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1. #HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP INSTALL#
2. #HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP UPGRADE#
3. #HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP WINDOWS 8.1#
4. #HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP LICENSE#

Make sure to copy the backup folder into the same folder as the EXE file. Once you have loaded Windows, simply download and run the program again. You’ll want to make sure to copy this folder to some external media before you reinstall Windows. Go ahead and click Yes and the backup will be created in a new folder called Windows Activation Backup, located in the same folder as the EXE file. The main points here are what I had already mentioned above: don’t make major hardware changes when performing the restore and make sure the OS edition is the same. A fairly large dialog will pop up that basically explains all the features and the requirements in order for the activation to properly work. To backup the data, just click the Activation Backup button.

#HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP LICENSE#

If all works out well, the status should detect your version of Windows and it should display the product key along with the license status. On the main screen, it will start detecting any valid Windows and Office products. It doesn’t require any installation, so that’s nice. Once you download it and unzip the files, go ahead and run the executable file. Luckily, there is a freeware program called Advanced Tokens Manager that will make a copy of all the activation data for you and allow you to easily restore it later on. There is a lot more information that is required, which makes it a lot more complicated.

If you are running Windows Vista, 7 or higher, you won’t be able to simply copy one file in order to avoid the activation problem.

#HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP INSTALL#

If you install XP on a different machine and try to copy the WPA.DBL file there, it won’t activate. Remember that this will only work if you use the WPA.DBL file from the same computer that Windows XP was originally activated on. Restart the computer and Windows XP should now be activated and working normally. Simply rename it to something like WPA.OLD and then copy your backup version of WPA.DBL to the current location. Go to C:\Windows\System32 and you should see a file called WPA.DBL already there. Now you’ll need to restart your computer in Safe Mode by pressing F8 on startup to get into the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Decline the activation and complete the installation. When you go to reinstall Windows, you’ll reach the point where you have to activate. When Windows XP is first activated, it creates a file called WPA.DBL and stores it in the C:\Windows\System32 directory.Ĭopy this file to your external storage device and keep it handy. In Windows XP, you can avoid having to reactivate by simply copying a file from your Windows directory and saving it external media. Here you enter your product key and it will download the correct ISO image that can be activated for that specific key.

#HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP UPGRADE#

If you need a Windows 8 ISO image, then check out the Upgrade Windows with product key only page.

#HOW TO WIPE A LAPTOP CLEAN WINDOWS XP WINDOWS 8.1#

The same is true if you have a Windows 8.1 key and are trying to activate Windows 8. Your only legal sources are the links above from Microsoft.Īnother item to note is that if your computer has Windows 8, the key won’t be able to activate Windows 8.1. However, those have all been taken down and no longer work.

It’s worth noting that for years you could download Windows 7 ISO images from DigitalRiver, an official distributor of Microsoft software. You can get the Windows 8.1 ISO from the Create Media Reset page on Microsoft’s website.

For Windows 8.1, you are not required to provide a product key for the download. In order to download Windows 7 recovery media, you have to enter a valid product key before it will let you download the ISO file. If you don’t have the DVD or recovery drive, you can either call Microsoft and try to activate by phone or you can directly download the ISO image files from Microsoft, but you will definitely need to have the product key from the COA sticker on the computer. You shouldn’t have any problem activating Windows if you restore this way. Previously, new PCs came with an OEM DVD that allowed you to reinstall Windows, but in the last few years most PCs now have a separate recovery partition that lets you restore directly from the hard drive. If the computer came installed with an OEM version of Windows and you perform a clean install with a retail version of Windows, it also won’t activate online.