3036: Win-XP Home Re-Activation issue/problem

I guess it's more efficient to start an own thread for discussing this issue/problem of the new Parallels Desktop for Mac 3036.

So here it goes.

First word about this new version: Great! Good work guys, very impressive.

But here's my problem:

I have the exact same problem. My situation is the following: I'm using Parallels Desktop for Mac with one Windows Home Ed. ( KEY 1). The purpose of this system is to get some programs working which don't run under Mac OS X. It's working fine. On the other hand I've Boot Camp installed with another Windows Home Ed. (KEY 2). The purpose of this partition is gaming. I've bought two Windows Licenses & CD's with different keys of course, so very legal at all, since the VM and the native partition are "two" PC's on my MacBook Pro.
Now I'm being asked for re-activation (i understand this technically since the 3rd VM under Parallels is a "new" PC with "new" hardware).

But is there a way to avoid this reactivation by Windows? I mean i got already two legal copies and i don't want to buy a third one. I know mainly it's up to Microsoft with this problem and not to the Parallels team but is there any chance to get through this?

Thx in advance and keep the good work up guys!

 

I am using my MSDN liscensed version of XP as this is for development purposes. It also requires re-activation every time I switch back and forth between PLs and BC. Very frustrating and I am concerned that over time MS might not be to thrilled about this situation and try to do something about it and possibly screw up my MSDN subscription.

Any word out there on how we can fix this situation.

 

Re-activation of Windows

I too am getting the same problem and Windows is asking for a new activation everytime I switch from Parallels to Bootcamp. I'm only using one activation key for Windows XP Pro. I was previously using Bootcamp and the copy was already activated. I gave Parallels a try (haven't bought it yet, using a trial activation key) and though everything went smoothly, I got the same message about the hardware change and Windows asked for a reactivation. I reactivated by calling Microsoft. I went back into Windows with bootcamp and the reactivation due to hardware change happened again!

Before re-activating, I went back to MacOSX to see what the Windows for Parallel would say. It said that Windows must be activated immediately before I could continue. For the same reason as Kitch mentioned, I'm not going to re-activate my Windows until this issue is resolved. That leaves me with nothing to work with...

 

potential fix for the reactivation problem

For this solution to be usable, you will probably have to wait a build where FAT32 is supported(from parallels) in a bootcamp partition.

Background info here:
http://netsecurity.about.com/od/windowsxp/qt/aaqtwinxp0829.htm
http://www.theeldergeek.com/activation_workaround.htm

The hardware info for activation is stored in wpa.dbl. You could probably make a copy of the WPA.dbl file that was in your activated bootcamp XP install before the parallels install, and a copy after you reactivate in parallels. You could replace the file before and after running the bootcamp XP install in parallels.

This would be much easier to do with a FAT32 partition, since you could write a script to automate it.

 

This is interesting, although to be frank I do not think this will work. After a reactivation I believe that other parts of the operating system has been changed also and therefore a simple replace of the WPA.dbl file is not going to work.

 

I tried backing up and restoring the wpa files and it didn't work for me. Every time I switch between booting in Parallels and booting in Boot Camp reactivation is required.

 

Has anybody found a viable solution for this yet?

 

You know, there must be something extra interesting going on here, because Windows XP is designed to work with multiple hardware profiles without requiring reactivation. For example, you could have a laptop with a docking station, and that docking station could provide a separate network adapter, hard disk, video card, mouse, keyboard...

But it looks like Parallels isn't alone in having this problem. VMWare users are as well; see this page:

http://news.u32.net/articles/2006/07/18/running-vmware-on-a-physical-partition

Search for "reactivation". It looks like the fellow has been getting Microsoft to take a serious look at this issue, but nothing yet!

 

Relevant quote from that thread:

Still waiting on Microsoft to respond on the product activation crud. The last time they called they stated “Microsoft will not support VMware running on Linuxâ€. When I told the support person that VMware and Linux are completely irrelevant to the problem (problem is that product activation hinders the use of multiple hardware profiles) and that if they don’t believe that, then they aren’t understanding the problem. The individual said he would speak to his “mentor†about it and get back to me. That was over a week ago.

I think the only way that Microsoft is going to do something about this is if many people call and complain about it. So, everyone, call and tell Microsoft this is a problem. I do not have free support, and Microsoft has not charged me for support on this issue. So, I’ll quote myself from an earlier post:

“I highly encourage anyone else who runs into this to open your own case with Microsoft. Their support number is 1-800-936-5700. Tell them that your computer is consistently requiring you to re-activate it. This support number takes you to Microsoft’s fee-based support, however, take the time to very politely explain the problem in detail and you won’t be required to pay a support fee. Make sure they understand that the problem is with Windows product activation only – and not a problem with VMware. Make sure they know that Windows is operating perfectly when booted natively and when booted within VMware – except for the product re-activation requirement.â€

I’ve had a very hard time explaining the concept of a single install of Windows booted both natively and in VMware to the support people. I don’t think the support folks I’m talking to really get it. So, be patient and friendly, but firm. If they try and close the case without resolution, tell them that they have not provided you with a satisfactory solution and insist that they escalate the issue. They will likely keep telling you over and over how product activation is intended to work and why it is doing what it is doing. Tell them that you understand that, but that product activation is designed to prevent illegitimate use of Windows, that you are running Windows in a legal manner, and that product activation is hindering your legal use of Windows. Let them know that you feel this is a defect in the design of product activation.​

 

Really? I know there are hardware profiles in XP, but I never know how and why they are there given the product activation.

