Phone does not work anymore. Tried that a week ago or so. You have to create a Microsoft account (if you don't have that already) and then you can use the web activation.

As far as I know that is the only legal way to do it.

I believe you are looking for only a 100% legal way, but still about a couple year ago someone made a keygen for Windows XP. As far as I understand it produces the very same code MS would've given you over the phone if the phone activation service hasn't been discontinued. Providing that you have an official license and the license allows unlimited activations (not sure if such personal use licenses ever existed, just taking your words about regular re-activation) someone may consider it kind of legal.

Anyway, If you somehow succeeded in reactivation, it's probably worth it to make a hard drive image and restore the system from this image next time rather than reinstall and reactivate it.

unterwulf wrote on 2026-01-20, 15:30:

Anyway, If you somehow succeeded in reactivation, it's probably worth it to make a hard drive image and restore the system from this image next time rather than reinstall and reactivate it.

Agree ! There is also ways to just copy/save just the XP activation files (wpa.*) for future restore, this method works well IF same motherboard+cpu+HD...

Why not install the VL version with no activation required? I've been doing that since 2006 and never had to activate XP ever since.

Thanks guys for your input!
It's sad to see how MS more and more restricts the use of it's products (or at least tries to let us "pay" for it) even for hobby use on long out-of-service hardware.
If their aim is to ultimatively preclude MS products from daily as well as hobby use cases, so yeah they're a bit nearer to it! At least on my side.

unterwulf wrote on 2026-01-20, 15:30:

I believe you are looking for only a 100% legal way, but still about a couple year ago someone made a keygen for Windows XP. As far as I understand it produces the very same code MS would've given you over the phone if the phone activation service hasn't been discontinued. Providing that you have an official license and the license allows unlimited activations (not sure if such personal use licenses ever existed, just taking your words about regular re-activation) someone may consider it kind of legal.

Of course I'd prefer that way but, spoken purely theoretical, if there was such aforementioned tool I think some wouldn't feel too guilty using it to activate a copy with an official license they've used over many years when Win XP was still state of the art. If you paid for a license before why should you "pay" (in terms of personal data or such) for that same license again? Doesn't make sense... You wouldn't pay again for your car you've bought ten years ago, do you?

Horun wrote on 2026-01-20, 16:25:

unterwulf wrote on 2026-01-20, 15:30:

Anyway, If you somehow succeeded in reactivation, it's probably worth it to make a hard drive image and restore the system from this image next time rather than reinstall and reactivate it.

Agree ! There is also ways to just copy/save just the XP activation files (wpa.*) for future restore, this method works well IF same motherboard+cpu+HD...

For now I'm not entirely sure if I will setup that or any other system using XP again any time soon. My time's just too precious for dealing with these MS annoyances over and over again.
But I'll consider both options if I ever come back to that. Thanks!

OM606 wrote on 2026-01-20, 16:32:

Why not install the VL version with no activation required? I've been doing that since 2006 and never had to activate XP ever since.

Unfortunately I'm not very skilled with all this activation/versions stuff. Just want it to work.
Can you tell more, what's that VL version? I'm only having a regular SP3 copy...

VL means Volume License. I't just a regular WinXP Pro with the only difference being the absence of everything related to the activation so you won't be bothered ever again with activation with this version. You can easily find the ISO on archive.org, amongst others. Actually, i never understood the reason for using anything other than XP Pro SP3 VL.

Try to update root certificates. Then retry online activation:

https://github.com/JohnTHaller/RootCertificat … orLegacyWindows

OM606 wrote on 2026-01-20, 16:44:

Actually, i never understood the reason for using anything other than XP Pro SP3 VL.

Volume License was only distributed to large organizations and wasn't intended for personal/home use.

After so many years it doesn't matter. Even from a legal standpoint: you could have obtained volume license for personal use from some company liquidation *wink wink* Microsoft has no power on reselling.

Also using keygen which was recently made for Windows XP should be legal, after Microsoft shut down phone activation. You are bypassing dead DRM to use your license.

Apparently you can use the web activation thing still. All you have to do is use a fake .gov email address. I'm not sure if it works for older versions, but that is what we have been having to do at work for current versions.

One of my XP's did the activation crap when I changed the amount of ram in it, so I downloaded and used the keygen thing. Worked fine. Unlike some, I have no qualms about trying to keep legal, I'll do whatever it takes to keep my things working. Pandering to big foreign corporations got old years ago. And, seeing as there's no support or even any official online updates for XP, I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.

