Today no one buys Windows XP for personal use.
So if you ever download updates, you’ll get an irritating message box at the right bottom corner saying ‘Windows is not Genuine’ or ‘You may be a victim of software counterfeiting’ .
Then Microsoft will show you many reasons to buy windows and its advantages, and with all that, you can’t select your own Wallpaper.
It will always show you a black solid color. Every-time you login you, Windows will ask you to resolve this Now or later.
So you’ll go to various sites, find a key and copy it. Now how will you change your product key?
Well you’ll have to go to Registry Editor, change a value in a particular key and then open msoobe and change product key.
Seems easy right? Well actually it’s not. It’s an lengthy process, so please keep the screenshots with you will trying anything. Lets check how to change product key in Windows XP!
- Go to start select run and enter regedit.
A registry editor would open infront of you. DO NOT CHANGE ANY VALUES ANYWHERE ON YOUR OWN. If you do, you’ll mess up your system.
Oen Regedit.
- Go to Hkey_Local_Machine–>SOFTWARE–>Microsoft–>WindowsNT–>CurrentVersion–>WPAEvents–>OOBETimer
Or in other words
Inside Hkey_Local_Machine, navigate to SOFTWARE
In Hkey_Local_Machine go to Software.
In SOFTWARE go to Microsoft.
In Microsoft go to WindowsNT NOT Windows. Select Windows NT
In WindowsNT go to CurrentVersion.
Inside CurrentVersion go to WPAEvents.
When you click on WPAEvents on the right side you’ll see OOBETimer.Find oobetimer and modify it.
- Right Click on OOBETimer and select Modify. You’ll see something like this.
Previous values.
- Now move the cursor to the alphabets and change something. One value, two values anything. Just modify it and click Ok.
This will reset the current key. Only after this, you will be able to change the key.Modified Values.
- Now go to run and type %systemroot%system32oobemsoobe.exe /a
-Here %systemroot% is the path of Windows.
It will be C:Windows, if windows is installed in C Drive.
It will be D:Windows, if windows is installed in D Drive.
– System32 and oobe are folders inside Windows and system32 respectively.
-‘msoobe.exe’ is the file which will help you change Windows key.
– To run it with Administrator privileges ‘/a’ is used.open ‘msoobe.exe’ with Administrative privileges
- If you want to take the long process go to C–>Windows–>System32–>oobe–> Right click on msoobe.exe and select run as–> Administrator.
‘msoobe.exe’ in explorer
- You’ll then get this screen. Select the second option ‘I want to telephone a customer service representative’ and click Next.
Select Telephonic option (Second one)
- Now here, at the below you’ll fine ‘Change Product Key’ button. Click on it,
Select Change Product key
- Enter the product key. Click Update.
Product will then be activated, if you put a valid key.
- Restart your machine, and check.
Desktop Wallpaper, and no notifications.
