Question about XP Pro SP3 registration

I had a real hard time trying to get Win XP Pro SP3 to load up on our SSD, so a very kind guy, who was helping me out with the XP Pro SP3 installation issues, actually sent me an XP SP3 Pro ISO image with AHCI drivers "slipped into" it. It was the one and only version of the installation that actually worked with an SSD.

Having spent so much time on this already, I dread the very idea of having to start over with an actual Installation CD. Do you know if it's possible to buy a Windows XP Pro license, register the version that's already on the SSD and be done with it?

Starting from scratch sounds like begging for a Windows No. 1-Million headache ... something I've had more than enough of in my day.

Thank you for any help with this.

 

https://www.xpforums.com/threads/windows-xp-activation-algorithm-cracked.934798/

 

It all depends on what type of key the ISO image is for as there is OEM, Retail and Volume License versions of the ISO.

 

Thank you for the help, folks. The directions provided by @ClippyBeer were right on the money.

 

I've only seen customized installation CDs for download that are VLK Volume License Key/Corporate edition, so it wants a CD-Key only (typically already filled in), no online activations.
Glad you got it sorted!

Do not forget to align the partition! Vista and newer do it automatically, XP and older do NOT.
It's much easier and quicker to align before installation.
Every device gets a performance boost from alignment, but SSD difference is H U G E.

 

I've been away from Windows for over 20 years, Clever Screen Name, so I'm not familiar with this modification. Perhaps this explains why the XP installation program was repeatedly asking me for an ASMS file and refused to finish the install? In fact, this continued until the "...very kind guy..." I mentioned in the OP sent me a "doctored" ISO of an XP Install Disc.

Regardless, even though his ISO image worked for my machine, I'd love to learn more about this for next time around ... or, come to think of it, the next time I install a larger SSD in this machine, which I very well may do soon.

Cheers for the informative post!

 

Yep I've seen that ASMS junk before, I believe it's just a processing error in the mastering/creating of the ISO image (could be regarding driver slipstreaming). It might still be installable if you're willing to sit there and skip every failed file! I have lots of experience modifying Windows install ISOs (mainly XP and nLite), so I could create you something custom if you like.

Regarding alignment, I wrote a detailed post at https://www.xpforums.com/threads/lo...aligned-partitions.934751/page-2#post-3270977

Instead of messing with CDs, making sure they don't get scratched, having to find a CD drive to plug in...
I just use old small USB flash drives that nobody wants anymore. I have a 1gb flash with a FAT16 partition booting Win98 DOS to run Ranish Partition Manager. It uses only 2mb and it boots instantly.

This USB stick method also works for Windows (and Linux) install CDs, put them on a Flash drive instead of a CD for much faster and quieter installing! I wrote about how to do this at
https://www.xpforums.com/threads/it...-new-xp-computer-in-2023.934759/#post-3270984

 

Good advice for installs. I've been using Yumi to put ISO's on a flash drive and then run the install many times now. (Yumi allows for multiple ISO's on the flash drive and creates a boot menu to choose from).

But really, I was hoping to read your description of HDD "aligning". My machines don't have SSD's, so would this apply to older ATA or Sata drives?

 

Yep, I believe YUMI extracts all the files to write them individually to the flash, that makes reading and writing take much longer. Easy2Boot loads the ISO file into memory then runs it, it's quite speedy.

Yep, in my experience every storage device benefits from alignment, because the computers reading and writing your storage device have extra controller overhead executing RMW Read-Modify-Write on every device access command. I can't get too technical on it, but clearly Microsoft also believes it's a performance boost since Windows Vista and newer always align the partitions. Yahoo search results say misalignment is a 10 to 30% performance loss.

Another difference is your hard drive APM and AAM settings. Most BIOSes and HDs will default to max performance and volume, but not all of them, especially if the drive is marketed as "green". I change my settings with Ashampoo HDD Control 3 because it's XP64 and SCSI compatible. Many more programs can do it on XP32 and IDE/SATA, like CrystalDiskInfo

 

It's very easy to get an aligned partition. Just format the hard drive with Windows 7 setup disk before installing XP. Then just install XP there without formatting.