But after all that, maybe it would be better to use windows 2000 for testing hardware configurations? There's no activation issues with w2k.

ChrisK wrote on 2026-01-19, 13:02:

As rumors say MS did end the possibility for activation by phone entirely at the end of 2025, at least as long as you don't have an account at MS and can do it over some webpage

I have looked for such a webpage, but not found it, does anyone know the URL please? What sort of MS account do you need? I guess a partner account.

When I asked the MS help AI the reply was:

Activating Windows XP-64: Step-by-Step Guidance

Current Activation Challenges

The original automated phone activation system for Windows XP has been decommissioned by Microsoft, and the phone numbers displayed on the activation screen are likely no longer functional.
Online activation is not possible if your system does not have an internet connection.
Microsoft no longer provides support or sells activation codes for Windows XP, and buying product keys separately is not recommended due to risks of piracy and invalid licenses.
Recommended Procedure

Attempt Phone Activation:

On the activation screen, call the Microsoft activation number provided for supported products.
When prompted by the automated system, do not enter or say anything.
After a period of silence or by repeatedly saying "agent," you should be transferred to a human support agent.
Clearly explain your situation and follow the agent’s guidance.
Retail or OEM License Requirements:

Activation is only possible if you have a valid retail license or a machine that originally came with Windows XP preinstalled.
OEM product keys are non-transferable and only work on the original hardware.
Volume License Media:

If you have a Volume License version, you may be able to change the product key using the Windows Activation Wizard or a WMI script, but this only works with valid Volume License keys.
Important Security Note

Windows XP has not received security updates since 2014, making it highly vulnerable to modern threats. If you must use it, keep the system offline and avoid connecting USB drives or using old discs that could contain malware.
Summary

Activation is only possible with a valid license, and support from Microsoft is extremely limited. If you are unable to activate, consider upgrading to a supported version of Windows for better security and support

Windows Developer Support - 11:53

Another choice of installing XP without the need of activation is the use of a recovery CD, if you have an OEM system.
Just did a clean XP install on an FSC machine last weekend.
Same with Win7 on certain HP workstations, upgraded to win10 later when this was still possible.
(The HP recovery disk is limited to a small choice of models only, while the FSC disk worked on allmost all systems I tried it yet)
Some recovery disk images are availiable on archive org.

For web activation the installation of latest service packs and upgrades was needed.
Windows offline update is a good help here if you downloaded the updates while they were still availiable.

My strategy for XP is the same as it is with more recent Windows versions. When it comes to original (clean) CDs, DVDs and isos I'm not going to use them ever again. I don't need Microsoft bloat. I don't even need their updates. I feel safer without them. I use few customized versions that I trust more than I trust MS.

One thing is to own legal system but it's not an issue as 99% PCS and laptops are sold with OEM version of Windows. Second part is to either have an OS that will be already activated or have some tool to quickly solve it. I do whatever is needed to use an OS I already own but I'm not willing to jump through 1000 hoops just to prove MS that I'm not guilty. I'm fine with activators, keygens etc.

Obviously legal part might be different in different countries and what might be OK in home use, at the same time might not fit in a strict corporate environment.

eM-!3 wrote on 2026-01-22, 15:24:

I don't even need their updates.

Do you count service packs as updates?

I recall an issue Windows XP RTM, SetThreadAffinityMask () sometimes did not work so for systems with > 1 Thread, Core or Socket you should install at least SP1. Most of the CDs I have came with SP3 already installed.

red-ray wrote on 2026-01-22, 15:48:

Do you count service packs as updates?

I recall an issue Windows XP RTM, SetThreadAffinityMask () sometimes did not work so for systems with > 1 Thread, Core or Socket you should install at least SP1. Most of the CDs I have came with SP3 already installed.

SP3. I wouldn't consider using anything less than SP2 unless I was restricted with CPU and RAM and it's not going to happen these days. Most of the time custom isos are released with updates up to the date of release. Some of them have ability to update OS but it comes with a danger of destroying OS customization. Others have update services disabled or even completely deleted from Windows and I like it that way! XP is not going to receive any new official update anyway.

In reference to the license key generation program, is it possible to reverse the keygen process?

e.g. I have one PC with an valid pre-installed OEM license, but the sticker on the PC cover is partially damaged, so I cannot use this code if I need to reinstall the machine. I can copy the wpa files from the installation and reuse them, but I would like to recreate the sticker as a backup too.

Is this possible?

Extract it from the registry and write it down?

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProductId

Windows XP Media Center Edition didn't need to call for activation from what I remember. You could also use an old OEM license from a PC case.