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Get with the activation changes in Service Pack 1

Microsoft made several changes in the activation process with Service Pack 1 for Windows XP. Here's a look at a few of the changes:

• There's a three-day grace period for reactivation.
• During Windows XP setup, the system checks the product key. If the key is on the known pirated product key list, installation fails. The following two product IDs automatically fail during setup:

1. XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX
2. XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX

• The product key that's used to install Windows XP will be included in the Installation ID, which is required during the activation process.
• Windows Update checks a list of valid product keys before installing updates, which helps prevent the installation of updates on cracked and pirated versions of Windows XP.
• You can encrypt the volume license key (VLK) in an unattended setup file. This prevents users from getting and distributing a key that doesn't belong to them.
• Service Pack 1 also contains fixes for known holes that bypass product activation.

For more information about the activation changes in Windows XP Service Pack 1, visit Microsoft's Web site.