reinstall of XP Pro SP3

[oldyeller38]

Help in reformatting an old refurbished Dell Precision Workstation with XP Pro OS. I’ve lost the reinstallation disk with product key that came with it; Is there anyway I can do a total format an reinstall the same OS on this machine without buying a new installation disk, even if I cold get one? I realize the product key is encrypted in the registry & unreadable; is there a way to retrieve that info as the laptop hasn’t been reformatted in probably 10 years & running very slow? The laptop, which is connected to & older LCD monitor, is only used for grandchildren to watch Bible cartoons and downloaded Bible videos.

 

[Elizabeth23]

Create the Activation Status

Navigate to system32 folder.
Copy the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files
Reinstall XP in the normal manner
Restart the computer and use the F8 key to bring up the Advanced Boot Options
Select Minimal Safe Mode using Up and Down Arrow Keys and press Enter.
Navigate to system32 folder.
Rename the existing wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files.
Copy the previously backed up wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the system32 folder.
Reboot the computer.

if you do the above then you will not have to activate, or if it says activate online, then it will read the replacement files and you will be good to go. I do this every time I reinstall.

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When the Dell splash screen appears during the computer startup process, press and hold < Ctrl > and then press < F11 >. Then, release both keys at the same time.

above from here

read the whole knowledge base before starting.