I have a copy of Windows XP Home Edition running in VMware. Whenever I copy or move the VM to another location and attempt to run it, VMware will ask to create something new (I forgot what it said exactly) and if I said yes, then XP will ask for reactivation, even though it is the same VMware program on the same computer!

This activation is really annoying! If you can get yourself a Corporate version of XP you will be able to avoid this issue.

 

This appears to be a large problem and should be addressed quickly in my opinion. Perhaps Parallels tools should automatically switch out wpa keys for windows so that people aren't stuck doing it manually - or even better- a solution that Microsoft can give Parallels users to prevent this problem entirely (however unlikely that might be)

 

As I have already said, I do not believe just switching out the WPA key file is going to work in this situation (though I stand corrected if it works). And I do not believe Microsoft will help solve this "problem". It intentionally created this activation mechanism to coerce you to buy another copy to use in situations such as this. As someone above already mentioned this is not a Parallels or VMware issue but a Windows issue. I do not think Parallels will be able to do much to resolve this problem. And the same with the future version of VMware for Mac.

Isn't it ironic that it is only legal users that bought a retail or OEM copy be hit with this? If you were a pirate having a pirated Corporate version of Windows XP then you will not have this problem. Even if you had to install Windows again under Parallels you will not be asked to activate.

 

FYI I think switching out the WPA.bak and .dbl files does work here. Here's what I did:

1) Boot into Boot Camp. Activate Windows XP. Copy wpa.bak to BCwpa.bak and wpa.dbl to BCwpa.dbl.

2) Boot back into OS X and start Parallels. Activate Windows XP again. Copy wpa.bak to PDwpa.bak and wpa.dbl to PDwpa.dbl.

(You have to create each of the relevant copies after you activate Windows in each of the relevant environments, so that the copies contain the correct information.)

3) Exit Parallels and restart into Boot Camp. when it asks me to chose the hardware profile, I hit F8 and boot in safe mode. Then I choose the profile twice as usual, and enter my user login (no need to log in as administrator) in safe mode. Navigate to ...\system32, copy BCwpa.bak and BCwpa.dbl, and rename the copies to wpa.bak and wpa.dbl, replacing the files that are there.

4) Restart and boot into XP under Boot Camp again, and it loads up normally and does not ask me to reactivate! You can do the same "safe mode/reboot" procedure under Parallels and the same thing happens: no reactivation.

It's an easy workaround from a technical standpoint (you wonder why Windows is so vulnerable to malware & pirating...) but a huge pain in the butt; it's easier to just reactivate each time, until MS stops letting you. Nevertheless, it gives me hope that Parallels can come up with a solution.

 

That is a very promising workaround -- hopefully Parallels will take note. You say it's a huge pain, but isn't it a one-time pain? I mean, the workaround's effects are permanent, right? No more activation questions?

I am very new to Windows XP and Parallels and have the same problem. I have only activated XP once and have 2 days to activate again. I am afraid to do it since I don't know how many activations I will have left. Will I have to talk to Microsoft this time? Or do you get a certain number of internet activations first?

At this point I don't want to re-activate under either Boot Camp or Parallels until I know how all this is going to play out.

Getzen

 

Back up your entire Windows partition and your Parallels VM and go ahead and activate. You can always get back to where you were by restoring the backup. If you don't have an external drive for the backup, you will probably be happier in the long run by getting one.

 

Thanks for the idea but, even though I have an external drive, that's a bit impractical for me. Restoring would mean losing all the changes made to the Windows partition (newly installed apps, save files, documents, etc.) since the save point.

Getzen

 

Yeah that is a manual procedure of what I was suggesting. And I agree its a pain to have to boot in safe mode (and then reboot) every time you make the switch.

Reiterating from my post further back in the thread:

It would be much easier if you could automate the switching of the files via a script in Mac OS X. Before you run Parallels, run a script that copies over the WPA.dbl for the Parallels hardware config, and after you're done, run the script that copies over the WPA.dbl that works for the Bootcamp hardware config. To make the switch in this manner, you would need to be able to write to the bootcamp partition, which means this could easily be done with Applescripting, once parallels fixes support for FAT32 bootcamp partitions. Or maybe someone knows how to get basic NTFS write support working in OS X . . .

 

Just a guess - but not sure if it works since I have no idea if the activation data are checked once during startup or permanently. Maybe someone can try it out ( I can't since I have not yet activated):

If you exchange the files in Windows while it's running, but just before you shutdown, this could be working. The only problem is that you need to know what you plan to boot next.

If all fails, this could be automated, so a mini Windows (or whatever OS) would just start in order to put the right files there, then immediately reboot and start Windows.

Another question: What does the Windows license say about this? I mean, it is just one installation, but as far as I remember, M$ wants the user to buy an extra license for each VM Windows is run in. On the other hand, even if you did this, Windows wouldn't be able to handle to license keys within the same installation....

 

Not that familiar with Windows, but it seems an AUTOBOOT.BAT file could be created to select the correct WPA files during the boot process.

I copied the files into seperate folders, one called BC the other PR in My Documments to do a copy paste to System32.

But a BAT file at boot would do the trick quite nicely.

If someone with knowledge of script writing for BATs is out there. This is your chance to be a hero!

ajm

 

autoexec might be too late, but it's worth a try. Question is: How does the script recognize if you are in Bootcamp or Parallels?