Retail / Upgrade product key on SYSPREP'd image?

[Gordon Fecyk]

Back with Win2K, I used to be able to SYSPREP an upgrade installation using
a retail upgrade product key. When I deployed this image, we had OEM
product keys... so they deployed just fine but wouldn't take the OEM keys.
I figured as much, and have since redone the Win2K images with an OEM
CD-ROM. Now OEM product keys work as they're supposed to.

I want to distribute an installation of XP with a bunch of stuff pre-hacked
into it. Not just extra software, but special security settings to prevent
unauthorized software. This is actually simple to do, and is even possible
on XP Home, or XP Pro without Group Policy, using NTFS permissions and
special startup scripts for limited users.

OEM copies of XP must be sold with hardware, but sometimes a customer
doesn't need hardware and they only need the retail or upgrade license for
XP.

Can a retail or upgrade installation of XP, *clean-installed* (as in Format
C and no traces of the old OS present) be sysprepped and imaged? And can a
retail or upgrade product key be entered as part of Windows Welcome in this
case?

 

[Darrell Gorter[MSFT]]

Hellp Gorden,
Yes Retail and Upgrade media can be clean installed and syspreped.
The product key will be required to be entered after running sysprep as
part of Windows Welcome unless it is contained with-in the sysprep.inf file.
Thanks,
Darrell Gorter[MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
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