

I've got a client with a PC running Windows XP Pro SP2 OEM that won't
validate (it's about 2 years old). The product key in the system does not
match the key on the machine, and in the past I've used Magic Jelly Bean Key
Finder to change the product key. For some reason on this PC, I CANNOT
change the key no matter what I do. I've also followed the instructions for
modifying the registry value OOBETimer to force reactivation, but when I try
to activate the activation wizard insists that Windows is already activated.
WGA is not installed on this PC (this issue arose when the user downloaded
Media Player 11 and Windows XO failed validation). I downloaded another key
changer which claims to have changed the product key, but when I reboot and
check the key, it's the same old key. I believe I'll be forced to do a
repair installation with the correct key unless somebody can shed some light
on my problem.

Thanks!

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