Way to change XP license number and cause reactivation?

[Willie]

I have a current XP Home edition system which I want to clone to another
identical hardware system. I have a new XP COA for that system and I
want to change the user name, put in the new license number and
re-activate using that name and number. Is there a way of doing this?

Willia

 

[Ho0htEe the nyght ow1]

I have a current XP Home edition system which I want to clone to another
identical hardware system. I have a new XP COA for that system and I want
to change the user name, put in the new license number and re-activate
using that name and number. Is there a way of doing this?

I'm not sure if it works with Home but I use a utility that I downloaded
from Kazaa called "Windows XP Pro - Product Key Changer.exe" that does
almost exactly that. (It doesn't change the user name) It's very easy to use
and it's only 48kB.

 

[gerryf]

Willie,

There are several ways of doing the first part, including programs like
Magic Jelly Bean keychanger or you can do it manually--here's one example of
the process

http://labmice.techtarget.com/windowsxp/articles/changeID.htm


But the second part is where you are going to have an issue.

You can change the user name simply br dropping into control panel > users,
but this is not a 100 percent fix, since this only changes some things,
specifically on the start menu and welcome screen. This does not, however,
change the actual folder structure you find in Documents and Folders, and
therefore in some places the name shows up as the old name.

You also cannot just rename the folder.

If you want the computer to refer to an account as one name 100 percent of
the time, you'll have to create a new user account with that name and then
transfer the files and settings over (keep the original around for a while
until you're sure you've got it all).

 

[Willie]

Thanks, that will do it. I am not that concerned about the logon name.
I can either keep the old name or create a new account.

Willia